Forty times he shall strike him; he shall not add, lest he continue to strike him beyond these with a great blow, and your brother be degraded before your eyes.
English: ‘And your brother be degraded’ – [they assess how many lashes he can bear] because it is written ‘and your brother be degraded’: you strike him while he is still alive; if they strike him without assessing how many he can bear it is possible he will die under the blows, and after death he is no longer subject to degradation.
On the daf / in context: The requirement of a prior medical assessment is derived from the continuing status of ‘brother’ who can still experience degradation.
Type of Learning
Derash linking assessment to the possibility of surviving degradation (Bavli).
What Is Learned
Before lashes are administered the court must assess the offender’s capacity. The goal is measured degradation of a living person, not death.