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Corporal punishment (Judaism)
The Torah describes certain forms of corporal punishment for certain sins and crimes.
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Types
The four types of capital punishment, known as mitath beth din (execution by the rabbinic court), are:
- Sekila - stoning
- Serefah - burning
- Hereg - decapitation
- Chenek - strangulation
The Talmud (tractate Sanhedrin) recognises 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 is 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 was also adminstered in cases of contempt of court and violation of rabbinic law.
Capital crimes
Crimes such as idolatry, adultery and several forms of incest, murder, and violation of the shabbat.
It bears noting that the Mishnah (tractate Makkoth 1:7) states that a court that administers capital punishment more than once every seventy years is called a "destroyer". 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.
Still, the harshness of the penalty indicates the seriousness of the crime, and 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.
Non-capital crimes
Standard prohibitions such as eating non-kosher food carry a penalty of lashes.
Some rabbinical prohibitions, such as violating the laws of muktza (moving objects which may not be used on shabbat) carry a penalty of lashes.
Present state
No physical punishment is presently being administered by rabbinical courts. Some of the capital crimes mentioned above would lead to effective exclusion of the perpetrator from the religious community.
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