To whom this may concern;
I would love to hear an explanation of why the Talmidim of Rabbi Yishmael were 'Sholek' (cooked/dissected) someone who was sentenced to death. Does the 'Din' of 'Met Asur Be-hanaah' not apply to Nochrim, assuming she was one? Would they not take Rabbi Yishmael's word for how many parts a human being has, which would imply they unintentionally noticed the number was incorrect (so what was their intention when they did this?) etc.
Yonatan M., Toronto, Canada
1. The Tzitz Eliezer (4:14) quotes a number of Acharonim who explain why it was permitted to benefit from the body of the woman in question. They explain that her body was not Asur b'Hana'ah either because she was killed by the king, or because she was a Nochris (as you suggested).
2. In my opinion, it is quite understandable that they wanted to show a clear scientific proof (as opposed to speculation) to back up the Mesorah that was received from Rebbi Yishmael. This would make their ruling more authoritative to people who might otherwise been skeptical about the Mesorah, by showing that they indeed counted and found the Mesorah to be correct.
All the best,
Yaakov Montrose