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Shevuos 35a

שבועות ל״ה ע״א

Shevuot 35a

Learn Shevuos 35a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Shevuos 35a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

שבועת העדות: when witnesses are exempt, and which oath wordings and names of God make them liable

Overview

This amud opens by finishing an earlier point: since שבועת העדות leaves out the word "ונעלם," even a witness who swears falsely on purpose (מזיד) brings a קרבן. Then a משנה lists five cases where witnesses who falsely deny knowing testimony are exempt. They are exempt when the testimony is not about a real money claim, when the oath came before they knew anything, when the oath was called out to a general crowd, when they are unfit to testify, and when the demand did not come from the תובע himself. The גמרא brings a ברייתא with a פסוק as the source for each case, and רבי אלעזר reads "אם לוא יגיד" as "to him," meaning the plaintiff. A second משנה teaches which wordings count as an oath, and that God's names and descriptions count while heaven and earth do not. It also covers cursing with these names, where רבי מאיר and the חכמים disagree. In the גמרא, רב יהודה and then אביי explain how "משביעני עליכם" works without God's name. The amud ends with a contradiction: a ברייתא says חנון ורחום may be erased. אביי begins to answer that the משנה means "by the One Who is gracious."

Opening lines

לְהָכִי כַּתְבַהּ רַחֲמָנָא לְעֵדוּת

For this reason the Merciful One wrote [the oath of] testimony

גַּבֵּי שְׁבוּעַת בִּיטּוּי

next to the oath on an utterance

וְגַבֵּי טוּמְאַת מִקְדָּשׁ וְקָדָשָׁיו –

and next to the impurity of the Temple and its holy foods

דִּבְכוּלָּן נֶאֱמַר בָּהֶן ״וְנֶעְלַם״,

for in all of them it says "and it was hidden,"

The steps (33)

  1. ResolutionWhy the Torah places the oath of testimony next to sections that say 'it was hidden'
  2. StatementNo liability when the testimony is about a promised gift
  3. StatementNo liability when the oath came before the witnesses knew anything
  4. StatementNo liability when the oath is called out to a general crowd
  5. StatementUnfit witnesses are exempt
  6. StatementThe demand must come from the plaintiff himself
  7. ProofSource that a promised gift is excluded
  8. ConclusionSpelling out the comparison: a real money claim
  9. ProofThe oath must come after the witnesses already know the testimony
  10. StatementA general oath in the בית הכנסת, even with his witnesses present
  11. ChallengeIsn't that obvious?
  12. ResolutionThe new point: even when he stands right next to them
  13. ProofA ברייתא supports שמואל about witnesses inside a crowd
  14. StatementWitnesses who are not fit to testify are exempt
  15. StatementAn oath sent through a slave, or said by the defendant
  16. QuestionHow does the פסוק teach this?
  17. Responseרבי אלעזר: 'לוא' is read as 'to him'
  18. StatementDifferent wordings that count as an oath
  19. StatementHeaven and earth do not count, but God's names do
  20. StatementCursing God with these names: a מחלוקת
  21. StatementCursing a parent with these names: the same מחלוקת
  22. StatementCursing yourself or another person with God's name
  23. Statement'God shall strike you' is the Torah's own curse
  24. StatementBlessing-style phrases: רבי מאיר versus the חכמים
  25. QuestionWhat does a plain 'I make you swear' mean?
  26. Responseרב יהודה: he means the oath written in the Torah
  27. Challengeאביי: 'chaining' is not in the Torah
  28. Responseאביי: The speaker adds the word 'with an oath'
  29. StatementThe משנה's list of God's names and descriptions
  30. ChallengeAre Gracious and Compassionate really names of God?
  31. ProofThe ברייתא: names of God that may not be erased
  32. ChallengeThe ברייתא: descriptions of God that may be erased, including Gracious and Compassionate
  33. Resolutionאביי: The משנה Means 'By the One Who Is Gracious'