The Torah in Parashat Ki-Teseh (Debarim 21:22) commands that if a person is convicted of a capital offense, then his remains should be hung on a tree after his execution. This applies specifically to offenders guilty of violations that are punishable by Sekila (stoning).
The Sefer Ha’hinuch explains that the Torah requires hanging the violator’s remains in order that they may be publicly displayed. People will see the offender’s body, and this will deter them from following his example and transgressing Torah law.
After the violator’s execution, the court officials would take a tree or piece of wood and thrust it into the ground. The body would then be tied around a branch or piece of wood protruding from the tree or stick. It was to remain there until the end of the day, when it would be removed from the tree and then buried along with the stone used to kill him, and the branch or piece of wood upon which he was hung. This is done so that the people would not ever see the stone or the tree and be reminded of this violator’s capital offense. Once he received his due punishment, and he was put on display to instill fear within the people, the matter should not be brought to mind again.
This Misva applies only in the times of the Bet Ha’mikdash, when courts had the authority to administer capital punishment, and it is binding only upon those assigned the task of executing violators convicted of capital offenses.
In the next verse, the Torah introduces a prohibition against leaving the violator’s remains hanging on a tree past sunset. Before sundown, the officials are required to remove the body and bury it. If they leave the violator’s remains on the tree, they have transgressed this prohibition. They are not liable to Malkut, because this command is transgressed through inaction, and not by performing an action.
The great Kabbalist Rav Moshe Corodovero (Safed, 1522-1570) discusses the broader significance of this command, and the practical lessons that it teaches us. He explains that after a sinner receives his due punishment, Hashem has compassion on him, and his soul is restored to its original pristine state. Even though this individual committed a grave offense, for which he deserved Sekila, nevertheless, after his wrongdoing is rectified, it is erased, and thus even the stone that killed him, and the branch on which he was hung, are buried with him.
Additionally, Rav Cordovero writes, this Halacha symbolizes the fact that when Hashem punishes the Jewish People by allowing the enemy nations to persecute us, they are then punished for mistreating Hashem’s people. Just as the stone is buried with the sinner after he receives his punishment, similarly, after the Jewish People are punished, the gentiles who tormented them are “buried” and receive their due retribution.
Rav Cordovero explains on this basis the verse in Parashat Ha’azinu (Debarim 32:23) in which G-d pronounces, “Hisai Achaleh Bam” – literally, “I will use up all My arrows on them.” This verse can be read to mean that G-d will get rid of the “arrows” used to punish Beneh Yisrael, meaning, the enemy nations whom He allowed to wage war against us. Just as the arrow and the branch, which were agents to punish the sinner, are buried underground and eliminated from the earth, similarly, those who harm Am Yisrael as punishment for our wrongdoing will be eliminated. The Gemara in Masechet Gittin (56) tells that the Roman emperor Nero understood this concept. When he prepared to destroy Jerusalem, he realized that G-d would later punish him for fighting against the Jewish Nation. He therefore decided to withdraw, and even ended up repenting and converting to Judaism.
The Tomer Debora adds that this is the meaning of the verse at the end of the Book of Micha (7:19), “Ve’tashlich Bi’msulot Yam Kol Hatotam,” describing how Hashem will cast all of Am Yisrael’s sins into the depths of the sea. This image, the Tomer Debora explains, teaches that after the Jewish People repent, G-d will take their sins and “throw” them onto the enemy nations, represented in this metaphor by the depths of the sea. As punishment for hurting Am Yisrael, they will bear the guilt that Am Yisrael had borne, and will thus be severely punished. The Midat Ha’din (attribute of justice) that allowed the enemy nations to persecute the Jewish Nation will be turned against them after Beneh Yisrael receive their punishment and perform Teshuba.
The Tomer Debora applies this concept to our interpersonal relations. When we see a Jew who had sinned experiencing hardship and suffering, rather than distancing ourselves from this person, we should specifically draw him close, show him love and compassion, and encourage him to repent. We must recognize that after he receives his punishment, his wrongdoing is rectified, and he is deserving of our kindness. Just like the sinner’s remains are removed from the tree and are buried along with the stone and branch, signifying the erasure of his sins, we must extend love and kindness to every sinner who has received his punishment, acknowledging that he has received what he deserved and is now worthy of support and encouragement.