“. The rule and it’s exceptions are really all a single expression of the rule makers will. ”
ah but you are forgetting a piece.
As we discussed in the very beginning there is also an innate sense of morality that the ribono shel olam put in the briyah. Even if He didnt command us not to kill we would still be expected not to. Moroever., even not knowing isnt an excuse. granted for beis din to kill you need hasraah, but this is by a Jew. If a goy kills he would be killed without hasraah,
what would you tell the goy if he asked “but how was I to know killing is wrong?” ?
Lets take this a step further. There is no lav “though shalt not rape”
Yet you acknowledge that it is wrong, for us and for a ben noach. The entire city of shchem was killed for this aveira. but again how were they to know? what azahara did they have?
“What means in essence that each time, you evaluated the two sins, and decided, yes , since the one with the greater punishment seems to be a greater sin (or the greater sin has the greater punishment, same thing) i can follow the rule stating that greater punishment equals greater sin.
But in reality you haven’t followed the rule at all, because you have already arrived at that conclusion yourself, before you are willing to accept that rule.”
not at all. I have no idea why cheilev is worse than nevilah. It isnt “logical” to me, SO when deciding which is worse, chazal tell us how to determine it. Driving on shabbos doesnt seem that terrible, so chazal say look at the onesh. But if I ask you whats worse getting hit with 1 psi of force vs 10 psi . Would you say well they are equal since both get malkos ?
what about getting hit or having an arm cut off?
Well, obviously hit is worse since it gets malkos, however when an arm is cut off r”l it is nosein letashlumin so there is no malkos. (the hitting in this case was not in public so no boshes, tzar was less than a shava peruta no ripui, sheves or nezek either)
Putting aside the sheer illogicality of maintaining that hitting someone is worse than maiming them (I know yet ANTOHER exception)
My point is the whole exercise of evaluating these aveiros in this way is strange. Is thatreall y how you think aveiros are evaluated?
In fact, I lost track of many of the wonderful marei mekomos we both brought , did any of them weigh severity of bein adom lechaveiro based on punishment (Not agadata punishment, I mean the classic halachic punishment of misas besi din, kareis, misah bidei shomayim etc ) ? We had many many that didn’t , do we have any that do?
If I say ” I’d rather get hit than maimed ” Does that make me a heretic ?
Is the girl who says “please don’t rape just steal my money” a heretic because she isnt following this rule?
(If you are saying that SHE can prefer to be robbed, but WE can’t prefer that she gt robbed, you’d have to clarfiy the difference)