משנה: וְאֵי זֶהוּ שְׁתוּקֵי. כָּל־שֶׁהוּא מַכִּיר אֶת אִמּוֹ וְאֵינוֹ מַכִּיר אֶת אָבִיו. וַאֲסוּפֵי כָּל־שֶׁנֶּאֱסַף מִן הַשּׁוּק וְאֵינוֹ מַכִּיר לֹא אֶת אָביו וְלֹא אֶת אִמּוֹ. אַבָּא שָָׁאוּל הָיָה קוֹרֵא לִשְׁתוּקֵי בְּדוּקֵי. MISHNAH: What is a silenced one? Anyone who knows his mother but not his father. But a foundling is one collected from the public domain who knows neither his father nor his mother. Abba Shaul called the silenced one “investigated one”.
הלכה: וְאֵי זֶהוּ שְׁתוּקֵי כול׳. מָהוּ בְּדוּקִי. בְּדוֹק אַחֲרָיו. HALAKHAH: “What is a silenced one,” etc. What means “investigated one”? Investigate him106One has to apply the rules detailed in Ketubot 1:8:2-3" href="/Jerusalem_Talmud_Ketubot.1.8.2-3">Ketubot 1:8,Ketubot 1:9:2-5" href="/Jerusalem_Talmud_Ketubot.1.9.2-5">9 to determine whether or not the child is to be treated as a bastard. In the interpretation of the Kiddushin.74a">Babli, 74a, Abba Shaul holds that the unmarried mother is to be believed if she states that the child is not the result of an incestuous relationship.!
אַחֲוֵי דְּרִבִּי יְהוּדָה בַּר זַבְדִּי בְשֵׁם רִבִּי. תִּינּוֹק כָּל־זְמַן שֶׁהוּא מוּשְׁלָךְ בַּשּׁוּק אוֹ אָבִיו אוֹ אִמּוֹ מֵעִידִין עָלָיו. נֶאֱסַף מִן הַשּׁוּק צָרִיךְ שְׁנֵי עֵדִים. אָבִיו וְאִמּוֹ כִּשְׁנֵי עֵדִים הֵן. רַבָּנִין דְּקַיְסָרִין בְּשֵׁם רַב חִסְדָּא. הָדָא דְאַתְּ אָמַר בְּתִינּוֹק שֶׁאֵינוֹ מַרְגִּיעַ. אֲבָל בְּתִינּוֹק שֶׁהוּא מַרְגִּיעַ צָרִיךְ שְׁנֵי עֵדִים. וְאָבִיו וְאִמּוֹ כִּשְׁתֵּי עֵדִים הֵן. וְאַתְייָא כְּהַהִיא דְּאָמַר רִבִּי יַנַּאי. עֲגָלִים וְסַייָחִין הַמְקַפְּצִין אֵין לָהֶן חֲזָקָה. The brother of Rebbi Jehudah bar Zavdi in the name of [Rav]107This is the reading later in the Halakhah, in Baba batra 3:1, and in the Kiddushin.73b">Babli, 73b, against the reading here ר׳ meaning “Rebbi”.: As long as a baby lies in the public domain, either his father or his mother can testify about him108As long as the baby was not taken up, it is not called a foundling and one of the parents is empowered to declare it his child and not a bastard.. Once he was collected from the public domain, one needs two witnesses; its father and mother are like two witnesses109Once it is designated a foundling, it needs two witnesses to admit it to the Jewish marriage pool. If two people declare that they are its parents, they really disqualify themselves as witnesses since close relatives cannot testify. Nevertheless, they are admitted as if they were true and independent witnesses.. The rabbis of Caesarea in the name of Rav Ḥisda110In Baba batra 3:1, the rule is attributed directly to Rav Ḥisda. This may support S. Lieberman’s contention that Tractate Neziqin was edited by the rabbis of Caesarea.
In the Kiddushin.73b">Babli, 73b, Rava restricts this rule to years of famine or similar situations where the parents may be expected to be unable to care for their child.: That is, if the baby is not moving. But a baby which is moving needs two witnesses; its father and mother are like two witnesses. This parallels what Rebbi Yannai said: property rights on jumping calves and lambs cannot be proven by possession111If the ownership of an independently moving calf or lamb is in dispute, one cannot say that the person in whose herd it is at the moment is in possession and any other claimant has to bear the burden of proof since the animal could have wandered with the herd; the situations of both the person in possession and the claimant are equal and ownership has to be proven independently..
רִבִּי בָּא בְשֵׁם רַב חִסְדָּא. שְׁלֹשָׁה הֵן שֶׁהֵן נֶאֱמָנִין עַל אָתָר. חַיָּה וּשְׁייָרָה וְהַמְטָהֶרֶת חֲבֵרוֹתֶיהָ. חַיָּה. וַתִּקַּח הַמְייַלֶּדֶת וִתִּקְשֹׁר עַל שָׁנִי לֵאמֹר זֶה יָצָא רִאשׁוֹנָה. וּשְׁייָרָה. כְּהַהִיא דְאָמַר רִבִּי אַבָּא אַחֲוֵי דִיהוּדָה בַּר זַבְדִּי בְשֵׁם רַב. תִּינּוֹק כָּל־זְמַן שֶׁהוּא מוּשְׁלָךְ לַשּׁוּק אוֹ אָבִיו אוֹ אִמּוֹ מֵעִידִין עָלָיו. נֶאֱסַף מִן הַשּׁוּק צָרִיךְ שְׁנֵי עֵדִים. אָבִיו וְאִמּוֹ כִּשְׁנֵי עֵדִים הֵן. וְהַמְטָהֶרֶת חֲבֵרוֹתֶיהָ. כְּהַהִיא דְתַנִּינָן תַּמָּן. שָׁלֹשׁ נָשִים יְשֵׁינוֹת בְּמִיטָּה אַחַת. נִמְצָא דָם תַּחַת אַחַת מֵהֶן כּוּלָּן טְמֵיאוֹת. בָּֽדְקָה אַחַת מֵהֶן וְנִמְצֵאת טְמֵיאָה הִיא טְמֵיאָה וּשְׁתַּיִם טְהוֹרוֹת. אָמַר רִבִּי בָּא. וּבִלְבַד מֵעֵת לָעֵת. 112The same statements are in the Kiddushin.73b">Babli, 73b. Rebbi Abba in the name of Rav Ḥisda: Three are trustworthy immediately113They are trustworthy only immediately; after some time they must be treated under the rules which require two independent witnesses.: a midwife, a caravan, and the one who purifies her colleagues. A midwife: “The midwife took and wound a red string [around his hand] to indicate that this one was born first114Genesis.38.28">Gen. 38:28, quoted incompletely. In a multiple birth, the midwife has the authority to determine which child was born first, which may determine inheritance rights. The Babli empowers the midwife to testify who is whose child in case several women give birth in the same room..” A caravan, as Rebbi Abba, the brother of Rebbi Jehudah bar Zavdi said in the name of Rav: As long as a baby lies in the public domain, either its father or its mother can testify about him. Once it was collected from the public domain, one needs two witnesses; its father and mother are like two witnesses. The one who purifies her colleagues, as we have stated there115Mishnah Niddah 9:4.: “Three women sleep on one bed. If blood was found under one of them, all three are impure116In the impurity of menstruation.. If one of them checked herself out and found herself impure116In the impurity of menstruation., she is impure and the other two are pure.” Rebbi Abba said, only within 24 hours117The Babli emphatically disagrees and requires that the checking be done immediately upon leaving the bed..