In our mouths and in our hearts: Day 44
(Introduction.)
Today: The justice system
541. “You shall not be partial in judgment.” (Deuteronomy 1:17) = don’t appoint a judge who doesn’t know the law
542. “…to lean after the majority.” (Exodus 23:2) = if there is a split decision among the judges, go according to the majority
543. “Do not side with the majority to do wrong.” (Exodus 23:2) = don’t execute someone if the number of guilty votes exceeds the number of not-guilty votes by only 1; there must be a majority of at least 2
544. “Do not give perverse testimony in a dispute.” (Exodus 23:2) = a defense witness in a capital trial shouldn’t testify against the defendant
545. “You shall stone them to death.” (Deuteronomy 22:24) = capital punishment by stoning
546. “They shall be put to the fire.” (Leviticus 20:14) = capital punishment by burning
547. “He must be avenged.” (Exodus 21:20) = capital punishment by the sword
548. “They shall be put to death.” (Leviticus 20:10) = capital punishment by strangling
549. “If a person is guilty of a capital offense and is put to death, you shall impale him/her on a stake.” (Deuteronomy 21:22)
550. “You must bury him/her the same day.” (Deuteronomy 21:23) = the executed criminal
551. “Do not let his/her corpse remain on the stake overnight.” (Deuteronomy 21:23) = the executed criminal
552. “You shall not let a sorceress live.” (Exodus 22:17)
553. “If the guilty one is to be flogged, the magistrate shall have him lie down and be given lashes in his presence.” (Deuteronomy 25:2)
554. “He may be given up to 40 lashes, but not more.” (Deuteronomy 25:3)
555. “Do not bring death on those who are innocent and in the right.” (Exodus 23:7) = don’t execute an innocent person based on circumstantial evidence
I just have to say, that I’ve been disappointed with Jewschool lately… It used to be more cutting-edge, interesting stuff, interesting news, radical politics… Now I feel like it is becoming frummer and frummer, and really shutting someone like me out who is not interested in reading the Torah everytime I open my favorite blog. Maybe it’s not as religious as it seems, but the “In our Mouths and In our Hearts” segment is just so long and is the most frequent post on here that it seems overwhelming. I still like the site, but it has gone much lower in my frequently accessed sites recently… Just had to share my thoughts– no offense intended. Good luck
formerlyavidreader-
First of all, I should say that when I started this series, I was basing my calculations on past (higher) levels of Jewschool posting, and didn’t anticipate that one post a day would end up being a significant fraction of the total traffic, let alone that there would be occasional days when this was the only post. I wouldn’t have started it if I had known that this would be the case, but stopping midstream for this reason seemed rash.
Second of all, if you perceive the series to be “frummer and frummer”, I think that says more about your perspective than about the series. There’s nothing “frum” about classic texts on their own, presented as objectively as possible; “frum” is an attitude that a reader can bring to the text (or not). I’m a flaming liberal myself (religiously and politically) and certainly have no intention to promote a “frum” agenda. I’ve been posting these posts as blank canvases (or perhaps coloring books) onto which people can paint their own reactions, whether “frum” or “cutting-edge … radical politics” or anything else.