Sanhedrin 10:6-11:1

Sanhedrin 10:6

Deuteronomy 13:17 continues discussing the condemned city. “You shall gather all its wealth into the the town square” – if the condemned city doesn’t have a town square, they build one; if the town square was outside the city, they bring it inside the city. “Burn with fire the city and every bit of its wealth to Hashem your God” – burn the city’s wealth but not wealth belonging to Heaven. Rather, consecrated property must be redeemed, terumah is left to spoil, and second tithe and sacred texts are hidden away. “Every bit to Hashem your God” – Rabbi Shimon said that God says that if we carry out the judgment of a condemned city, He will count it as if we had offered a burnt offering to Him. “It will remain a heap forever; it may not be built again” – Rabbi Yosi HaGlili says that we may not even plant gardens and orchards there, while Rabbi Akiva says that it may not be rebuilt as it was but it may be turned into gardens and orchards. “None of the forbidden property shall stick to your hand” (Deuteronomy 13:18) – this is because so long as evil remains in the world, God’s anger remains in the world, but if evil is removed from the world, God’s anger is removed from the world.

Sanhedrin 11:1

Those who are executed by strangulation include: a person who strikes his father or mother; one who kidnaps a Jewish person; an elder who rebels against the court’s ruling; a false prophet; one who prophesizes in the name of an idol; a man who has sexual relations with a married woman, false witnesses who testify against a kohein’s daughter, and one who has sexual relations with her. A person who strikes his parent is not liable to the death penalty unless he wounds them. The case of one who curses his parent is more stringent than the case of one who strikes them in that one who curses his parent can be liable even after their deaths, while one who strikes them after their deaths is exempt. One who kidnaps a Jew is not liable until he brings the victim into his domain; Rabbi Yehuda says he is not liable until he brings him into his domain and makes use of him, as per Deuteronomy 24:7, “he will treat him like a slave and sell him.” If a person kidnaps his own son, Rabbi Yishmael the son of Rabbi Yochanan ben Broka says that he is liable but the Sages declare him exempt. If a person kidnaped someone who was half-servant and half-free, Rabbi Yehuda says that he is liable but the Sages say he is exempt.