משנה: אָמַר רַבִּי מֵאִיר בִּזְמַן שֶׁאָדָם מִצְטַעֵר שְׁכִינָה מָה הַלָּשׁוֹן אוֹמֶרֶת. כַּבְיָכוֹל קַלַּנִי מֵרֹאשִׁי קַלַּנִי מִזְּרוֹעִי. אִם כָּךְ אָמַר הַכָּתוּב מִצְטַעֵר אֲנִי עַל דָּמָן שֶׁל רְשָׁעִים קַל וָחֹמֶר עַל דָּמָן שֶׁל צַדִּיקִים שֶׁנִּשְׁפַּךְ. MISHNAH: Rebbi Meïr said: When a human suffers, how does the Divine presence125The Šekhinah is God’s Presence among men, Ex. 29:46. express Itself? If it could be said126The usual expression to justify an anthropomorphism. We know that human behavior cannot be attributed to the Šekhinah, but if it could, one could say …, my head is light, my arm is light127This translation is tentative; see the Halakhah.. If Scripture says so, I am suffering about the blood of evildoers, so much more if blood of the just is spilled.
הלכה: אָמַר רַבִּי מֵאִיר כול׳. אֲנָן תַּנִּינָן. קַלֵּינִי. אִית תַּנָּיֵי תַנֵּי. קַל אָנִי. מָאן דָּמַר קַלֵּינִי. לֵית הוּא אֶלָּא קָלִיל. מַה דָמַר. קַל אָנִי. לֵית הוּא אֶלָּא נְטִיל. HALAKHAH: “Rebbi Meïr said,” etc. We have stated קַלֵּינִי. Some Tannaïm state קַל אָנִי. 128It seems that one should follow R. David Fraenckel and switch the references. This also would follow Talmudic style: readings AB are discussed as BA: “He who says קַל אָנִי (I am light) uses an expression of lightness. He who says קַלֵּינִי (קַל אֵינִי I am not light) uses a language of load.”
The Babli, 46b, only discusses the second alternative, or a possibility of deriving the expression from the root קלל “to curse.” He who says קַלֵּינִי uses only an expression of lightness. He who says קַל אָנִי uses a language of load.
מַתְנִיתָא דְלָא כְרִבִּי מֵאִיר דְּאָמַר. אַף הָמְגַדֵּף עוֹבֵר בְּלֹא תַעֲשֶׂה. The Mishnah does not follow Rebbi Meïr because he said, also for the blasphemer one violates a prohibition129It is a question of interpretation of Deut. 21:23: Do not leave his corpse on the gallows overnight (a prohibition), but burying you shall bury him on the same day (a positive commandment). It is agreed that the positive commandment applies to all burials (Mishnah 11). The question is the domain of applicability of the prohibition.
In Mishnah 9, the rabbis hold that only people attacking the essence of the faith are hanged. The question remains what their position is about witnesses who falsely accuse somebody of blasphemy. It may be that Sifry Deut. 221, which excludes the perjured witnesses from being hanged, represents R. Meïr’s position, which is not documented elsewhere. Then the sentence should be read: Only for the blasphemer does one violate the prohibition …, since only concerning the blasphemer there is a duty to hang his corpse..