Shevuos 5:4-5

Shevuos 5:4

Let’s say that a plaintiff accuses a defendant of raping or seducing his (i.e., the plaintiff’s) daughter, which the defendant denies, so the plaintiff imposes an oath upon him, to which the defendant replies “amen.” (This refers to a civil suit, in which one party is suing the other for the relevant fines.) In such a case, the defendant is liable (to bring a sacrifice because of his oath), though Rabbi Shimon exempts him on the grounds that one does not pay a fine based on his own confession (i.e., he would not have owed money even without the oath). The Sages disagreed because even though one doesn’t pay a fine based on his own confession, one does pay for the victim’s shame and depreciation based on his own confession.

Shevuos 5:5

The mishna now lists a number of cases in which the plaintiff accuses the defendant of something, the defendant denies it, the plaintiff imposes an oath and the defendant replies amen. If the plaintiff accuses the defendant of stealing his ox and the defendant denies it, he is liable for his oath; if denies that slaughtered or sold it, he is exempt. If the defendant denies that his ox killed the plaintiff’s ox, he is liable for his oath; if he denies that his ox killed the plaintiff’s servant, he is exempt. If he denies injuring and bruising the plaintiff, he is liable; if his servant is the plaintiff and the defendant denies knocking out his tooth or blinding one of his eyes, he is exempt. The general rule is that whenever one would pay based on his own confession, he is liable for his oath but when one would not pay based on his own confession, he is exempt.