Sanhedrin 29: Kosher Witnesses, Kosher Admissions

When is a close friend disqualified from testifying?  For a certain amount of time before or after they have brought gifts?  Does this relate to the three days that enemies are said to not speak with each other?

A new Mishna teaches about how to interrogate witnesses.  They are brought to a room and threatened, and then everyone leaves except for the most significant witness.  They are asked how they know what they say that they know.  This is done with the second witness.  If the testimonies match, the three judges debate.  If two decide that he is zakai, innocent, he is exempt.  If two decide that he is chayav, guilty, he is guilty.  If one judge is undecided, another judge is called in.  Immediately after their decision, the judges inform of the outcome.

The Gemara wonders what is said to 'threaten' them.  Rav Yehuda says, "false testimony can cause a famine".  Rava notes that if they have a trade this might not be frightening.  Instead one might say "a club and a sword" (violent death results from false testimony).  Rav Ashi suggests that they might think that they will die only at a predetermined time.  Instead he says that they should be told that "false witnesses are a disgrace in the eyes of those who hire them".  

The rabbis discuss the exact words that  a witness heard to ensure that testimony is admissible.  They take note of the significant possibility that the accused was joking when he made the statement under debate.  For a witness to report about a proper admission, that admission must be specific.  Could this be the case of a joke that is actually the truth?  Could it be that a person was attempting to seem rich, for example, and thus admitted to something that was not his doing?  The rabbis wish to ensure that false claims are both identified and understood.

If a person makes an odisa, an admission whether true or false, with witnesses and an agreement, a document can be written as a formalization.  Some rabbis disagree and say that a written admission is not required at all.  The rabbis question whether a beit din has been called; whether or not this writing is similar to that regarding property conflicts.  At the end of our daf, the rabbis share their concern regarding whether or not scribes know the law regarding the odisa - two witnesses and a kinyan are required.  In fact, when asked, the scribes demonstrated that they were knowledgable of the law.