After the judges dealt with the witnesses and gave them proper warning to make sure their testimony was correct and that they were not giving false testimony, the witnesses were asked certain questions. The Mishnah says that the judges would examine the witnesses and ask them seven questions. What week did the crime you’re talking about and that you’re here to give testimony about occur? When we say Shavua here, it means during what Shemitah cycle. The Shemitah cycle is the six years that a person is allowed to work in Eretz Yisrael (Land of Israel), and on the seventh year he has to take off. That’s called the Shemitah. Seven of these equal the Yovel (Jubilee), and then the cycle starts over again.
The year was identified by the number of the Shemitah cycle after the last Yovel, and then by the number of the year within that Shemitah cycle. For example, if it was the 18th year after the Yovel, it’s the fourth year of the third Shemitah cycle, because each one is seven years: seven, fourteen, and then the fourth year of that third cycle. And so it’s the third Shemitah cycle after the Yovel, in the fourth year. They ask him that first to get more specific, and then they ask, “What year of the Shemitah cycle?” Those are the first two questions: which cycle, and then what year specifically within that cycle, as we just said. Which month did this crime you’re here to testify about happen? What date of the month did it happen? What was the day of the week? Was it a Tuesday? Was it a Wednesday? What hour of the day? And lastly, in which place did the crime happen?
The witnesses had to answer all of these questions correctly and with proper information. Without this information, the testimony is considered invalid. The place is especially crucial because we have a process called Hazama (witness refutation). If witnesses claim that they saw a person commit a certain Avera or that a certain crime happened, and they say it happened in Yerushalayim (Jerusalem), they give the dates and other details. Then two other witnesses say, “No, that can’t be. You, witnesses number one, were with us in a different place. You were with us in Tzfat (Safed) during that time, so it can’t be that you’re giving testimony about Yerushalayim on that date. You were with us somewhere else.” Those original witnesses, now shown to have given false testimony, are called Edim Zomemim, plotting witnesses. They were trying to hurt somebody else and giving false testimony, trying to cause somebody else to be punished. In this type of case, we believe only those second witnesses. The place is crucial because we want to allow the Hazama process to play out. We want other people to be able to say, “No, first set of witnesses, you weren’t there. We were with you elsewhere.” That’s why the Makom (place) has to be given.
The next Tanna (Mishnaic sage) is going to agree that the witnesses have to say when and where the crime happened when they’re giving testimony, but he says we don’t have to ask them all of these questions. We have to limit the number of questions. Reb Yose says that the court doesn’t ask seven questions, but only asks three: on what day of the week did the crime occur, at what hour, and lastly, in what place did the crime occur that you’re here giving testimony about? The machloket (dispute) here between Tanna Kama, the beginning of the Mishnah, and Reb Yose concerns a situation that happened very recently, where somebody comes forward with a crime they want to report and give testimony about, and it happened within the last few days. According to Reb Yose, those earlier questions—what Shemitah cycle, what year, what month, all of that—aren’t needed. From the context of the questioning and the back-and-forth between the judges and the witnesses, we’re able to see what year and all that happened, so that’s unneeded according to Reb Yose. But Reb Yose, of course, would agree that if it happened months or years ago, the longer list of questions would have to be given to the person testifying.
The Hachamim (Sages) say that Tanna Kama—the beginning of the Mishnah—would say that all seven questions have to be asked even when the crime happened in the last few days. The whole purpose of asking all those questions is to confuse the witness, to upset him, so that he’ll make sure he’s giving the correct testimony. We want to make sure that he’s clear on what the situation is.
We add a few more questions that the judges or the court would ask in unique cases when somebody is accused of murder. The judges would ask the witnesses, “Do you recognize the person who was killed? Do you know, maybe they were someone who worshipped Avodah Zarah (worshipping idols)?” Even though someone shouldn’t go around killing people who worshipped Avodah Zarah, if they did, they aren’t put to death for it. We leave that up to Hashem. Hashem served them the punishment. So we ask the witnesses: You saw someone die, but maybe it was an idol worshipper, and therefore the murderer isn’t chayav mitah (punishable by death). We also ask him, “Did you warn the murderer before he committed the crime that he was doing something terribly wrong and that he was chayav mitah, he was punishable by death if he went through with it?” If there’s no warning beforehand, then the murderer would have to respond, “Yes, I know the punishment, and I’m going through with it anyway,” and then commit the murder right away. If all this didn’t happen—if the victim was either an idol worshipper or no warning was given—then there’s no death penalty.
Ha'oved Avodah Zarah, if somebody was accused of worshipping idols, the judges ask the witness, “Eizeh avodah zarah avad, what idol did he worship? Uvameh avad, and how did he worship it?” Only certain types of Avodah Zarah would carry the death penalty, so therefore the din (law) does the investigation to what was the type of Avodah Zarah that was done over here. Bowing down or offering sacrifices to any Avodah Zarah would make a person chayav mitah. But if a person did other types of service to an idol or to another type of Avodah Zarah, the only time they get the death penalty is if it’s the unique type of service for those idols—the way they’re worshipped. But if it’s not the unique type, then the person who did the Avodah Zarah wouldn’t be chayav mitah. So we’re looking into things to make sure everything was done exactly as it was said, and that’s the only time we put somebody to death.