[Avodah] halachic attitude to the convicted

[Daniel Eidensohn]

Contrary to common misunderstanding - imprisonment as legitimate 
punishment is mentioned in the gemora as well as in the rishonim and 
achronim

*Pesachim^ **(91a): *AND LIKEWISE ONE WHO HAS RECEIVED A PROMISE TO BE 
RELEASED FROM PRISON, AND AN INVALID, AND AN AGED PERSON WHO CAN EAT AS 
MUCH AS AN OLIVE, ONE SLAUGHTERS ON THEIR BEHALF. [YET IN THE CASE OF] 
ALL THESE, ONE MAY NOT SLAUGHTER FOR THEM ALONE, LEST THEY BRING THE 
PASSOVER-OFFERING TO DISQUALIFICATION THEREFORE IF A DISQUALIFICATION 
OCCURS TO THEM, THEY ARE EXEMPT FROM KEEPING THE SECOND PASSOVER,EXCEPT 
ONE WHO WAS REMOVING DEBRIS, BECAUSE HE WAS UNCLEAN FROM THE BEGINNING.  
GEMARA. Rabbah son of R. Huna said in R. Johanan's name: They learned 
this only of a heathen prison; but [if he is incarcerated in] an 
Israelite prison, one slaughters for him separately; since he was 
promised, he will [definitely] be released, as it is written, The 
remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies. R. Hisda 
observed: As to what you say, [If he is in] a heathen prison [one may] 
not [kill on his behalf alone]; that was said only [when the prison is] 
without the walls of Beth Pagi; but [if it is] within the walls of Beth 
Pagi, one slaughters on his behalf alone. What is the reason? It is 
possible to convey it [the flesh] to him and he will eat it.

*Mo'ed Koton(16a):* From where do we derive that one may place 
lawbreakers in chains, put in prison and prosecute them? Ezra (7:26) 
said: Let judgment be executed on him with all diligence whether it be 
to execute him, to uproot him, or monetary punishment or imprisonment.

*Rambam**/^ /**(Hilchos Chovel u'Mazik 8:11): ...*. Similarly all those 
who distress the community and harm it -- it is permitted to hand them 
over to the non-Jewish government to be beaten, imprisoned and punished. 
However if the person is only disturbing an individual and not the 
community -- it is prohibited to hand him over. It is also prohibited to 
cause the loss of the property of the moser -- even though it permitted 
to cause the death of the moser himself. That is because his property 
belongs to his heirs.

*Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach(*/Ve'aleyhi lo Yuval/, volume 2:113-114): 
Recounts in the name of Rabbi Yehuda Goldreicht: I asked Rabbi Auerbach 
about a particular Jew who stole a large sum of money and he was caught 
by the police in America. He was sentenced to a number of years in 
prison in America. Was it proper to assist in the collection of money 
for him [we were speaking about a large sum of $200,000] in order to 
fulfill the mitzvah of redeeming captives to have him released from 
prison? When Rabbi Auerbach heard this he stated "Redeeming captives?! 
What is the mitzvah of redeeming captives here? The mitzvah of redeeming 
captives is only when the gentiles are grabbing Jews, irrationally, for 
no proper reason, and placing them in prison. According to what I [Rabbi 
Auerbach] know, in America they do not irrationally grab Jews in order 
to squeeze money from them. The Torah says "do not steal" and he stole 
money -- on the contrary, it is good that he serve a prison sentence, so 
that he learns not to steal! [R' Broyde's article on mesira]



-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.aishdas.org/pipermail/avodah-aishdas.org/attachments/20091124/6153bb96/attachment-0001.htm>