Criminal Law
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Punishment for Rape
What does Torah say about rape, both for the victim and the ones around the victims? What judgements should you put against the rapist? This depends in what regard you are referring to rape. Biblically the Torah states that it…
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Capital Punishment
As a Christian involved in Judaic studies, am I to understand that Jews do not believe in death sentences? Is the interpretation of death sentence in the Torah “figurative”? You will find the death penalty in every one of the…
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Death Sentences
I know that there are numerous Jewish Laws which in theory are punishable by death but when was the last recorded instance of a death sentence carried out? The State of Israel has only ever executed one person – Adolf…
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Illegitimacy
Does the Torah say anything about bastards? The Hebrew word usually translated "bastard" is MAMZER (Deut.23:3). A mamzer is a child born from an incestuous or adulterous union; a child born to an unmarried woman is not a mamzer.
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Rape and Seduction
What does Jewish law say about rape and seduction? The Torah specifies fines for a man who rapes or seduces a woman, and he must also marry her; see Ex.22:16-17 and Deut. 22:28-29. But Rabbinical courts are no longer qualified…
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Self-Incrimination
>What does Jewish law say about self-incrimination? Jewish law goes beyond protecting against self-incrimination; a person who confesses to having committed an illegal act is not believed. The Talmudic principle is "ein adam meisim atzmo rasha" — "a man cannot…
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Observing Jewish Civil and Criminal Law
Why don’t we observe the civil and criminal laws in the Torah? Jewish civil and criminal law were enforced when there was a Sanhedrin. In its absence, we follow the Talmudic principle “The law of the kingdom is the law”…
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Scheming Witnesses
Why does the Torah use the singular in Deut. 19:19 in speaking about a “scheming witness” (ed zomem), when we know that two witnesses are required? The context makes it clear that the passage is speaking about two witnesses, since…
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Coveting
Why is coveting forbidden? Coveting things that belong to someone else, or being jealous of someone, is obviously not a good attitude. The commandment not to covet is repeated twice, in Ex.20:17 and Deut.5:21, to teach us that there is…