The Gemara has lately been exploring situations where a person’s actions lead to the death of another. This is relevant to the larger issue under consideration in Tractate Sanhedrin because when a person’s actions lead directly to someone’s death, they are liable for the death penalty, but when they only indirectly cause death, they are not. We saw an example of this in the mishnah on Sanhedrin 76:
If one set a snake against another, they are exempt (from the death penalty). If they caused the snake to bite, Rabbi Yehuda deems them liable and the rabbis exempt them.
When a person releases a snake in the vicinity of another, they have some culpability for the actions of the snake, but they are exempt from receiving the death penalty if the snake attacks and kills the other person. Why? Because their actions only indirectly caused the death.
But what if instead of releasing the snake, the person uses it as a weapon, piercing the victim’s skin with its teeth? Rabbi Yehuda holds the person liable for the death penalty, the rabbis do not.
It’s not uncommon for a mishnah to present a difference of opinion about a matter of law, nor is it out of the ordinary for the Gemara to explore what lies behind the difference of opinion. Often, the dispute is based upon different readings of a biblical verse or different perspectives about what values or operating principles should be the determining factor. In this case however, Rabbi Yehuda and the rabbis each have their own theory about the biology of snakes, as we see on today’s daf.
Rav Aha bar Ya’akov says: When you analyze the matter you will find that according to the statement of Rabbi Yehuda, venom of a snake stands within its fangs. Therefore, the one who causes the snake to bite is liable to be executed with a sword, and the snake is exempt.
According to the statement of the rabbis, venom of a snake is discharged by the snake itself. Consequently, the snake is executed by stoning, and the one who caused the snake to bite is exempt.
At issue here, says Rav Aha bar Ya’akov, is who causes the venom to be released. Rabbi Yehuda holds that the venom is expelled automatically; therefore, he holds the person responsible for the killing and treats the snake like a murder weapon. The rabbis believe that the snake is in control of the release of the venom and so it is responsible for the death of the person that it kills.
There’s some scientific evidence that this is in fact true — that snakes can indeed control whether or not they release venom. This is the reason Maimonides gives when ruling that if a person sets a snake upon another, or even if a person imbeds a snake’s fangs into someone’s arm, it is the snake and not the person who is put to death, following the view of the rabbis.
When a person dispatches an animal, snake or otherwise, to attack another person and that person dies, the indirect nature of the killing takes the death penalty off the table. In such cases, the rabbis look to God to impose the death penalty if it is warranted. In their worldview, God can be certain where they cannot.
It is interesting to note that when the animal involved in such a killing is anything other than a snake, the animal is not executed, as they are not deemed to be responsible for their actions when they have been set upon their victim. The rabbis understood that an animal that has been incited to attack did not choose to do so on their own and is not fully responsible for the consequences of their actions. Snakes, however, are another matter. One has to wonder if the decision to hold them to a different standard than the rest of the animal kingdom had to do more with their ability to control the release of their venom or with the human inability to control their fear each time a snake slithered by.
Read all of Sanhedrin 78 on Sefaria.
This piece originally appeared in a My Jewish Learning Daf Yomi email newsletter sent on March 5, 2025. If you are interested in receiving the newsletter, sign up here.
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