Q&A: Disqualified Witness
Disqualified Witness
Question
A friend is getting married and wants to honor a friend by having him serve as a witness. This friend eats kosher and keeps the Sabbath, but he knows that when he travels abroad and it’s hard for him, he cuts corners and eats sushi in a restaurant there (he is careful to eat only kosher-certified rice, but he knows that this is just “education” and there could be problems).
1) Could something like this cause the marriage to be invalid?
2) If not, is it proper from the outset to honor this friend by having him serve as a witness?
Answer
That’s Chinese to me. What is “kosher-certified rice”? What does “this is just education and there could be problems” mean? What is in the sushi that he eats?
As a rule, a witness disqualified by virtue of being wicked is someone who violates a prohibition punishable by lashes (or someone suspected of sexual transgressions, where the disqualification is specific to that matter—he is not discussed or accepted as a witness regarding it). Today there are halakhic decisors who question whether a secular Jew is disqualified as wicked, because it is not clear whether such a person is considered wicked nowadays, but most are stringent regarding witnesses for kiddushin. All the more so if we are not talking about a secular person but about someone lax in practice. (And one must distinguish whether this is because of his urges or because he does not believe, but this is not the place for that.)
It is proper from the outset to look for a fully valid witness. Quite apart from the question of honoring him. This is not a matter of honor but of law, which in some cases can impede the kiddushin. If you want to honor someone, invite him to your home and serve him a good piece of cake.