Every so often, I like to give over a
vort that besides for giving a deeper insight into the pasuk, it also shows how
the commentaries learned the pasuk in order to bring out those insights. Understanding
how they saw the pesukim allows us to gain a deeper understanding of how to
read and dissect pesukim so we can create our own great insights! This week is
one of these vorts.
This week’s Parshah discusses a portion
of how the Torah court system works. One topic discussed is the testimony of
false witnesses and their punishment. The last pasuk dealing with this topic
says, “וְהַנִּשְׁאָרִים
יִשְׁמְעוּ וְיִרָאוּ וְלֹא יֹסִפוּ לַעֲשׂוֹת עוֹד כַּדָּבָר הָרָע הַזֶּה
בְּקִרְבֶּךָ” “And those who remain shall hearken and fear; and they shall
not continue again to do such an evil thing in your midst” (Devarim 19:20). Rashi comments on
the words “יִשְׁמְעוּ
וְיִרָאוּ” “hearken and fear”, that from these words we learn that before you
kill the witnesses (if they are guilty of death), you must announce to the
general public that they are being killed as a result of their testifying
falsely in Beis Din.
The Sifsei Chachamim explains Rashi’s
thought process for this explanation. Last week in Parshas Re’eh, we discussed
the fate of a Meisit, someone who convinces other people to serve Avoda
Zara, and who is then killed. When the Torah discusses his punishment, the
pasuk says, “וְכָל
יִשְׂרָאֵל יִשְׁמְעוּ וְיִרָאוּן” “All Israel shall hear and fear…” (13:12). How come by the meisit
the pasuk says that all of Israel should hear while here by the false
witnesses, only those “that remain” should hear and fear? The answer
lies in who we are addressing. Not everyone can testify in Beis Din. There are
many people, such as gamblers, thieves, and others, who are halachically not
allowed to be witnesses for any case. To become a meisit however, the
potential rests with everybody. Therefore, when the pasuk discusses the
fate of a meisit, it says that the entire nation should hear
since it is applicable to the entire nation. But by the false witnesses, there
are many people who never have to fear from this punishment as they will
never be allowed to testify in the first place! When our pasuk says to address
those that remain, it is referring only to the ones who remain kosher to
testify. Therefore, Rashi has to explain to us two things; first, why the
wording in our pasuk is different than in Parshas Re’eh, and secondly, that we
still need to announce why these people are being killed even though it is not
applicable to the whole nation.
This will also answer another difference
in Rashi. Earlier in the parshah, when discussing the general laws of Beis Din,
Rashi explains the same words of “וְכָל הָעָם יִשְׁמְעוּ וְיִרָאוּ”, that we wait until the next Holiday
when the entire Nation will be together in Yerushalayim to kill those deserving
of death. The reason why Rashi did not explain our pasuk like that as well is because
that while we will still wait until the Holiday to kill the false witnesses,
the warning does not apply to the entire nation and therefore the focus of
having everyone together does not apply as well like it does at the beginning of
the Parsha.
Shabbat
Shalom!
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