Shevuot 31: Witnesses, False Oaths, Attempts to Avoid Testifying

We continue to learn from a baraita:

• if a student while in front of the judge sees why the poor person is innocent and the rich person is liable, the student must speak up
• if a student sees that the judge is erring, the student may not wait until a wrong verdict is declared and then state what the verdict should be so that the verdict will be said in his name
• if a rabbi told his student, "you know that I would not lie for a fortune.  X owes me money, and I only have one witness against him," the student may not join with the witness to provide the requisite two witnesses 
• when one is owed 100 dinar, one may not claim that the loan was 200 dinar so that so that the other will deny half and have to swear - causing him to be open to swearing about other matters
• If own is owed 100 dinars and one claims he is owed 200 dinars, the other may not deny the entire claim in the beit din while admitting outside to exempt himself from the oath of partial admission - causing one to force the other to swear about other matters
• If now owes money to three partners and denies it, one may not claim the full amount and bring the others as witnesses to share the money with them
• If one is dressed in rags and another in posh clothing, the other must supply one with similar clothes or else dress in rags
• both parties must be present for one to share his claim with the judge

Who is excluded from these laws?  Kings cannot testify because it is beneath their honour.  Card players cannot testify because they have proven that they cannot be trusted.  The rabbis discuss who might be excluded from other types of oaths, like the oaths of watchmen.   

The rabbis look for the source regarding the claim that one knew the testimony and still swore falsely.  They also debate about whether or not one is liable if he had forgotten that his transgression was against halacha.

We are introduced to a new Mishna which teaches about shevuat ha'edut, an oath sworn falsely when one says he knows something that should keep him from testifying.  The Mishna says that when one tells witnesses to testify for him and they swear "we know no testimony for you", or they then say "amen" to one's oath, or if they were lying - in all of these cases, the witnesses are liable. 

The Mishna tells us about further conditions:

• If they swore five times outside of the beit din that they knew no testimony but came to the beit din and admitted that they knew, they are exempt
• Denial means that they are liable for each oath
• if they swear five times in the beit din, they are liable only once
• once a witness swears that he did not know, he cannot testify in the future
• if two witnesses simultaneously deny knowing, they are liable
• if one witness denies knowing after the other has denied knowing, the first is liable and the latter is exempt
• if one pair of witnesses denies after another denies, the both pairs are liable because either could have testified