Every morning when I drink my first cup of coffee for the day, I learn the weekly Torah portion. This past Monday morning, though, was different. I was sitting drinking my coffee, and, for some reason, decided to turn on the radio. I was just in time to hear a live report from the penitentiary where Timothy Mcveigh was receiving a lethal injection - his punishment for killing 168 people in the Oklahoma City Bombing. The reporter was describing what Mcveigh was wearing, what he had eaten for his last meal, what his last words were and which chemicals were being injected into his body, and how long they would take to kill him. As I took a sip from my mug, I thought to myself, "This is surreal. I can't believe I am sitting here, listening to a person being put to death, in the comfort of my living room."
A few days later, I was back to my normal routine - coffee and parashah. I was reading the end of Parashat Shelach Lekha, and came to the part about the Mekoshesh Eitzim - the gatherer of wood. One Shabbat while the Jewish People were in the desert, they found a man gathering wood on Shabbat -- a direct violation of one of the 39 forbidden labors of Shabbat. This man, who is known as the Mekoshesh Eitzim - the gatherer of wood - was taken to Moshe and Aharon. Moshe and Aharon knew that he was to receive the death penalty, but they did not know the appropriate procedure for killing him, so they put him on death row. They approached Hashem and were informed that the Mekoshesh Eitzim should be stoned to death. The entire community brought him outside the camp and pelted him with stones and he died, just as Hashem had commanded. As I took a sip of coffee, I felt the same way I had earlier in the week. I thought to myself, "This is surreal."
There are a great many differences between these two cases, between Timothy Mcveigh and the Mekoshesh Eitzim, and between American Law and Halakhah. But it was equally unnerving to hear or read about the death of these human beings. Even in the case of the Mekoshesh Eitzim, who was warned not to violate Shabbat and was told that he would be killed if he did so, and who received his punishment from Hashem Himself, it is still difficult to see a human life destroyed. Even the killing of the Mekoshesh Eitzim, who spit in the face of Hashem – God forbid, gave me pause.
This week I revisited a fascinating responsa written by the greatest halakhic authority of this generation, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein. On Purim day of 1981, Reb Moshe responded to a question by the Governor of the State of New York, Hugh L. Carey (Hugh Carey was governor at this time, although his name does not appear in the Teshuvah. Igrot Moshe, Chosen Mishpat 2:68). The question was: what is the Jewish view of the death penalty? Reb Moshe begins by expressing his feelings of love and awe to the Governor because of his desire to know the opinion of the Torah on the matter. Reb Moshe points out that the Torah specifies the death penalty only for the most heinous of sins -- murder, kidnapping, forbidden sexual relations and idol worship -- because by committing these crimes a person abandons goodness and follows a path of cruelty. This being said, the Torah is extremely limiting on who may be killed, and by whom. First of all, a Sanhedrin of 23 men must be present, and must consist of only the most proficient and sensitive of Sages, who have received semikhah -- ordination -- which comes from Moshe Rabbenu. This court can only judge capital cases when the Temple is standing and the great Sanhedrin of 71 is in place. The crime must have been witnessed by two individuals, who are not be related to one another or the assailant, and who must be thoroughly interrogated and informed about the gravity of their testimony. There must have been a warning, detailing the prohibition that was about to be transgressed and the punishment such a transgression would incur. Finally, exact procedure must be followed as specifically laid out in the Halakhah. Only under these circumstances can the death penalty be imposed. But Reb Moshe concludes with an incredible about face. He tells the Governor that when we live in a society where cruelty pervades and killing is rampant, and where murderers and those who commit acts of evil are abundant, it is most proper for the government to protect its citizens and to check lawlessness (See also Makkot 1:10; Rambam, Hilkhot Melachim 3:10). So concludes his responsa on the death penalty.
As I closed the Igrot Moshe, I felt a lot calmer. A world without Timothy Mcveigh and the Mekoshesh Eitzim is a safer place, filled with less cruelty, less hatred, less evil. "Hevei Mitpalel Bishlomah Shel Malkhut, Sheilmalei Mora'ah, Ish Et Re'ehu Chaim Bela'o - In Pirkei Avot (3:2), Rabbi Chanina, the deputy Kohain Gadol, says, "Pray for the welfare of the government, because if people did not fear, a person would swallow his fellow alive."
Rabbi
Mordechai Friedfertig
Congregation B'nai Shalom
Williamsville,
New York
Email: mordechai at utj.org
Copyright 2001-2003 by Mordechai Friedfertig