ABSTRACT
There are a number of prohibitions in the Torah, transgression of which incurs the punishment of death (e.g., idolatry, desecration of the Sabbath, adultery, and so on). The transgressor of these prohibitions is tried by an earthly court that has the authority to convict and execute him, as it is stated in mSanhedrin 1:4: “Cases involving capital punishment [are decided] by twenty three [judges].” Nowhere in the halakhic literature is there a halakhic directive to the effect that a transgressor may inflict harm upon himself, that is, carry out “execution by the court” on himself. Moreover, killing oneself is forbidden by Jewish law and regarded as a prohibited act on a par with murder. Genesis Rabbah 37:13, for example, interprets the verse that prohibits Noahides from shedding blood as follows:
“But for your own life-blood I will require a reckoning” (Gen. 9:5) — this is to include one who strangles [kills] himself.1
