Search

Talking Talmud

Sanhedrin 45: Even the Worst Sinner Is Human

01.31.2025 | ב׳ בשבט תשפ״ה

A daf of (essentially) 3 mishnayot, with the Gemara thereon. 1. When the person to be executed was near to the place of stoning, they would strip the condemned person – or perhaps just a male condemned person, depending on the opinion in the mishnah. Still, the condemned person would have at least some cloth(s) to cover his or her nakedness – for the sake of the person’s dignity (and Rabbi Yehudah is not concerned that nakedness in this context would be sexual, because it was clear to him that it was not). 2. The witnesses need to stone the condemned person – but would that role prevent people from coming forward with conclusive testimony? Plus, each of these mishnayot is supported from texts in the beraita. But if the witnesses have to push the condemned person, what happens if they lost their hands for whatever reason? The witnesses’ hands, explicitly, are part of this process, according to the biblical verses. 3. When the convicted person is executed, the bodies were “hanged up” to be an object lesson – or maybe only those whose sin was blasphemy or idolatry, according to the sages, as compared of the first opinion in the mishnah. Plus, the question of how they hanged people is not proven by the 90 women put to death under Shimon ben Shetach, because it was too unusual of a case. But practically speaking, were only the blasphemers and the idolaters put to death and then hanged? (Note the reliance on biblical verses for these interpretations and applications to halakhah).

Click here for the Talking Talmud podcast on Sanhedrin 45/871a>.’”

 

To listen: Click the link above. Or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Or join the Talking Talmud WhatsApp group, and receive the link as soon as it goes up.

You liked Talking Talmud? Follow to get more content:

240420251745481775.jpeg

Anne and Yardaena

Anne Gordon is the deputy editor of Ops & Blogs at The Times of Israel. She is a veteran educator, having taught in high school and post-high school institutions in Israel and America for several decades.Yardaena Osband is a pediatrician and teaches in her community and online. They both hail from Boston, proud alumna of Maimonides School, where they first learned Gemara. Talking Talmud is their conversation (via podcast) on the daf yomi. They say: “Learning the daf? We have something for you to think about. Not learning the daf? We have something for you to think about! (Along with a taste of the daf…) Join the conversation with us!”

Get Beyond the Daf via podcast

Want to follow content and continue where you left off?

Create an account today to track your progress, mark what you’ve learned, and follow the shiurim that speak to you.

Clear all items from this list?

This will remove ALL the items in this section. You will lose any progress or history connected to them. This is irreversible.

Cancel
Yes, clear all

Are you sure you want to delete this item?

You will lose any progress or history connected to this item.

Cancel
Yes, delete