Q&A: Testimony in the Light of Jewish Law
Testimony in the Light of Jewish Law
Question
Greetings to the Rabbi, I would be glad to hear your opinion regarding testimony according to the Torah: is it a kind of scriptural decree, or does it genuinely constitute clarification? Even though reason tends more toward the second side, from many places it seems proven not so (the greatest of them being the statement that “two are like a hundred,” whereas a hundred certainly clarifies more). This question is the basis of the laws of testimony, and although I have learned in quite a few places in the Talmud the laws of witnesses and their parameters, I have not come away with anything clear on this point.
With blessings of more strength to you.
Answer
With all due respect, this is a childish presentation of the yeshiva-style conceptual inquiry. Obviously testimony is a clarification, but the details of its definition are determined in a formal way. One witness is not enough, and at least two are required. From two witnesses and up, that is complete clarification; otherwise there would be no end to the matter. It would also have been possible to set three instead of two; it is like fixed legal measures.
In yeshivot, this kind of dichotomous, childish way of thinking is very common. One needs to grow up.