About this episode
Rabbi Shimon and Rabbi Eliezer each proposed an additional Noahide law – sorcery and kilayim (forbidden mixtures) respectively. From where did they derive this? . The Mishna details the courtroom procedure for cases involving blasphemy. It describes how witnesses testify about someone cursing God's name and how the judges must respond. Several key questions are examined: Which divine name must be blasphemed to incur the death penalty? What is the biblical source requiring judges to stand when hearing the testimony? What is the textual basis for the requirement to tear one's garments upon hearing God's name blasphemed? Is this rending of garments also required when hearing a non-Jew blaspheme? How is it permissible for a second witness to simply confirm "I heard the same" without repeating the blasphemous statement, when such indirect testimony is typically not accepted in Jewish courts? Which specific acts of idol worship are capital offenses and how these are derived from Torah verses? Which forms of idolatrous worship merit lashes rather than capital punishment for violating a negative commandment?