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Following is the procedure for those who are strangled: they would submerge him in manure up to his knees to prevent jumping and to shorten the agony. They would place a hard scarf inside a soft one and wind it around his neck. One witness pulls toward himself, and the other witness pulls to himself until his soul departs.
The following are executed by stoning: one who cohabits with his mother, or with his father's wife, or with his daughter-in-law, or with a male, or with an animal, or a woman who brings an animal upon herself, a blasphemer, one who serves idols, one who desecrates the Sabbath, one who curses his mother or father using the Name of God, one who cohabits with a betrothed young girl, a subverter of an entire city, a sorcerer, and a wayward and rebellious son.
Art: The Artist's Mother by James McNeill Whistler
The following is the procedure for those who are burned. They would place a hard scarf inside a soft one and wind it around his neck. One witness pulls toward himself, the other one pulls toward himself, until the executed opens his mouth, and then they pore molten lead inside. The lead descends into his stomach and burns his intestines.
This procedure is for those who are beheaded: they would decapitate him with the sword, cutting off his head from the front. Said Rabbi Yehudah, "It is a disgrace for him since the Roman government does the same. Rather, they chop it off with an ax." Answered the Sages, "That would be even more disgraceful."
But how do we know to cut off the head and not, say, stab him? - Because it says, "by the edge of the sword." Then let's cut him in half!? - Said Rab Nachman, "And you shall love your fellow as yourself," which means choosing a favorable death for him.
Art: Boy with a Sword by Edouard Manet
Suppose a daughter of a Kohen who is either betrothed or fully married commits adultery. In that case, her punishment is correspondingly more significant than that of her lover, who is punished by strangulation. But what is the meaning of Rabbi Eliezer's cryptic statement? If he meant that she commits adultery with either her father or her father-in-law, then his ruling is correct even for a daughter of Yisrael, and he did not have to state it. Instead, "with her father" means "in the domain of her father," that is, betrothed, and "with her father-in-law" means "in the domain of her father-in-law," that is, fully married.
There were other explanations, but Rav Nachman said, "The law is like the first explanation." Said Rav Yosef, "The law?!? There are no capital punishments today!" Said Abaye, "Should we not learn the laws of sacrifices because they are not relevant today? We do learn them and receive a reward for learning!" And Rav Yosef meant that when the Messiah comes and resurrects the dead, we will ask Rabbi Eliezer himself.
Art: A Musician and His Daughter by Thomas De Keyser
Stoning is a more severe form of execution than burning, for it is administered to a blasphemer and an idol worshiper. And what is the particular strictness of their transgression? - They attack the fundamentals.
Stoning is more severe than beheading, as can be derived from the law of the subverted city. If most of the residents of a town in the Land of Israel followed the instigation of evil men and worshiped idols, then the residents guilty of idolatry are beheaded, but the subverters themselves are stoned. Since the subverters' transgression is greater, stoning is more severe than beheading.
Perhaps strangulation is just as severe as stoning, since it is administered to one who strikes his father or mother, and the honor of parents is compared to the honor of God? - No, stoning is more severe since it is applied to an adulterous betrothed girl, whereas for adultery with a fully married adulterous woman, one only receives strangulation.
Art: The Swing by August Renoir
The court used four different methods of execution, depending on the various capital offenses that the person committed. In descending order of severity, these are stoning, burning, beheading, and strangulation.
What difference does the severity of the execution make? In a situation where one has committed several capital offenses, each of which renders him liable to a different type of execution – since one cannot be executed more than once - he receives the more severe execution for which he is liable. Rabbi Shimon lists them in a different order: burning, stoning, strangulation, and beheading.
Art: The Execution Of Lady Jane by Paul Delaroche - Grey
It is certainly forbidden to use a corpse for anything or to derive benefit from its accessory items. When does this prohibition go into effect? Abaye says that the prohibition applies from the moment the item is designated to serve the needs of the corpse, but Rava maintains that it starts from the time that item is actually used in its new capacity.
Abaye derives his view by comparison with the decapitated heifer: just as the heifer becomes forbidden when it is led into a rocky, uncultivated valley, so too all designated items are already viewed as if serving their purpose. However, Rava compares this with accessories to idolatry, which do not become forbidden through mere designation. What is Rava's reason? - We should derive accessory (for the corpse) from accessory (for idol worship), and not compare to heifer, which is the item in question itself.
Art: Dead Men Tell No Tales by Howard Pyle
Is burial practiced because it avoids disgrace to the deceased and his family, or is it practiced because it gains atonement for the deceased? When would it make a difference? When one declares that after he dies, he does not wish his corpse to be buried. If burial is because of the disgrace to his family, he cannot refuse burial and thus disgrace his family. If it is because of his own atonement – he has clearly stated that he does not want atonement, and there would be no reason to bury him.
The Talmud does not resolve this question, but the prevailing practice is that if one does not wish to be buried, his wishes are disregarded.
Is eulogy delivered for the honor of the living, that is, the relatives who survive the deceased, or is it for the honor of the dead? Since the deceased receives atonement through various disgraces if they befall his corpse, it follows that a eulogy is for the honor of the dead person himself.
Art: Burial of St. Lucy by Caravaggio
