As a United States district judge, I also am called upon to apply strict punishment to certain crimes. Congress establishes the laws of punishment, and punishments sometimes exceed the crime. I also may hesitate and seek grounds of distinction, adjustment and departure in an effort to temper severity and avoid a harsh application to a particular case. But, ultimately, if a matter is clear, I must follow the rule. As we learn from the rabbis, though, the lesson is not always as clear as might meet the eye.
Law begins with definition, and definitions narrow scope and beget interpretation.
The Bible uses the verb nokev to mean blasphemy. As the rabbis of the Talmud held, nokev means to pierce, and a curse, in order to be blasphemous, must pierce God's very name, the ineffable and unpronounced name that we term the Tetragrammaton. One who curses God in vain, or curses some substitute name or attribute of God, may be impugned for bad conduct, but he is not guilty of blasphemy and he may not be put to death. Interpretation thus restricts the crime that qualifies for the sternest punishment. I, too, try to engage in the same sorts of interpretations, sometimes stretching and sometimes narrowing a rule to seek justice in the particular case.