Sanhedrin - Daf 29
- Examining witnesses for דיני ממונות, and what constitutes an admission
The next Mishnah states: כיצד בודקים את העדים – How do they examine the witnesses? They bring them into a room ומאיימין עליהן – and intimidate them against testifying falsely. The Gemara discusses what they are told, including: סהדי שקרי אאוגרייהו זילי – false witnesses are degraded, even in the eyes of those who hire them. They then send everyone out of the room, leaving only the most prominent witness. They ask him how he knows about the debt, and if he says the debtor told him, or someone else told him, the testimony is invalid. Rather, he must say: “בפנינו הודה לו שהוא חייב לו מאתים זוז” – He admitted to the plaintiff before us that he owes him two hundred zuz. Afterwards, they bring in the second witness and examine him, and if their testimonies match, the judges discuss the matter. This Mishnah supports Rav Yehudah, who quoted Rav saying: צריך שיאמר אתם עדיי – [the debtor] must say, “You are my witnesses” for the admission to be accepted. Otherwise, a Baraisa says, he can later claim "משטה אני בך" – “I was joking with you when I made my admission.”
- The נחש had excuses to absolve himself, but did not say any
A Baraisa teaches that Beis Din does not make claims on behalf of someone who does not make them himself (e.g., that his admission was in jest), but regarding דיני נפשות, we do make claims on the defendant’s behalf. However, for a מסית – an instigator to עבודה זרה, we do not, because the Torah says: לא תחמל ולא תכסה עליו – have no mercy, and do not protect him. Rebbe Yonasan said this can be derived from the נחש, because Rebbe Simlai said: הרבה טענות היה לו לנחש לטעון ולא טען – there were many pleas the serpent could have made to absolve himself, but since he did not, and was a מסית, Hashem did not make them for him. The Gemara explains that the נחש could have said: דברי הרב ודברי תלמיד דברי מי שומעין – in choosing between the words of the Master (Hashem) and the words of the student, whose words does one obey? דברי הרב שומעין – Surely, the Master’s words! Chizkiyah said, from where do we learn שכל המוסיף גורע – that anyone who adds actually detracts? Because חוה told the נחש that they were forbidden from eating or touching the עץ הדעת, whereas Hashem only forbade eating from it.
- When a הודאה can be recorded in a שטר
The Gemara says that witnesses to someone admitting a debt can only record it in a שטר if he made a kinyan confirming the debt. If the admission was before three people, Rav says they can write a שטר without the admitter’s permission, because they constitute a Beis Din, which has the power to collect debts. Rav Assi says they cannot write a שטר. Rav Adda bar Ahava says they can only write a שטר if כנפינהו איהו – he gathered them himself, because actively seeking three witnesses demonstrates that he wanted a Beis Din. Rava says they cannot write a שטר unless he said: הוו עלי דייני – “Be judges for me.” Finally, Mar bar Rav Ashi holds a שטר is only written if they set a place to judge and send the debtor a summons, and he then admits before them. There is a machlokes if a שטר may be written for an admission about קרקע – land, and the halachah is that a שטר may be written, since the admission merely informs us who the true owner is, and no collection is necessary. Ravina held the same applies to מטלטלין which are in his possession, but Rav Ashi said: כיון דמחסרי גוביינא – since they lack collection, a שטר cannot be written.
