Q&A: Witnesses Testifying to Something Contradicted
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Witnesses Testifying to Something Contradicted
Question
Two witnesses came to a religious court and testified that they measured and found a right triangle drawn on a sheet of paper that does not satisfy the Pythagorean theorem at all, and this would have implications for capital cases. Do we adjudicate capital cases on the basis of their testimony?
Answer
Their testimony is void, just like a case where the victim comes walking in on his own feet. And so too with the sanctification of the new month, where Rabban Gamliel would examine the witnesses in light of his scientific knowledge.