edim, witnesses, those who witness/testify
14
votes
2answers
159 views
Can you walk and chew gum at the same time?
Rambam (Hil. Edus 11:4) writes (translation from here):
...base people are disqualified as witnesses by Rabbinic decree. This refers to people who walk through the marketplace eating in the ...
12
votes
2answers
221 views
Why aren't Yemenites an ed echad on locusts?
I've heard that the reason we (most of us) don't eat the locusts enumerated as kosher in the Torah is that we cannot identify them. That is, we don't know what type of locust is referred to by the ...
7
votes
2answers
253 views
Edim Zomemim - Why Not Believe Them?
There is a concept of Edim Zomemim (Wikipedia has it translated as "Collusive Witnesses") (עדים זוממים).
Basically, if two witnesses testify about someone, and then two other witnesses come and say ...
7
votes
1answer
72 views
How did they establish in the USA, post-WW II, that a Rav had smicha prior to the Holocaust?
This is probably something that happened many times after World War II, when documentation was lost.
Here's the scenario:
A rabbi, who had led a kehila (congregation) in a small town in ...
5
votes
0answers
61 views
Coerced testimony in halacha
My chavrusa and I were going through Sanhedrin (40b) this evening, and the topic of how to get accurate statements from witnesses. Rashi mentioned the concept of moving the witnesses around in order ...
4
votes
1answer
87 views
התראה by phone?
Can warning for a capital crime be accomplished by telephone?
Hello?
Are you aware that it is currently שבת where you are?
Yes. I am aware of the punishment and prepared to do it anyway.
Are ...
4
votes
1answer
70 views
Is Gezel Hager a Knas?
A knas (penalty) is never paid through the admission of the one who would pay it. For example, if someone steals $1 he has to pay $2 back, but if he returns the money by himself, he only pays $1 back, ...
4
votes
1answer
46 views
What medical condition was this “epilepsy that causes mental instability at all times”?
Rambam's laws of testimony (written about 800 years ago) describe disqualification for testimony (eidut) due to mental instability. He writes:
The epileptic is disqualified when having a seizure, ...
3
votes
1answer
79 views
How can inanimate objects function as “witnesses” in the Tanakh?
How can inanimate objects function as edim and/ or edot in the Tanakh?
For example,
הַגַּל (Gen. 31:48)
הַשִּׁירָה (Deut. 31:19)
הַתֹּורָה (Deut. 31:26)
הַשָּׁמַיִם והָאָֽרֶץ (Deut. 31:28)
הָאֶבֶן ...
3
votes
1answer
63 views
What are the parameters of Kiddush ha-shem?
Kiddush Hashem, the sanctification of the name of God, is often associated with choosing death rather than violating a core tenet of Judaism (this is known as dying "al kiddush Hashem"). However, more ...
3
votes
1answer
66 views
Can a person who killed by accident subsequently be a witness?
If a person kills and there are only two witnesses and one witness has killed by accident before, are there two witnesses, or does the one who killed before not count?
3
votes
1answer
84 views
How can one who contradicted witnesses use those witnesses later?
Case 1
Plaintiff Reuvein made a claim against Shimon that Shimon owes $100 to Reuvein through a loan.
Shimon said: "I never borrowed anything from you".
Reuvein brought two witnesses (Pair A) that ...
2
votes
1answer
73 views
Pasul l'edus: what about ed echad?
People who participate in certain activities that are bad for society are disqualified from testifying. Also, those who've commit certain sins whose punishment is corporal, and haven't yet repented, ...
2
votes
0answers
123 views
Masturbation Invalidating Status as a Witness
Is a man who masturbates invalidated as a witness? The Gemara in Sanhedrin (26b) states that prohibited sexual relations do invalidate his status as a witness, but I could not find any literature on ...
1
vote
1answer
65 views
Why dosn't he get Kasher Zamam
Why in the case of Lo Matzti Libitcha Bisolen in Makkot does a husband only get Makkot and pay shouldn't he get Kasher Zamam and be killed just like what would have happened to his wife.
0
votes
1answer
79 views
Was Joseph's bad report on his brothers evidence or simply damaging?
"Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren, being still a lad even with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives; and Joseph brought evil ...
-4
votes
1answer
91 views
