[5a - 48 lines; 5b - 56 lines]

1)[line 1]הכרזהHACHRAZAH - a public announcement

The Gemara (Sanhedrin 89a) states that four cases of capital punishment need to be announced publicly: Mesis (see Background to Sanhedrin 53:8); Ben Sorer u'Moreh (see Background to Sanhedrin 53:10); Zaken Mamrei (see Background to Sanhedrin 84:8); and Edim Zomemin (see Background to Makos 2:1). Each case is learned from the respective verses, where the people are enjoined to "hear and fear" or "see and fear." The verses are: Devarim 13:12 (Mesis); Devarim 21:21 (Ben Sorer u'Moreh); Devarim 17:13 (Zaken Mamrei), and Devarim 19:20 (Edim Zomemin).

2a)[line 2]משלשין בממוןMESHALSHIN B'MAMON- when false witnesses tried to make a person liable to pay a sum of money but were found to be Edim Zomemin, (a) Beis Din acts as a Shelish (a third party) and they divide the sum of money among the witnesses; (b) Beis Din is Meshalesh (divides into three) the sum of money among the witnesses

b)[line 2]ואין משלשין במכותEIN MESHALSHIN B'MAKOS- when false witnesses tried to make a person liable to Malkus (lashes) but were found to be Edim Zomemin, (a) Beis Din does not act as a Shelish (a third party) to divide the 39 lashes among the witnesses; (b) Beis Din does not Meshalesh (divides into three) the 39 lashes among the witnesses

3a)[line 11]ממון מצטרףMAMON MITZTAREF- money adds up [to the amount of the loss that the witnesses attempted to inflict]

b)[line 12]מלקות לא מצטרףMALKUS LO MITZTAREF- lashes do not add up. (The pain that the witnesses attempted to inflict upon the defendant is the pain of a full set of lashes, i.e. the maximum number of lashes that the defendant could withstand. Had the lashes been divided among the witnesses, none of them would experience the pain that they attempted to inflict.)

4)[line 13]עד שיזימו את עצמןAD SHE'YAZIMU ES ATZMAN- until they (the second set of witnesses) testify about [the first set of witnesses] themselves

5)[line 20]באו אחרים, והזימוםBA'U ACHERIM, V'HEZIMUM- if others (a third set of witnesses) come [to pronounce the same testimony as the first set of witnesses,] and they (the Mazimim, the second set of witnesses) also were Mezim them (the third set of witnesses) [claiming that they, too, were with them at the time of alleged crime]

6)[line 22]איסטתית היא זוISTATIS HI ZU- it is a conspiracy, (lit,. this pair of witnesses is wayward, corrupt)

7)[line 23]"וְדָרְשׁוּ הַשֹּׁפְטִים הֵיטֵב; וְהִנֵּה עֵד שֶׁקֶר הָעֵד, שֶׁקֶר עָנָה [בְאָחִיו]""[V'DARSHU HA'SHOFTIM HEITEV;] V'HINEH ED SHEKER HA'ED, SHEKER ANAH [V'ACHIV]"- "[The judges shall inquire well;] and [if they find that,] behold, the witness gave false testimony, he testified falsely [against his brother]" (Devarim 19:18).

8)[line 24]עד שֶׁתִּשָּׁקֵר גופה של עדותAD SHE'TISHAKER GUFAH SHEL EDUS- until the actual witnesses themselves are found to be "a lie," i.e. when they were not in the place in which they claim to have been

9)[line 24]"[כִּי יָקוּם עֵד חָמָס בְּאִישׁ] לַעֲנוֹת בּוֹ סָרָה""[KI YAKUM ED CHAMAS B'ISH;] LA'ANOS BO SARAH"- "[If a false witness rises up against any man] to testify against him that which is [far] removed [from the truth]" (Devarim 19:16).

10)[line 24]עד שתסרה גופה של עדותAD SHE'TISRAH GUFAH SHEL EDUS- until the actual witnesses themselves are found to be "removed" from the scene, i.e. when they were not in the place in which they claim to have been

11)[line 25]במזרח בירהMIZRACH BIRAH- on the eastern side of a great hall, large building or tower

12)[line 28]לנהורא בריאNEHORA BARYA- exceptionally good eyesight

13a)[line 29]בצפראB'TZAFRA- in the morning

b)[line 29]בפניאB'FANYA- in the evening

14)[line 31]לגמלא פרחאGAMLA PARCHA- (lit. a flying camel) a very fast animal or other method for travelling the distance

15)[line 36]סיפא, מה שאין כן בגמר דין, אצטריכא ליהSEIFA, "MAH SHE'EIN KEN BI'GEMAR DIN," ITZTRICHA LEI- it is needed for the end of this Halachah (as the Gemara continues)

16)[line 37]נגמר דינוNIGMAR DINO- he was sentenced

17)[line 41]גנב וטבח ומכרGANAV V'TAVACH U'MACHAR (TASHLUMEI ARBA'AH V'CHAMISHAH)

(a)If a thief surreptitiously steals an object from a fellow Jew, and is found guilty of the theft in court based on the testimony of valid witnesses, he must return the object (if it is still in its original state) or its value (if it is not) to its owner (Vayikra 5:23). In addition, the thief is obligated to pay the victim of the theft the value of the stolen object a second time. Restitution of the value of the stolen object is called "Keren," and the additional payment is known as "Kefel" (see Background to Sanhedrin 2:5).

(b)If the object that was stolen was a live sheep or ox, and the thief either slaughtered or sold it, the Torah (Shemos 21:37) places an even stiffer fine on the thief. In the case of a stolen sheep that was slaughtered or sold, the thief must compensate the owner a total of four times its actual value ("Arba'ah"), while in the case of a stolen ox that was slaughtered or sold, the thief must compensate the owner a total of five times its actual value ("Chamishah"). This law does not apply to any other object or animal that is stolen. Chazal (Bava Kama 79b) explain that the Torah was more lenient with a person who steals a sheep than with one who steals an ox, since he already suffered a somewhat demeaning experience of walking with a sheep on his shoulders (as opposed to the ox-thief, who presumably led the ox on foot before him).

(c)A thief does not pay Arba'ah va'Chamishah for slaughtering a sheep or ox unless he, or a person he appoints, performs a proper ritual slaughter (i.e. a Shechitah of the type that normally permits an animal to be eaten). According to some Amora'im (Bava Kama 68a), a thief does not pay Arba'ah va'Chamishah for selling a sheep or ox unless he sold it after "Ye'ush Ba'alim" (i.e. the owner lost all hope of recovering the sheep or ox, see Background to Gitin 37:30:a), while according to others he only pays Arba'ah va'Chamishah if he sells it before Ye'ush Ba'alim.

(d)Arba'ah va'Chamishah, like any other payment that involves over-compensation for a monetary loss, is considered a "Kenas" (penalty) rather than "Mamon" (compensation). As is true of every Kenas, a thief does not have to pay Arba'ah va'Chamishah if he admits to his guilt of his own accord. Only if witnesses testify to his guilt in court must he pay. If he admits to his guilt of his own accord, and later witnesses testify to his guilt in court, the Amora'im argue as to whether or not he must pay Arba'ah va'Chamishah (Bava Kama 74b-75a - he is exempted from payment, according to the lenient opinion, only if his admission took place under specific circumstances). Until he is obligated to pay the Arba'ah va'Chamishah in court, the thief is fully exempt from payment and does not even have a moral obligation to pay it on his own accord (RASHBA Bava Kama 74b, see also RAMBAN in Milchamos HaSh-m at the end of the third Perek of Kesuvos).

5b----------------------------------------5b

18)[line 5]איתתאITESA- a woman

19)[line 6]סהדיSAHADEI- witnesses

20)[line 9]זימניןZIMNIN- on [another] occasion

21)[line 13]הדר חזיה לרבי אלעזר בישותHADAR CHAZYEI L'REBBI ELAZAR BISHUS- he looked upon Rebbi Elazar with disdain (because Rebbi Elazar had not said his words in the name of Rebbi Yochanan, and consequently, Reish Lakish had not accepted them)

22)[line 14]מבר נפחאBAR NAFCHA- Rebbi Yochanan, who was called Bar Nafcha because (a) his father was a blacksmith, and Bar Nafcha literally means "son of the smith" (RASHI to Sanhedrin 96a, in the name of his teacher); (b) he was called this because of his remarkable beauty (RASHI ibid., in the name of other scholars)

23)[line 18]דליכא דקא מהדרLEIKA D'KA MEHADER- there was no one who was going around [rounding up false witnesses to testify, as she was]

24)[line 22]בסהדותאSAHADUSA- the testimony [on the woman's behalf]

25)[line 23]הצדוקיןTZEDUKIN

The Tzedukim (and Baitusim) were students of Tzadok (and Baitus) who rejected the Oral Torah (Avos d'Rebbi Nasan 5:2).

26)[line 27]בריביBERIBI- (a) the name of a sage (RASHI); (b) one of the sages who remains anonymous ("Beribi" is a descriptive title such as "the Great," used to refer to a sage possessing great wisdom and sharpness - RASHI to KIDUSHIN 21b)

27)[line 28]שאין עונשין מן הדין / שאין מזהירין מן הדיןEIN ONSHIN MIN HA'DIN / EIN MAZHIRIN MIN HA'DIN

We do not administer corporal punishments through deriving them from an exegetical process such as a Kal va'Chomer or Binyan Av (rather, it must be written in the Torah explicitly, or learned from a Hekesh or Gezeirah Shavah). For example, the Torah explicitly prohibits, with a punishment of Sereifah, a man from living with his daughter's daughter (Vayikra 18:10), but it does not explicitly mention one who lives with his own daughter. If not for a Gezeirah Shavah, we would not be able to administer a punishment to one who sins with his daughter, because "Ein Onshin Min ha'Din" (Sanhedrin 76a; see there for an exception to this rule, whereby if the Kal va'Chomer is not a real Kal va'Chomer but rather it is a Giluy Milsa (showing what the words in a verse mean), then the punishment can be derived through that Giluy Milsa). (See Insights to Nazir 44:1, Bava Kama 2:2.)

28)[line 38]תלמוד לומר "רשע" "רשע"TALMUD LOMAR "RASHA" "RASHA"- it is learned through a Gezeirah Shavah using the two words "Rasha" in the following two verses (which are brought explicitly in Sanhedrin 10a): (a) "וְהָיָה אִם בִּן הַכּוֹת הָרָשָׁע..." "v'Hayah Im Bin Hakos ha'Rasha..." - "And it shall be, if the wicked man deserves to be beaten..." (Devarim 25:2); (b) "וְלֹא תִקְחוּ כֹפֶר לְנֶפֶשׁ רֹצֵחַ אֲשֶׁר הוּא רָשָׁע לָמוּת..." "v'Lo Sikchu Chofer l'Nefesh Rotze'ach, Asher Hu Rasha la'Mus..." - "And you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer, who is a wicked person and is liable to [the] death [punishment]..." (Bamidbar 35:31).

29)[line 39]אתיא "רוצח" "רוצחASYA "ROTZE'ACH" "ROTZE'ACH"- it is learned through a Gezeirah Shavah using the two words "Rotze'ach" in the following two verses: (a) "וְהָיָה לָנוּס שָׁמָּה כָּל רֹצֵחַ" "v'Hayah Lanus Shamah Kol Rotze'ach" - "... so that any [accidental] murderer can flee to there" (Devarim 19:3); (b) "...מוֹת יוּמַת הַמַּכֶּה רֹצֵחַ הוּא" "... Mos Yumas ha'Makeh, Rotze'ach Hu" - "he [who hit him] shall surely be put to death, for he is a murderer" (Bamidbar 35:21).

30)[line 39]אראה בנחמהER'EH BA'NECHAMAH- (a) "I will see the [day that Bnei Yisrael will be in a state of] comfort (and will be redeemed from Galus)" (BEREISHIS RABAH 65:12, see MAHARSHA to Pesachim 54b). This phrase is a euphemism meaning, "I will not see the Day of Redemption (if the following is not true)." (RASHI DH Er'eh, 1st explanation); (b) "[I take an oath that my sons shall die and] I will see [the period of mourning in which people will come to] comfort [me] (if the following is not true)." (RASHI DH Er'eh, 2nd explanation)

31a)[line 47]דלמא בדינא קם בהדיהDILMA B'DINA KAM BAHADEI- that is, maybe it was the voice of the witness who was put to death unjustly, but after the death of Rebbi Yehudah ben Tabai he stopped crying because he took him to the heavenly court

b)[line 47]אי נמי, פיוסי פייסיהIY NAMI PIYUSEI PAISEI- Rebbi Yehudah ben Tabai appeased the dead false witness

32)[line 52]תלמוד לומר "עדים"TALMUD LOMAR "EDIM"- since the verse states the word "Edim," "witnesses," indicating any number of witnesses

33)[line 53]ולעשות דינו כיוצא באלוLA'ASOS DINO KA'YOTZEI BA'ELU- to make his status similar to those [first two witnesses]

34)[line 53]ואם כן ענש הכתובIM KEN ANASH HA'KASUV- if the verse prescribes such a punishment...

35)[line 53]לנטפל לעוברי עבירהLA'NITPAL L'OVREI AVEIRAH- to the person who is subordinate to the main sinners

36)[line 55]קרוב או פסולKAROV O PASUL (PESULEI EDUS) - (Invalid Witnesses)

The Mishnah (Sanhedrin 24b, and Gemara there; Rosh Hashanah 22a) lists the people who are Pesulei Edus, those people who are disqualified to judge or to give testimony.

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