Pesachim 75 a, b

In an effort to understand the commandment to roast the Paschal lamb in fire, we are witness to a horrifying discussion about executions.  First, we learn that a perforated grill is permitted to roast the lamb.  Rabban Gamliel chooses this method of roasting to save the pomegranate trees in Eretz Yisroel from needless destruction.  A wonderfully environmentally conscious decision.  In fact, he is said to have ordered his slave, Tavi, to roast the Paschal lamb on a perforated grill.  I believe that this is the first time that I have noticed a slave being mentioned by name.  I wonder about its significance.

The rabbis try to understand what it means to roast in fire.  Does fire include other objects that have been heated and thus share enough characteristics with fire to be called, "fire"?  They give examples of death sentences that are commanded to be performed by fire, and how that notion is interpreted in those situations.  

In their examination, they speak of a young woman who is a betrothed Kohen who "commits adultery".  She is given the death penalty in this circumstance.  That death is to be commuted by fire, and a pure leaden bar is melted; the molten lead is poured down her throat.  If this is not bad enough, the rabbis continue to discuss the legalities of similar executions, including being burned  by the fire of sticks and wood, being burned by plaster, and being burned by boiling water heated by fire.  Rav Nachman argues that because of Leviticus 19:18, "one must love one's fellow as oneself", we are obliged to find the quickest, easiest death.  A note by Steinsaltz tells us that while another person lives, we cannot fulfil this commandment.  We will put our lives and our needs first.  However, in this case, where a person awaits death, we have the opportunity to do right and hasten their death, as we would want for ourselves.

The rabbis then look at coals and how coals might differ from fire.  They ask about the heat that might be associated with skin diseases like leprosy and how these are diagnosed.  They put their minds to safer subjects.  

These rabbis were judges; they offered rulings when, for example, young women were accused of adultery.  Would they watch these horrific deaths?  Did they understand the implications of these seemingly throw-away descriptions?  

When a young woman slept with another man -- and let's say, for argument's sake, that she was not raped, or coerced, or seduced.  She was a willing participant.  A willing fifteen year-old participant.  To be killed painfully, publicly, harshly, for such an decision - it is unthinkable today.  We rise up when we learn of similar things happening today in communities around the world.  But in our own history?  How can we reconcile with this reality?

The daf ends with a new mishna that  focuses on rules regarding cooking - if the offering touches a 'wall' in the fire, for example, it may have been cooked in that way and not by fire thus it is disqualified.  This mishna also speaks about drops of gravy falling onto consecrated items.  Notes regarding ritual impurities and how they may be handled ensue.