Corporal punishment (Judaism)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Torah describes certain forms of corporal punishment for certain sins and crimes.
Contents |
[edit] Types
The four types of capital punishment, known as mitath beth din (execution by the rabbinic court), were:
- Sekila - stoning
- Serefah - burning
- Hereg - decapitation
- Chenek - strangulation
The Talmud (tractate Sanhedrin) recognizes that the former two are more serious, and are administered for more serious crimes.
One form of non-capital corporal punishment is known, namely that of lashes (malkuth). The maximum number of lashes allowed per sentence was 39, although multiples of this could theoretically be given consecutively if multiple commandments had been violated. Apart from as a punishment for violating Torah law, malkuth mardus (lashes of rebellion) was also administered in cases of contempt of court and violation of rabbinic law.
[edit] Capital crimes
Crimes such as idolatry, adultery and several forms of incest, murder, and violation of the shabbat were regarded as capital crimes.
The Mishnah (tractate Makkoth 1:11) states that a court that administers capital punishment more than once every seventy years is called a "murderous court". There are many restrictions on the evidence admissible in capital cases, and unless a warning (hatra'ah) was given (to ascertain the offender's intent), a verdict of "guilty" could not be passed. In addition, the process had to be witnessed by two unrelated witnesses, and the timing of the warning (several seconds before the act) was crucial.
The harshness of the penalty indicated the seriousness of the crime. Jewish philosophers argue that the whole point of corporal punishment was to serve as a reminder to the community of the severe nature of certain acts.
[edit] Non-capital crimes
Standard prohibitions such as eating non-kosher food carried a penalty of lashes.
Some rabbinical prohibitions, such as violating the laws of muktzah (moving objects which may not be used on shabbat) carried a penalty of lashes.
[edit] Present state
While Jewish law approves of the death penalty in principle, the standard of proof required for application of death penalty has always been extremely stringent. In practice, it was abolished by various Talmudic decisions, making the situations in which a death sentence could be passed effectively impossible and hypothetical. Forty years before the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE (i.e. in 30 CE) the Sanhedrin effectively abolished capital punishment, making it a hypothetical upper limit on the severity of punishment, fitting in finality for God alone to use, not fallible people.
No physical punishment is presently administered by rabbinical courts.
