xxviii
Introduction to Tract Sabbath.
the crime was stoned to death.' This man was punished, not because his crime merited the penalty, but because the times made it necessary." The inference is therefore clearly established that the man was punished for political reasons, and that the violation of the Sabbath laws did not involve capital punishment.
III. In Yoma, 85b, it is written: "R. Jonathan b. Joseph said, 'The Sabbath is holy unto you,'" implying that the Sabbath is handed over to you and not you to the Sabbath.[1]
IV. R. Johanan states elsewhere that in Palestine, where the Jews were together, no public ground existed.
Michael L. Rodkinson.
Cincinnati, March, 1896.
- ↑ This is taken from Mechilta, an authority older than the Talmud, and stands in no connection with the Halakha. Furthermore, the mystic scrolls may in some instances have had reference to political necessities of the day, but by no means in all cases.—The Reviser.
