Sanhedrin 29 - January 15, 15 Tevet

Today's daf is sponsored by Suri Davis in honor of the first birthday of her granddaughter, Hallel Ruth bat Shai Zvi and Esther Shifra Goldman. Today's daf is sponsored by Harriet Hartman in loving memory of her grandson, Ephraim ben Liat and Shmuel (Jackman) H’YD, on his first yahrzeit. "He fell in Gaza one year ago. He was a faithful daf yomi learner, even in his “namer” tank, and an inspiration to us all for his dedication to Torah, his beautiful “middot,” his maturity and humility, and the love he shared with his family." Today's daf is sponsored by Michelle Feiglin in loving memory of her father, Natan ben Devorah v'Shlomo Elimelech on his 9th yahrzeit and in loving memory of their grandson, Neriya Yosef Hoshea ben Gidon v'Avital. "My father was liberated from Buchenwald and rebuilt his life in Melbourne, Australia. He inspired my love of learning Torah and every lunchtime in the middle of his working day could be found in front of his Gemara. He had great success in business, but he always said that his biggest success was his family."  Rabbi Yehuda ruled in the Mishna that if two people were related by marriage and the marriage ended, but there were children from that marriage, they are still considered relatives. Do we follow Rabbi Yehuda's ruling? Rabbi Yehuda also ruled that a close friend is disqualified from being a witness. However, the rabbis clarify that this only applies to a friend from the wedding party, and only during the week of the wedding or perhaps only on the wedding day itself. Rabbi Yehuda's ruling that a close friend or enemy is disqualified from testifying is derived from Numbers 35:23. The Mishna outlines court procedures: First, witnesses are warned to tell the truth, then they are questioned separately. In monetary cases, only designated witnesses can testify. After a majority decision is reached, it is forbidden for a judge to leave court and reveal that they disagreed with the ruling, wanting to acquit when others voted to convict, as this constitutes rechilut (gossip), a form of lashon hara (harmful speech). What warning is given to witnesses to ensure truthful testimony? Rav Yehuda, Rava, and Rav Ashi each propose different warnings, with each successive suggestion addressing perceived flaws in the previous ones. The Mishna supports Rav Yehuda's position that borrowers must formally designate witnesses. If undesignated witnesses hear a borrower's admission of debt, the borrower can claim it was said in jest. However, if the borrower denies making any admission and witnesses testify otherwise, Abaye rules that the admission is valid and the debt must be repaid. Rav Papa son of Rav Acha bar Ada quoting Rava disagrees, arguing that the borrower might have been joking and forgotten about it, since people typically don't remember trivial interactions. Another way to invalidate an admission is to claim it was made only to appear less wealthy. Can this argument be applied to deathbed statements? Do we assume that someone on their deathbed would want their children to appear less wealthy, or does this concern only apply to protecting oneself? Under what circumstances can witnesses document an admission? For loans, documenting creates a lien on the borrower's property. Therefore, documentation is permissible only when this was clearly the creditor's intention.