The stoning site [from which he was thrown to the ground] was two (men's) heights. If he turned over on his heart, (facing the ground), he is turned over on his back, [for lying prone is more demeaning.] If he dies from it (i.e., from the fall), the requirement (of stoning) is satisfied; and if not, the second (witness) takes the stone and casts it at his heart. If he dies from that, the requirement is satisfied. If not, he is stoned by all of Israel, viz. (Deuteronomy 17:7): "The hand of the witnesses shall be against him first to kill him, and the hand of all the people afterwards." All of those who are stoned are (afterwards) hung up. These are the words of R. Eliezer. And the sages say: Only the blasphemer [of the L rd] and the idolator are hung up, [the idolator also being a blasphemer, viz. (Numbers 15:30): "And the soul who acts with a high hand … it is the L rd whom he blasphemes." And that section speaks of idolatry.] A man is hung up facing the people, and a woman facing the wood. These are the words of R. Eliezer. The sages say: A man is hung up and a woman is not hung up. R. Eliezer countered: "Did not Shimon b. Shetach hang up women in Ashkelon?" They answered: He hung up eighty women, and two are not judged [in one beth-din] in one day. [For it is not possible to seek a defense for each of them (in one day). So that the hanging up of those women must have been dictated by the circumstances, and cannot serve as a precedent. The halachah is not in accordance with R. Eliezer.] How is he hung up (after he is executed)? A pole is sunk in the ground with a beam projecting from it, and his two hands are joined (and bound) together, and he is hung up [by his hands]. R. Yossi says: The beam is placed against the wall, and he is suspended upon it, as butchers do (with slaughtered animals). [It was not rooted in the ground, but one of its ends was on the ground, and the other inclined against the wall. The rationale of R. Yossi: The wood on which he was suspended was buried with him, and the Torah states (Deuteronomy 21:23): "But bury shall you bury him" — he who lacks only burying; to exclude that which lacks digging up, uprooting, and burying. And the (rationale of the) rabbis: Digging up is of no import. The Torah excluded only its being rooted from the beginning. The halachah is in accordance with the sages.] And he is let down immediately. And if he is allowed to remain there overnight, he (the one who allows it) transgresses a negative commandment, viz. (Deuteronomy 21:23): "You shall not leave his body overnight on a tree, but bury shall you bury it on that day; for killelath G d is suspended, etc." That is, why is this one suspended? Because he "blessed" (a euphemism for "cursed" - killel) the L rd, so that the name of Heaven is desecrated (by leaving him — a reminder of the curse — hanging there.)
Bartenura on Mishnah Sanhedrin
היה גבוה שתי קומות – and we throw him down from there to the ground.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Sanhedrin
Introduction
Mishnah four describes how the person was to be stoned. The mishnah also discusses the hanging mentioned in Deuteronomy 21:22-23. We should mention that we don’t really know exactly how this hanging was to be performed. The JPS translation translates it as “impaling” but this is not the literal meaning of the word. The purpose of such an action was to expose the body, and it was a common practice in the ancient and indeed also the modern world. The Torah states that while this type of action may be done, the body may not be left overnight. The Torah is concerned for the respect due to the human body and therefore it states that leaving a body hanging overnight is strictly forbidden.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sanhedrin
הופכו על מתניו – for when he is lying on his back, it is more reprehensible.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Sanhedrin
The place of stoning was twice a man's height. One of the witnesses pushed him by the hips, [so that] he was overturned on his heart. He was then turned on his back. If that caused his death, he had fulfilled [his duty]; but if not, the second witness took a stone and threw it on his chest. If he died thereby, he had done [his duty]; but if not, he [the criminal] was stoned by all Israel, for it is says: “The hand of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people” (Deut. 17:7). According to the Rabbis, stoning was not carried out by throwing stones at the person until he dies, which would seem to be the normal way that one would understand stoning. Rather the person is pushed off a two story platform and then stones are dropped on him. The first witness is the one who pushes him off and if he dies then the execution is over and no further stoning is done. If the person is still alive then the second witness throws a stone on him. If he dies the execution is over, but if he remains alive the rest of Israel throws stones at him. This process is based on a biblical verse. We should note two things. First of all the mishnah is careful to stone the person only until he dies. Once he dies, the Rabbis forbade further disfiguration of his body. Second, the Torah requires the witnesses to take part in the stoning. A witness must believe his testimony firmly enough to actually carry out the execution himself. In some cases this might discourage false testimony.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sanhedrin
מגדף – because he blasphemes God.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Sanhedrin
All who are stoned are [afterwards] hanged, according to Rabbi Eliezer. But the sages say: “Only the blasphemer and the idolater are hanged.” A man is hanged with his face towards the spectators, but a woman with her face towards the gallows, according to Rabbi Eliezer. But the sages say: a man is hanged, but not a woman. Rabbi Eliezer said to them: “But did not Shimon ben Shetah hang women at ashkelon?” They said: “[On that occasion] he hanged eighty women, even though two must not be tried on the same day. According to Rabbi Eliezer, the Torah commands that all executed people are hung after their execution. However, the Sages say that this is done only to the blasphemer (of God) and to the idol worshipper. Rabbi Eliezer states that both men and women are to be hung, whereas the Sages say that only men are hung. Note that even though Rabbi Eliezer believes that women are hung, he is still concerned with their modesty. In order to prove his point that women are also hung, Rabbi Eliezer brings up the precedent of Shimon ben Shetach, an early Sage, who hung 80 women in Ashkelon. (We don’t know why he hung them). The Sages retort that this hanging was not done according to the law, for Jewish law forbids convicting even two people on one day. According to the Sages the incident of Shimon ben Shetach was an unusual, one time affair, and does not set precedent for future cases.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sanhedrin
ועובד עבודה זרה – he is also a blasphemer, as it is written (Numbers 15:30): “But the person, [be he citizen or stranger] who acts defiantly reviles the LORD…” and this portion speaks of idolatry.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Sanhedrin
How is he hanged? The post is sunk into the ground with a [cross-] piece branching off [at the top] and he brings his hands together one over the other and hangs him up [thereby]. R. Jose said: the post is leaned against the wall, and he hangs him up the way butchers do. He is immediately let down. If he is left [hanging] over night, a negative command is thereby transgressed, for it says, “You shall not let his corpse remain all night upon the tree, but you must bury him the same day because a hanged body is a curse against god” (Deut. 21:23). As if to say why was he hanged? because he cursed the name [of god]; and so the name of Heaven [God] is profaned. Rabbi Yose and the Sages dispute how a person is to be hung. Note that the hanging described by the mishnah is not done by the person’s neck but rather by their hands. This is, of course, closer to what we would call crucifixion. However, according to the Rabbis hanging is not a form of the death penalty but is to be performed after the execution has been carried out. The body must be let down immediately. Indeed according to other sources, one hand puts the body up and another lets it down. The disgrace done to the body is indeed only momentary. The verse in Deuteronomy states that a hanged body is a disgrace to God. Our mishnah understands that the verse comes to teach that people who see the body hanging will realize that it was because he cursed God, either by explicitly doing so or by worshipping idols, as we learned in section two.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sanhedrin
ואין דנין שנים ביום אחד – in one Jewish court, because it is not able to restore each of one of them to their innocence, but the hanging of these women was a special dispensation, and we don’t learn from it. And the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Eliezer.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Sanhedrin
Questions for Further Thought: • Why are the Rabbis so concerned about not disfiguring the body of the executed criminal? What value lies behind their laws?
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sanhedrin
משקיעין – wedged in.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sanhedrin
והעץ יוצא ממנו – like a peg that would come out from the beam near its top.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sanhedrin
ומקיף – supports this near, like to take Terumah out of a mass which is not in a close neighborhood of those products which are to be redeemed (Talmud Eruvin 32a).
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sanhedrin
ותולין אותו – by his hands.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sanhedrin
הקורה מוטה על הכותל – it was not wedged into the ground but one head is on the ground and one head leans and is supported on the wall, and the reason of Rabbi Yosi is because the tree is that he is hung upon is buried with him, for the Torah said (Deuteronomy 21:23): “[You must not let his corpse remain on the stake overnight,] but must bury him the same day…,” he who is not requiring anything other than burial, we exclude that which requires digging, plucking/being detached and burial. But for the Rabbis, digging is not considered anything, and the Torah did not exclude other that the tree should be attached from its root. And the Halakha is according to the Sages.
