Julian Ungar-Sargon

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Daf Ditty

A wide-ranging commentary on the daily page of Talmud.

Priest Guiding a Sacrificial Bull – Fragment of a mural painting (2040-1870 BC) from the palace of Zimri-Lim, Mari (modern Tell Hariri, Iraq) Aleppo, Syria, National Museum

Bava Kamma 72: פְּסֵידָא דְלָקוֹחוֹת

jyungar January 13, 2024

For the source text click/tap here: Bava Kamma 72

To download, click/tap here: PDF

A new mishnah states with regard to one who stole an ox or a sheep, as established based on the testimony of two witnesses, and he subsequently slaughtered the animal or sold it, based on the testimony of two other witnesses, if both these witnesses and those witnesses were found to be conspiring witnesses, the first set of witnesses, who testified about the theft of the animal, pay the alleged thief the double payment, which is what they had conspired to cause him to pay.

The Gemara then states: Abaye said: A zomeim witness is disqualified (for any other testimony) retroactively (from the time that he testified). Rava said: He is only disqualified from the time that he is found to be a zomeim.

The Gemora explains: Abaye said that he is disqualified retroactively, for it is at that time that he became an evildoer, for the Torah states: Do not place your hand with an evildoer to be a corrupt witness.

Rava said that he is only disqualified from the time that he is found to be a zomeim, for his disqualification is itself a novelty (so why should we stretch it). This is because the two sets of witnesses are two against two, so why should we listen to the second set more than the first?

Accordingly, we can only apply the disqualification novelty from the time that they become zomemin.

We explore differences between the Code of Hammurabi and our Torah texts applying to civil law and witnesses.

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Julian Ungar-Sargon

This is Julian Ungar-Sargon's personal website. It contains poems, essays, and podcasts for the spiritual seeker and interdisciplinary aficionado.​