Siman - Pesachim Daf 12
- The difference between חקירות and בדיקות
The Gemara brings a Mishnah from Sanhedrin 40a that states that in regard to witnesses who testify that they saw someone kill, היו בודקין אותו בשבע חקירות – The court would check the trustworthiness of each witness with seven questions about when and where they saw the killing: באיזו שבוע באיזו שנה באיזה חדש בכמה בחדש באיזה יום באיזו שעה באיזה מקום – During which shemittah cycle? Which year of the shemittah cycle? Which month of the year? Which day of the month? Which day of the week? Which hour of the day? In which place? These questions are in a category called חקירות. There are other questions, called בדיקות, which Rashi explains are such questions as, What did he kill with, a sword or an axe? The Gemara on our Daf asks what the practical difference is between חקירות and בדיקות and answers that regarding חקירות, if one witness answers that he does not know, their testimony is disqualified, דהויא לה עדות שאי אתה יכול להזימה – because it is testimony that cannot be refuted through hazamah, since a second set of witnesses will be unable to prove his testimony was false by testifying he was somewhere else at the time of the crime. If one of the witnesses cannot answer one of the בדיקות, their testimony is still accepted since their testimony can be refuted through hazamah. Rashi explains that whether the accused was wearing black clothes or white ones has no bearing on the time and location of the offence.
- Different times that people eat in the morning
The Gemara brings a Baraisa that lists the times that different people eat in the morning. שעה ראשונה מאכל לודים – The first hour of the day is when a cannibal tribe called the Ludim eat because they are gluttons, שניה מאכל ליסטין – The second hour is when thieves eat who are also gluttons but get up later since they are up at night, שלישית מאכל יורשין – The third hour is when inheritors eat since they do not have to work, רביעית מאכל פועלין – The fourth hour is when workers eat because they have to carry out their work first, חמישית מאכל תלמידי חכמים – The fifth hour is when Talmidei Chochomim eat since they are busy learning they should wait until the last possible time. ששית מאכל אדם – The sixth hour is when all other people eat. The Baraisa concludes מכאן ואילך כזורק אבן לחמת – One who eats passed this hour, is like one who throws a stone into a leather sack. (Rashi in Shabbos on Daf 10a explains this to mean either that it is harmful to the body, or that it is not harmful to the body, but it is not helpful either.) Abaye says that this was stated only דלא טעים מידי בצפרא – when he did not eat anything at all in the morning, however, if he ate something in the morning, this does not apply.
- Testifying about an event that happened at neitz hachamah
Rav Simi bar Ashi said that the Mishnah in Sanhedrin regarding discrepancy in testimony was only taught בשעות, regarding discrepancy in the hours of the day, אבל אחד אומר קודם הנץ החמה ואחד אומר אחר הנץ החמה עדותן בטילה – however, if one witness testifies that he saw someone kill before the rising of the sun, and one witness testifies that he saw the person kill after the sun rose, עדותן בטילה – their testimony is disqualified. The Gemara asks that this is obvious since people do not get confused between these two time periods. The Gemara changes the wording to אבל אחד אומר קודם הנץ החמה ואחד אומר בתוך הנץ החמה עדותן בטילה – However, if one witness testifies that he saw something before the rising of the sun, and one witness testifies that he saw something during the rising of the sun (which Rashi explains to mean at the beginning of the sun’s rising), their testimony is disqualified. The Gemara says that this too is obvious, and then clarifies that one might have thought they are saying the same thing, and the one who said it occurred at neitz was present at the glow before sunrise and it was merely a radiance he saw and he mistakenly thought the sun was already rising. Rav Sima bar Ashi is coming to say that no one would make such a mistake.
