משנה: מִצְוַת הַנִּשְׂרָפִין הָיוּ מְשַׁקְּעִין אוֹתוֹ בַזֶּבֶל עַד אַרְכּוּבּוֹתָיו וְנוֹתְנִין סוּדָרִין קָשָׁה לְתוֹךְ הָרַכָּה וְכוֹרֵךְ עַל צַוָּארוֹ. זֶה מוֹשֵׁךְ אֶצְלוֹ וְזֶה מוֹשֵׁךְ אֶצְלוֹ עַד שֶׁהוּא פּוֹתֵחַ אֶת פִּיו וּמַדְלִיק אֶת הַפְּתִילָה וְזוֹרְקָהּ לְתוֹךְ פִּיו וְיוֹרֶדֶת לְתוֹךְ מֵעָיו וְחוֹמֶרֶת אֶת בְּנֵי מֵעָיו. רִבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר אַף הוּא אִם מֵת בְּיָדָם לֹא הָיוּ מְקַייְמִין בּוֹ מִצְוַת שְׂרֵפָה אֶלָּא פּוֹתְחִין אֶת פִּיו בִּצְבַת שֶׁלֹּא בְטוֹבָתוֹ וּמַדְלִיק אֶת הַפְּתִילָה וְזוֹרְקָהּ לְתוֹךְ פִּיו וְיוֹרֶדֶת לְתוֹךְ מֵעָיו וְחוֹמֶרֶת אֶת בְּנֵי מֵעָיו. אָמַר רִבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן צָדוֹק מַעֲשֶׂה בְּבַת כֹּהֵן שֶׁזִּנְּתָה וְהִקִּיפוּהָ חֲבִילֵי זְמוֹרוֹת וּשְׂרָפוּהָ. אָֽמְרוּ לוֹ מִפְּנֵי שֶׁלֹּא הָיָה בֵית דִּין שֶׁבְּאוֹתָהּ שָׁעָה בָּקִי׃ MISHNAH: The order of burning: One makes him sink into manure up to his knees26To make the condemned lose partial consciousness from the methane gas coming from the manure., puts a stiff cloth into soft ones and winds them around his throat. One person draws in his direction, the other draws in his direction until he opens his mouth27The two witnesses stand to either side of the condemned and choke him to force him to open his mouth. The coarse cloth is the one which chokes; the soft cloth is to shield the skin from injury. The entire procedure is modelled on the death of Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus.10.1-6">Lev. 10:1–6) which is called “burning” (Leviticus.10.6">v. 6) but whose bodies were not injured externally (Leviticus.10.5">v. 5), and similarly the deaths of the 250 followers of Korah (Numbers.16.35">Num. 16:35); Sanhedrin.52a">Babli 52a.. Then one lights a wick28Not really a wick but either liquid metal (Sanhedrin.52a">Babli 52a) or burning oil. and throws it into his mouth that it enters his innards and chars his intestines. Rebbi Jehudah says, in that case, if he would die in their hands they would not have fulfilled the duty of burning29By refusing to open his mouth, the condemned could force his executioners to choke him to death, which is considered the least painful kind of execution.; one opens his mouth forcefully with tongs, lights a wire and throws it into his mouth that it enters his innards and chars his intestines. Rebbi Eleazar ben Ṣadoq said, it happened that a Cohen’s daughter whored; they surrounded her with firewood and burned her. They told him, because the court at that time was incompetent30Not incompetent but Sadducee (or in any case anti-Pharisee)..
הלכה: מִצְוַת הַנִּשְׂרָפִין כול׳. וְיִתֵּן קָשָׁה בִּפְנֵי עַצְמוֹ. אָמַר. שֶׁלֹּא יָמוּת. שֶׁכֵּן מָצִינוּ שֶׁבְּשָׁעָה שֶׁסׇּתַם חִזְקִיָּהוּ אֶת מוֹצָא מֵימֵי גִיחוֹן הָעֶלְיוֹן בְּמָנִים דַּקִּים סְתָמָן. HALAKHAH: “The order of burning,” etc. Why does one not use the hard cloth alone? One said, that he should not die31To avoid strangling him.; as we find that when Hezekias closed the waters of the upper Giḥon spring322Chr. 32:2,4., he stopped it with soft clothing.
רִבִּי קְרִיסְפָּא בְשֵׁם רִבִּי יוֹחָנָן. בִּפְתִילָה שֶׁלְּבַעַץ הִיא מַתְנִיתָא. מָהוּ בִּפְתִילָה שֶׁלְּבַעַץ. רָבָּנִין דְּקַיְסָרִין אָֽמְרִין. אֵבֵר וְקַסִּטֵיטרִיּוֹן מְעוּרָבִין. אָמַר רִבִּי יוֹסֵי בֵּירִבִּי בּוּן. אַתְיָא כְמָאן דָּמַר. מַדְלִיק אֶת הַפְּתִילָה וְזוֹרְקָהּ לְתוֹךְ פִּיו. בְּרַם כְּמָאן דָּמַר. יוֹרֶדֶת לְתוֹךְ מֵיעָיו וְחוֹמֶרֶת אֶת בְּנֵי מֵיעָיו. בִּפְתִילָה שֶׁלְּנֶפְט הִיא מַתְנִיתָא. 33From here to the middle of Sanhedrin 7:5:2-9" href="/Jerusalem_Talmud_Sanhedrin.7.5.2-9">Halakhah 5 there exists a (frequently lacunary) Genizah text (G) in pure Galilean spelling (L. Ginzberg, Yerushalmi Fragments, pp. 258–259). Rebbi Crispus in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: The Mishnah speaks of a ba `aṣ34Usually, בעץ is translated as “tin.” But since the pure metal appears in the text under its Greek name, the Hebrew word (and its Aramaic counterpart אֲבָצָא) denote the commercial product, a lead-tin alloy. wire. What is a ba `aṣ wire? The rabbis of Caesarea say, a mixture of lead and tin35Greek κασσίτερος, ὁ, “tin”. In G: וקסיטיר.. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun said, this follows him who said, “one lights a wire and throws it into his mouth.” But for him, who says, “it enters his innards and chars his intestines,” the Mishnah speaks of a wick of Naphtha36The Sanhedrin.52a">Babli, 52a, only recognizes a wire of lead..
תַּנֵּי. קוֹדֶם לְאַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה עַד שֶׁלֹּא חָרֵב בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ נִיטְלוּ דִינֵי נְפָשׁוֹת מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל. בִּימֵי רִבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן יוֹחַי נִיטְלוּ דִינֵי מָמוֹנוֹת מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל. אָמַר רִבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן יוֹחַי. בְּרִיךְ רַחֲמָנָא דְּלִי נָא חֲכִים מֵידוֹן. 37Sanhedrin 7:1" href="/Jerusalem_Talmud_Sanhedrin.7.1">Halakhah 1:1, Notes 31–35. It was stated: Forty years before the Temple was destroyed, criminal jurisdiction was removed from Israel, and in the days of Simeon ben Ioḥai civil jurisdiction was removed from Israel. Rebbi Simeon ben Ioḥai said, praised be the Merciful, for I am not wise enough to judge.
אָמַר רִבִּי לָֽעְזָר בֵּירִבִּי צָדוֹק. תִּינּוֹק הָיִיתִי וְרוֹכֵב עַל כְּתֵיפוֹ דְאַבָּא. וְרָאִיתִי בַת כֹּהֵן שֶׁזִּינָּת וְהִקִּיפוּהָ חֲבִילֵי זְמוֹרוֹת וּשְׂרָפוּהָ. אָֽמְרוּ לוֹ. תִּינּוֹק הָיִיתָ וְאֵין עֵדוּת לְתִינּוֹק. כַּד חָמָא דָא מִילְּתָא לָא הֲוָה פָּחוּת מִבֶּן עֶשֶׂר שְׁנִין. כַּד הֲוָה מְהַלֵּךְ עִם רִבִּי לָא הֲוָה פָּחוּת מִן תַּלְתִּין שְׁנִין. דְּלֵית אוֹרְחָא דְגַבְרָא רַבָּא מְהַלֵּךְ עִם בַּר נַשׁ פָּחוּת מְתַּלְתִּין שְׁנִין. וְתַנֵּי כֵן. אָמַר רִבִּי. מַעֲשֶׂה שֶׁהָיִיתִי אֲנִי בָא וְרִבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בֵּירִבִּי צָדוֹק מִבֵּית שִׁירִיין וְאָכַלְנוּ תְאֵנִים וַעֲנָבִים עֲרַאי חוּץ לַסּוּכָּה. “Rebbi Eleazar ben Rebbi Ṣadoq said, I was a child riding on my father’s shoulder when I saw the daughter of a Cohen who had whored; they surrounded her with firewood and burned her. They told him, you were a child; a child cannot testify.”38Sanhedrin.52b">Babli 52b, Sanhedrin 9:3" href="/Tosefta_Sanhedrin.9.3">Tosephta 9:11. When he saw this, he39This is rather old for a child riding on his father’s shoulder. Probably it means “older than 5 years.” [More than 150 years separate the burning reported by R. Eleazar ben R. Sadoq I from R. Eleazar ben R. Sadoq II accompanying Rebbi.] was no less than ten years old. When he walked with Rebbi, he must have been no less than thirty years old since it is not fitting for a great personality to be accompanied by anybody less than thirty years of age. As we have stated: “Rebbi said, I was coming from bet Sirin with Rebbi Eleazar ben Rebbi Ṣadoq when we ate figs and grapes outside the tabernacle40On Tabernacles, only full meals have to be eaten in the sukkah; snacks may be eaten outside..