Commento su Deuteronomio 21:21

וכל ישראל ישמעו ויראו AND ALL ISRAEL SHALL HEAR AND FEAR — From here we derive the law that his execution requires public announcement by the court: “The man named so-and-so is stoned because he was a refractory and rebellious son” (Sanhedrin 89a).

וכל ישראל ישמעו וייראו, “and the whole people of Israel will hear about this execution, and they will become more G’d-fearing.” According to Nachmanides this is the Torah’s way of making clear to the people that G’d’s objective with this legislation is even more aimed at the people on the whole than at the victim, as it is hoped to make the carrying out of this legislation totally unnecessary in the future. Execution of the recalcitrant Torah scholar, זקן ממרא, who may even have been objectively correct in his interpretation of Torah law, is also based on the fact that the authority of legally appointed judges must be respected, even if until the final handing down of the judgment there is freedom to argue the merits of the verdict. Public interest as interpreted by the lawgiver, the Torah, sometimes overrides what we in our limited vision consider the infringement of the right of the individual. Stamping out the roots of religious disputes by nipping such dissent involving civil disobedience in the bud, prevents the forming of schisms and different groups ultimately each upholding a version of the Torah of their own. [Some of the wording is my own, though not the thrust of the message. Ed.]

From here [we derive] that there must be a proclamation, etc. You might ask: How does Rashi know that all that is required is a proclamation? But the verse writes here, “Let all Yisroel hear,” why does Rashi not write “that we wait with him until the festival” as he explains in parshas Shoftim (above 17:13) [the verse] “Let all the people hear and fear” [in the section] dealing with זקן ממרא (the rebellious elder)! The answer is that there (17:7) it is written, “Let the hand of the witnesses be against him first to execute him, and the hand of the entire people afterward,” whereas here it implies that the people of his town begin first to stone him as it is written, “And all the men of his city will stone him.” Therefore one must explain [here that the verse means] in the presence of all the people of his city, as Rashi explains below (22:21) regarding, “the people of her city will stone her” written in [the parsha of] the defamer, “in the presence of all the people of her city.” But if you say that here [too] we wait with him until the festival, why does it say [to stone him] in the presence of all the people of the city? It would take place in the presence of all Israel since all Israel would be there! Therefore, [this proves that] we certainly do not wait with him until the festival and when Scripture writes “Let all Israel hear,” it means that “there must be a proclamation at the courthouse.” Another answer is: One might ask why it is written [here], “All the men of his city will stone him etc.” when it is written [earlier] (17:7), “Let the hand of the witnesses be against him first etc”? You cannot answer that when it is written “all the men of his city” it means “in the presence of all the men of his city,” because Scripture writes “and let all Israel hear,” which implies that this takes place in the presence of all Israel. So the verse should have said, “All Israel will stone him.” If so, our [original] question returns, that it is written, “Let the hands of the witnesses, etc.” Rashi answers that “all Israel” comes [to teach] that there is a proclamation and [therefore we can answer] as we said originally, “All the men of his city will stone him” [means] “in the presence of all the people of his city.” See more about this subject in parshas Shoftim.

V. 21. וכל ישראל ישמעו ויראו (siehe zu Kap. 17, 13).