Monday 1 January 2018

Shevuot 33: Fines and Monetary Testimony

A new Mishna:
If one says that he imposes an oath on someone else if s/he does not testify that another person owes him a deposit, a loan, stolen property or a lost object and the witness says that they will swear that they do not know testimony for him, they bring an offering.  They are liable to bring an offering for each of these things if their words are stated specifying that fact. If that first person asks the witnesses not to testify for him that he is owed a deposit of wheat, barley and spelt, and the witness claims that they do not know that testimony, they bring only one offering.  Similarly, if the answer that they swear they do not know that one owes him wheat, barley or spelt, they are liable for each.  

Witnesses are liable if asked to testify that one owes another for damage, half-damages, double payment of a thief, four or five-fold payments (for selling/slaughtering a stolen animal), for raping or enticing one's daughter, that one's son owes me for hitting me, or that one wouldn't him or burned his stack on Yom Kippur.

A second new Mishna teaches that witnesses are exempt if asked to testify that s/eh is a kohen, a levi, the child of mother who was not divorced or a chalutza, that another person is a kohen, levi, the child of a woman who is not divorced or a chalutza, one that has not raped or enticed his daughter, one who was wounded by his son or wounded/burned one's stack on Shabbat.

No comments:

Post a Comment