Hello kollel!
In the daf we see both kippa and kanoim pogim. Kipah seems to be a way (Halacha lemoshe misinai) to kill someone who lacks the technical factors for one of the 4 misas. And the kanoi stands in place of the Sanhedrin to act.
My question is why don't we count these 2 and say there are actually 6 misas beis din?
Thank you,
Josh
Shalom R' Danziger,
Great to hear from you. A wonderful question! I never thought about this. Yasher koach for raising the fascinating issue!
It seems clear that Kanaim Pogim Bo should not classified a typical "Misas Beis Din ". And the basic reason for that would be this: Any person on the street, at least if(!) he is a Kanai, can and should execute this Halachah, even without the permission or authority of Beis Din -- see Rambam (Hilchos Sanhedrin 18:6).
The punishment of being locked in the Kipah, however, may be more challenging to clarify why it is not counted amnongst the Misos Beis Din. Still, there are a couple of considerations that may help resolve this. Firstly, although Rashi (v'Heicha Remiza) and the Ran (DH Masnisin) explain that it is a Halachah l'Moshe m'Sinai, there are nevertheless others who understand it to be a Takanah mid'Rabanan. See, for example, Shu"t Rivash #251. If so, then it would be fair to not count it amongst the Misos Beis Din "of the Torah."
Secondly, and perhaps more significantly, it can be argued that the Kipah altogether should not being a considered a Din of capital punishment (i.e. "execution") per se, in the first place. After all, it is not directly destroying the person's life, but rather hastening his demise through deprivation of nourishment etc. Also, in that same direction of thought, there is an opinion that Kipah is actually already asociated with a different Din, namely Misah b'Ydei Shamayim or Kares, as opposed to being its own death sentence carried out by a human court. See Rav Yerucham Perlow Sefer ha'Mitzvos Volume 3, Introduction, #22.
May you continue to attain greatness in Torah and Yiras Shamayim!
Warmly,
Yishai Rasowsky