Comment les témoins sont-ils faits zomemin? [Telle est l'intention: Ces témoins qui se trouvent être zomemin ("intrigant"), et en qui la loi de Hazamah n'est pas appliquée, c'est-à-dire, en qui (Deutéronome 19:19): "Alors tu lui feras comme il a planifié de faire à son frère "ne peut pas être satisfait, comment deviennent-ils zomemin?] (S'ils disent :) Nous témoignons à propos de cet homme [un Cohein] qu'il est le fils d'une divorcée [c'est-à-dire que sa mère a divorcé avant nous avant sa naissance, et il est un challal (inapte au sacerdoce)], ou le fils d'une chalutzah, nous ne disons pas [s'ils ont été prouvés zomemin, et ils étaient Cohanim], que celui-ci soit considéré comme le fils d'une divorcée ou du fils d'une chalutzah à sa place, [car il est écrit: "Alors tu lui feras comme il a comploté"—à lui, et non à sa semence. Et si vous le rendez un challal et qu'il est un Cohein, vous avez rendu sa semence inapte (pour le sacerdoce) pour toujours. Et si vous dites laissez-nous le rendre seul inapte et non sa semence—nous exigeons «comme il a planifié de faire», et cela n'obtient pas, car il a comploté pour rendre à la fois le jugé et sa semence inaptes], mais il reçoit quarante coups, [étant écrit (Ibid. 28: 1): «… et ils justifient le juste et incriminent le méchant, si le méchant est passible de meurtrissures, etc. ": Maintenant, est-ce parce qu'ils justifient le juste et incriminent le méchant que le méchant est passible de coups! Il est plutôt (sous-entendu) que si les témoins incriminent celui qui est (vraiment) juste, et que d'autres témoins viennent et justifient celui qui a toujours été juste, rendant les (premiers) témoins méchants (c'est-à-dire zomemin), alors: " s'il est passible de meurtrissures, le méchant "(dans le cas où ce qu'ils voulaient pour le juste ne peut pas leur être fait)]. (S'ils disent :) Nous témoignons de cet homme qu'il est passible de l'exil, nous ne disons pas qu'ils s'exilent à sa place, mais il reçoit quarante coups, [il est écrit (Ibid. 19: 5): "... il fuira "— lui, et non son zomemin.] (S'ils disent :) Nous témoignons de cet homme qu'il a divorcé de sa femme [devant nous ce jour et ce jour] et ne lui a pas donné sa kethubah, [et l'autre dit: Je n'ai pas divorce d'elle et je ne lui dois pas de kethubah] —maintenant, aujourd'hui ou demain, ne lui donnera-t-il pas une kethubah? [c'est-à-dire, que lui paieront-ils? Si vous dites la kethubah entière, pourrait-il ne pas mourir ou divorcer d'elle aujourd'hui ou demain, auquel cas elle la recevra de toute façon, de sorte qu'ils ne lui auraient causé aucune perte!] (Plutôt) Nous estimons combien on voudrait donnez pour la kethubah de cette femme [sur la possibilité que] si elle est veuve ou divorcée, [il recevra la kethubah] et si elle meurt, son mari héritera d'elle [et il perdra l'argent qu'il a donné. Et c'est ce montant que les témoins donnent au mari.] (S'ils disent :) Nous témoignons de cet homme qu'il doit à son voisin mille zuz, qu'il doit payer dans les trente jours; et il dit: d'ici dix ans, nous estimons combien on donnerait pour avoir mille zuz en main pendant dix ans plutôt que pendant trente jours.
Bartenura on Mishnah Makkot
When do witnesses become zomemin. This is what it means to say, those witnesses that were found zomemin and we don't do to them the law of hazama, meaning that we don't fulfill in them "And do to them as they planned to do to their brother", how are they made zomemin.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Makkot
Introduction
The first six mishnayoth of Makkoth deal with perjuring witnesses, who according to Deuteronomy 20:18-19 are to receive the same punishment that they tried to impose upon the accused. For instance if they testified that a person was guilty of murder and therefore should be executed and then were found to have perjured themselves, they are themselves to be executed.
The first mishnah points out cases where this punishment upon the witnesses cannot be carried out, at least not in a simple fashion.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Makkot
We testify about this man so-and-so. Kohen.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Makkot
Although this mishnah begins with the question, how do witnesses become perjurers, we will not learn the mishnaic definition of perjury until mishnah four. This mishnah will instead discuss the punishment of perjuring witnesses who do not, for various, reasons, simply receive the punishment they tried to impose upon the accused.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Makkot
That he is the son of a divorced woman. In front of us his mother was divorced before she gave birth and behold he is unfit for the Temple service.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Makkot
How do witnesses become liable [to punishment] as perjurers? [If they say:] “We testify that so and so [a priest] is a son of a woman who had [formerly] been divorced or a haluzah,” it is not said that each witness should himself be as if he was born of a divorcee or a haluzah; rather he receives forty [lashes]. According to Jewish law a kohen (a priest) is not allowed to marry a divorcee or a woman who had undergone the process known as “halitzah”, the refusal of the levirate marriage (marriage to the husband’s brother upon the husband’s death when he had no children, see Deuteronomy 25:5-10). A child born of the union of a priest and a divorcee or a halutzah loses his priestly status. If witnesses falsely testify that a priest is really the son of a divorcee or a halutzah, they are attempting to cause him to forfeit his status. Although in general a perjuring witness is punished with the punishment which he tried to impose, in this case it is impossible to do so. Rather he is punished by being lashed forty times (Deuteronomy 25:3).
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Bartenura on Mishnah Makkot
We don't say. If they were made zomemin and they are Kohanim we make them into the son of a divorced woman to fulfill "like they planned", as it is written (Deuteronomy 19:19) "Do to them as they planned", to them and not their children. If we made them unfit for the Temple service, and they are Kohanim, we make their children unfit forever. If you'll say let us invalidate them alone and not their children, we need to fulfill "as they planned", and this wouldn't be doing that, since they planned to invalidate the accused and his children.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Makkot
[If they say]: “We testify that so and so is guilty of [a crime entailing] exile”, it is not said that each witness should himself be exiled; rather he receives forty [lashes]. If witnesses falsely testify that another person committed a crime which entails exile (we will learn which crimes entail exile in chapter two), the perjuring witnesses are not themselves exiled. Rather they received forty lashes.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Makkot
Rather they are lashed 40 times. As the verse states (Deuteronomy 25:1-2) "They vindicated the righteous one and convicted the wicked one then it will be if the wicked one deserves to be beaten", [Just] because they convicted the wicked one it will be that he deserves to be beaten? Rather, [it is referring to] witnesses that made wicked a righteous one and came another set of witnesses and they vindicated the original righteous one and changed these [first witnesses] into wicked ones, if that will be then beat the wicked one [with lashes].
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English Explanation of Mishnah Makkot
[If they say:] “We testify that so and so divorced his wife and has not paid her kethubah” seeing that either today or tomorrow he [the husband] will pay her kethubah, the assessment should be made how much a man will be willing to pay [now] for the ownership of her kethubah, on the condition that if she should be widowed or divorced [he will take it over] but if she should die, her husband will inherit her [estate including the kethubah]. If a person falsely testifies that a man divorced his wife and did not pay her kethubah (marriage settlement) it does not make sense to punish him with a fine equal to the kethubah. Since if the husband should in the future divorce his wife or die and then have to pay the kethubah in any case, by falsely testifying now the perjuring witness didn’t necessarily cause the husband the loss of the kethubah. Rather we assess how much a person would want to pay to take a risk on buying the woman’s kethubah, on condition that if she would be divorced or widowed he would get the kethubah but if she should die before her husband he would not get the kethubah (since the husband inherits his wife). This is what he kethubah is worth at the present moment, while she and her husband are still alive, and this is what the perjuring witnesses therefore have to pay.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Makkot
We don't say this one goes to exile. Since it is written regarding a murderer (Deuteronomy 19:5) "He shall flee", he [the murdeer] and not zommemin.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Makkot
[If they say]: “We testify that so and so owes his friend one thousand zuz on the condition that he will pay him within thirty days”, while the debtor says “ten years”, the assessment should be made how much a man is willing to pay for the use of a thousand zuz, whether he pays them in thirty days or ten years. In this scenario the witnesses falsely testify that a certain person borrowed a thousand zuz and must pay them back within thirty days. The accused does owe the thousand zuz but must pay them back only within ten years and not thirty days. Again, in this case we cannot merely fine the perjurers one thousand zuz since in the end the accused will have to pay back the zuz. Rather the witnesses tried to cause him to lose ten years minus thirty days use of the money, and they are therefore fined whatever a person would pay to use one thousand zuz for ten years minus thirty days.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Makkot
That he divorced his wife. in front of us such and such a day, and this one [the accused] says "I did not divorce her and I am not obligated to pay her ketubah.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Makkot
Is it not that either today or tomorrow. Meaning what do they [the zomemin] pay to him [the accused]? If you say the entire ketubah, perhaps he will die or perhaps he will divorce her today or tomorrow and in the end pay her anyways, and then it comes out that they weren't making him lose anything.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Makkot
We assess how much a person would be willing to pay for this one's ketubah. due to an uncertainty. Since if she is widowed or divorced the one who purchased the ketubah will take [the whole value], and if she dies her husband inherits her and [the purchaser] loses the money he gave [for the ketubah], and this is what the [zomemin] witnesses stipulate to the husband.
