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Laws of Acceptance of Testimony
Laws of Government
Sources
A
MISHNA:
The court
would examine
the witnesses in capital cases
with seven interrogations,
i.e., interrogatory questions, and they are:
In which seven-year
period, that is, in which cycle of seven years within a jubilee did the event occur;
in which year
of the Sabbatical cycle did the event occur;
in which month
did the event occur;
on which
day
of the month
did the event occur;
on which day
of the week did the event occur;
at which hour
did the event occur; and
in what place
did the event occur…
Sanhedrin 40a:1-14
The
baraita
continues: If
there were four or five witnesses signed on the document, and one of them was found
to be
a relative
of one of the parties in the document,
or
one of them was found to be otherwise
disqualified
from bearing witness, the
testimony
on the document may be
established via the other
witnesses.
Bava Batra 162b:4
The Gemara relates:
Ameimar deemed
a document
valid in
the case of
one witness
signed on the document
in writing and one witness
testifying
orally
to the contents of the document.
Rav Ashi said to Ameimar: And what of that
statement
of Abaye,
which deemed such a document invalid? Ameimar
said to him: I did not hear
of it, as though
to say: I do not hold
like it; I disagree with Abaye.
Bava Batra 165a:12
The
baraita
teaches:
And one who knows testimony in support of another but does not testify on his behalf
is exempt from liability according to human laws but liable according to the laws of Heaven.
With what
circumstances
are we dealing? If we say
that the case
involves two
people who could testify, and their evidence would render the other party liable to pay, it
is obvious
that each of them is liable according to the laws of Heaven; he has committed a transgression
by Torah law: “If he does not utter it…
Bava Kamma 56a:5-6
Rava says:
The ruling of
the mishna here,
that cases of monetary law require inquiry and interrogation, is stated
with regard to laws of fines,
not standard cases of monetary law.
And the other
sources, i.e., the mishna in tractate
Shevi’it
and the
baraita
, which do not require inquiry and interrogation, are stated
with regard to
cases of
admissions and loans,
in which there is cause to relax the procedures of deliberation, as explained.
Rav Pappa says: This and that,
i.e…
Sanhedrin 32b:2-3
A witness is commanded to testify in court with regard to all pertinent testimony that he knows. This applies both to testimony that will cause his colleague to be held liable or testimony that will vindicate him. With regard to financial cases, this applies only when he is summoned to testify. The source for this commandment is Leviticus 5:1: "And should he witness, see, or know of the matter, if he does not testify, he will bear his sin." If the witness was a wise man of great stature and the judges of the court did not possess the same degree of wisdom, he may refrain from testifying…
Mishneh Torah, Testimony 1-5
§ Having mentioned the issue of testimony in the absence of a litigant, the Gemara discusses this matter in greater detail.
Rav Ashi said
that
Rabbi Shabbtai says:
The court
accepts witnesses
even
in the absence of a litigant. Rabbi Yoḥanan wondered at this
statement of Rav Ashi, and said:
Does
the court in fact
accept witnesses in the absence of a litigant?
Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina received
the following guideline
from
Rabbi Yoḥanan: The court accepts testimony in the absence of the defendant only in a case
where
the plaintiff
was…
Bava Kamma 112b:4-7
Abaye said to him: You say testimony? Testimony is different, as the Merciful One states: “From their mouths”
(Deuteronomy 17:6), which emphasizes that testimony must come from the witnesses’ mouths
and not from their writing.
Gittin 71a:6
The Gemara asks further:
But since
the witnesses
are not killed
for their conspiratory testimony in the case of a
ḥavera
,
how can she be killed
for her action? Their testimony is
testimony that you cannot render conspiratory
testimony, i.e., the witnesses cannot be punished for their testimony,
and any testimony that you cannot
potentially
render conspiratory
testimony is
not categorized as testimony.
The Gemara answers:
That is also what he is saying: Since
the witnesses
are not killed…
Sanhedrin 41a:13-41b:9
If
we leave it with the witnesses
who signed the document,
if they remember
themselves the date when the deed was given to the woman, the date need not be written in the document itself, for
let them come forth and testify
from their memory.
And if
they do
not
remember by themselves, then
there are times when they see
the date
that is written and come forth to testify
on that basis.
And the Merciful One states:
“By the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall a matter be established” (Deuteronomy 19:15)…
Yevamot 31b:10
The Gemara asks tangentially about the statement:
And so
they concede with regard to testimony over the two pubic hairs
of a boy or of a girl: What
is this referring to?
If we say
it is referring to testimony that a girl has reached majority, in which
one
witness
says
that he saw
one
hair
on
the
her
lower
back and one
witness
says
that he saw
one
hair
on her
lower
abdomen,
that is difficult. A girl is considered to have reached maturity when she has two pubic hairs…
Sanhedrin 30b:12-26
§ The mishna teaches that
Rabbi Yosei says: In what
case
is this statement said…what shall two brothers do
in a case where they, together with others, saw someone who killed a person? Rabbi Yosei says that it is only with regard to cases of capital law that one disqualified witness voids the entire testimony, and Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi says that this is the
halakha
even with regard to cases of monetary law. The mishna continues and says that it is only if the witnesses forewarned the perpetrators that they are classified as witnesses capable of voiding the entire testimony…
Makkot 6a:8-6b:7
The Gemara explains the dispute:
And here
it is
with regard to concern about contempt of court
that
they disagree. Rabbi Elazar holds: Once we downgraded him
from the presumptive status of priesthood based on the testimony of two witnesses,
we do not
then
elevate him,
as
we are concerned about contempt of court,
as a reversal in the court’s decision creates the impression that the court operates indecisively.
And Rabban Shimon Ben Gamliel holds: We downgraded him
from the presumptive status of priesthood
and we
then
elevate him…
Bava Batra 32a:4
And
Rabbi Yirmeya
sent
back his response
to them: I am not worthy
of being the recipient of the query
that you sent to me. But this
is how
the opinion of your student leans: That they should be combined.
According to this version of the exchange between Rabbi Yirmeya and his questioners there is no relevance to Ameimar’s statement.
Mar bar Ḥiyya said
yet a third version, that the dilemma the colleagues of the academy
sent to
Rabbi Yirmeya is
as follows:
If there are
two
witnesses
who testified in this court and then testified in…
Bava Batra 165b:9-12
Rather, when Rami bar Yeḥezkel came, he said: Do not listen to those principles that my brother
Rav
Yehuda
bar Yeḥezkel
established in the name of Shmuel
with regard to a witness and a judge joining together to testify.
Ketubot 21a:15
GEMARA:
The Gemara seeks to draw a comparison between this dispute of Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yehuda and a dispute between them on a different topic.
We learned
in a mishna
there:
If
one
witness
says
that an incident occurred
on the second
day
of the month and one
other witness
says
that it happened on
the third
day of that month,
their testimony is valid.
This minor contradiction does not invalidate the testimony. The mishna explains: The reason is
that this
witness
knows about the addition
of an extra…
Pesachim 11b:10-12a:5
§
Rav Naḥman said
that
witnesses who say: Our statement was
a statement of
trust
and we signed a document of trust,
are not deemed credible.
Similarly, witnesses who said:
Our statement was
a statement accompanied by
a declaration
by the person who is rendered a debtor by this document that he was coerced into the agreement, thereby invalidating the document,
are not deemed credible. Mar bar Rav Ashi said
that witnesses who said:
Our statement was
a statement of
trust, are not deemed credible…
Ketubot 19b:5-9
Mar bar Isak
said to him: Is this the
halakha
?
Isn’t there a principle in these cases that
the burden of proof rests upon the claimant?
Rav Ḥisda
said to him: This is
the way
I judge you and all of your fellow violent
people. Mari bar Isak
said to him: Ultimately,
if that is your concern,
witnesses will come, and they will not testify
in his favor. They will lie and testify in my favor. Rav Ḥisda
said to him: They will not perform two
wrongs; they will not refrain from telling the truth and also testify falsely.
Bava Metzia 39b:9
§
And Rabba bar Rav Huna says:
In the case of
a certain Torah scholar who knows testimony
relevant to a certain individual,
but
it is
a demeaning matter for him to go to the court
consisting
of a judge who is less
prominent
than he
in order
to testify before him, let him not go
and testify.
Rav Sheisha, son of Rav Idi, said: We learn
that
halakha
in a mishna (
Bava Metzia
29b)
as well:
If
one found a sack or a basket, and it is not his
typical
manner to take
it…
Shevuot 30b:9-11
Rav Ḥisda
said to him: Go bring witnesses that you are his brother. He said to
Rav Ḥisda:
I have witnesses, but they are afraid of
Mari,
who is a violent man,
and will not testify. Rav Ḥisda
said to
Mari:
Go bring witnesses that he is not your brother.
Mari
said to him: Is that the
halakha
?
Isn’t the guiding principle in cases of this sort:
The burden of proof
rests
upon the claimant?
Let the man claiming part of my inheritance bring proof supporting his claim…
Ketubot 27b:12
Laws of Government
דיני ממשלה
Laws of Judges and Courts
Laws of Court Punishments
Procedures for Judges and Conduct towards Them
Laws of Acceptance of Testimony
Laws of Validation of Contracts
Laws of Those Disqualified from Testimony
Laws of False Witnesses and Colluding Witnesses
High Court Authority and Insubordination to It
Laws of Wars
Laws of the King Messiah
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