Statement
The Oral Torah expands on biblical law, filling in what the Bible leaves out, adding conditions and carving out exceptions. Rabbinic Jews do not carry out the death penalty for breaking the Sabbath because, they hold, no court in our time has the power to order it, and even a competent court would probably not have applied it to such a trivial offense. Their readings of scripture in effect made the penalty unenforceable, either by requiring extremely strict proof (a prior specific warning to the offender) or by limiting it to the era of desert wandering.
References
p. 61
supports · boxed feature · ch. 2
Efron, Lehmann and Weitzman. The Jews: A History. 3rd edition. New York and Abingdon: Routledge, 2019.
Section: Five Questions About the Jewish Bible
Verification anchor recorded · checked against the page text
p. 61
supports · boxed feature · ch. 2
Efron, Lehmann and Weitzman. The Jews: A History. 3rd edition. New York and Abingdon: Routledge, 2019.
Section: Five Questions About the Jewish Bible
Verification anchor recorded · checked against the page text
Scholarly debate
How did the rabbis understand biblical law and its death penalty?
2 positions · no single answer · take a seat →
- A
Binding law, elaborated by the Oral Torah
The rabbis
The Sinai revelation included an Oral Torah, not recorded in the Five Books and passed from Moses to Joshua, the prophets and the rabbis, which details biblical law, adds qualifications and makes exceptions.
- B
Death penalty emptied in practice
The rabbis, according to the authors
By demanding a very high standard of proof (a specific warning to the accused) or limiting the penalty to the days in the wilderness, the rabbis made it inapplicable; today no religious court would have authority to impose it.