Parashat Shofetim- Community Responsibility

Al pi shnayim eidim o shlosha eidim yumat hameit lo yumat al pi eid echad. Yad haeidim tihyeh bo varishonah lahamito v’yad kol-ha’am ba’acharonah uviarta hara mikirbekha.

On the word of two witnesses or three witnesses shall he who is to die be put to death, not on the word of one witness. The hand of the witnesses will be upon him first to put him to death, and the hand of the entire people afterward, and you will put away the evil from within your midst. (D’varim 17:6-7)

Jews throughout the centuries have had issues with the death penalty. From the earliest commentaries the rabbis have been uncomfortable with permitting a death penalty. According to Talmud Sanhedrin (41a) Jewish courts ceased the death penalty by the year 30 CE. Another report a few pages later says it was only carried out when a Sanhedrin sat during the time of the Temple, thus ending by 70 CE. Mishnah Makkot (1:10) states, “A Sanhedrin that puts a man to death once in seven years is called destructive. Rabbi Eliezer Ben Azariah says: even once in seventy years. Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Tarfon say: had we been in the Sanhedrin none would ever have been put to death. Rabban Simeon Ben Gamaliel says: they would have multiplied shedders of blood in Israel."

Even the Torah, which not only permits, but requires the death penalty, limits the occasions and the circumstances in which the death penalty can be used. At a time when law was controlled by the whims of kings or overlords, the idea of a balanced, equal justice was completely new. Even today, when trials can turn on the testimony of professional expert witnesses, a balanced and fair trial cannot always be assured. The Torah requires witnesses to the act. The Mishnah expanded this, requiring, not only witnessing the act, but also that the witnesses warned the accused that the act he was about to commit was punishable by death. These witnesses must be separately accountable. The must know what their words will cause, and they must be willing and able to carry out the punishment. Once they began the execution, the community must also bear the responsibility for the execution. No one is exempt. Even so, As Shimeon Ben Gamaliel notes, justice must be done. Without it chaos reigns.

How many of us could follow through on such a responsibility? How many of us fully understand and accept the responsibility of our actions? We all have comments on the perversion of justice, but how many of us seek to be part of it. Perhaps the extreme example of responsibility for execution upon the entire community is a reminder to us all that we must be fully aware and involved as a community. We are all responsible for each other, through the good and the bad. Parashat Shoftim is all about community. It reminds us of our responsibilities to each other, to our community, and to the greater world around us.