Thursday, August 8, 2013
Ethics of our Fathers: Chapter 1 Mishna 9: Be Careful what you say
7:51 AM | 
Posted by
Rabbi Chaim Coffman |
"Shimon ben Shetach said, Examine the witnesses thoroughly; be careful with your words, but through them they learn to tell lies"
The first part of the mishnah tells us that the judges have to check and recheck the statements of the witnesses carefully so that they can make a proper decision. Rabbenu Yonah tells us that the more interrogation of the witnesses, the more likely you will find out what really happened in the case.
Quite possibly this could also lead to finding out that one of the witnesses is lying and that would clarify matters as well.
The next part of the mishna tells us that when the witnesses are interrogated the judges will understand where the judgment is going, they will learn how to lie so that they will be found meritorious. This means that even though the judges are doing their job through the questions they ask to get to the heart of the matter, it may end working against them as people may learn from this and end up lying!
This is truly an amazing idea because at the end of the day, the judges are there to evaluate information to reach a conclusion of who is right and who is wrong. The problem the mishna tells us is that this may in fact teach others their method of questioning and people could learn how to lie because of it.
This is a lesson for all of us showing that we must be careful at all times with what we say. When we do speak, we should be clear and not mislead others and to the best of our ability, not let others take our words and manipulate them for their own selfish purposes. Even if we are doing the right thing and helping others, how careful we must be when articulating our ideas!
The first part of the mishnah tells us that the judges have to check and recheck the statements of the witnesses carefully so that they can make a proper decision. Rabbenu Yonah tells us that the more interrogation of the witnesses, the more likely you will find out what really happened in the case.
Quite possibly this could also lead to finding out that one of the witnesses is lying and that would clarify matters as well.
The next part of the mishna tells us that when the witnesses are interrogated the judges will understand where the judgment is going, they will learn how to lie so that they will be found meritorious. This means that even though the judges are doing their job through the questions they ask to get to the heart of the matter, it may end working against them as people may learn from this and end up lying!
This is truly an amazing idea because at the end of the day, the judges are there to evaluate information to reach a conclusion of who is right and who is wrong. The problem the mishna tells us is that this may in fact teach others their method of questioning and people could learn how to lie because of it.
This is a lesson for all of us showing that we must be careful at all times with what we say. When we do speak, we should be clear and not mislead others and to the best of our ability, not let others take our words and manipulate them for their own selfish purposes. Even if we are doing the right thing and helping others, how careful we must be when articulating our ideas!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment