Aligned sentence by sentence
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…in reading off the circumstances. *And the seal of Adam* refers to the specific form of the human being, that form by which a human is human and in which all people share.
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Yet, although all receive that same form, their individuals differ through many accidents, as we observe.
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*And minim* denotes those who have broken away from any of the religious communities and sects; and we have already explained above that this term does not apply to the Sadducees and Boethusians alone.
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Mishnah 1
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R. Yose holds that we need not ask them, "In which sabbatical cycle? In which year? In which month? On which day of the month?"—but only "On which day? At which hour? In which place?"
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His words *Do you recognize him? Did you forewarn him?* and the like do not belong to the category of investigations or examinations; rather, these are matters without which there is no testimony at all that would require examination and investigation—they are prerequisites to be established before it.
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The basis for these seven investigations is the words of God concerning those who incur capital liability: *and you shall inquire, and you shall investigate, and you shall ask diligently* (Deut. 13:15); *and it be told to you, and you have heard* (Deut. 17:4); *then you shall inquire diligently* (Deut. 17:4); *and the judges shall investigate* (Deut. 19:18). These are seven expressions of emphasis upon verification and upon thoroughness in examination and inquiry.
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The law is not according to R. Yose; rather, even if the witnesses said, "He killed him yesterday," one must still ask them, "In which sabbatical cycle? In which year? In which month? On which day? At which hour?"
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The reason for this is found in their statement that the court moves the witnesses from place to place "so that their minds may become confused and they may retract their testimony" (BT Sanhedrin 32b)—that is, the questioning is also drawn out for them, they are led from one matter to another, and the interrogation is made deliberately ponderous until they grow vexed; and if there is any flaw in their testimony, they will fall away from it.
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Mishnah 2
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*Ben Zakkai* is Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai. He was not himself the one who conducted the examination; rather, the case came before his teacher Hillel the Elder, and he was a student in his presence. Hillel asked the witnesses, "In which place?" They answered, "In such-and-such a place, beneath a fig tree."
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Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai then said: Should they not also be asked about the character of the fig and about the stalks attaching it to the tree—whether those stalks were long or short, whether thick or thin? All of this is a means of prolonging the questioning of the witnesses, as we have mentioned. Hillel approved of this, and they questioned them as he had proposed.
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At that time none was known by the name "Ben Zakkai" save he alone, and so the tradition fixed the wording "Ben Zakkai," and our holy Rabbi (Rabbenu ha-Qadosh, R. Yehudah ha-Nasi, the redactor of the Mishnah.) preserved it thus when he set down the Mishnah in writing, just as it had reached him.
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His words *and even if two say [they know] and one says he does not know* mean: even in the case of the investigations, which are the essential matter—if two say, "We know," and one says, "I do not know," their testimony stands. So the Talmud determined.
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As for the reason that if one of the witnesses says, regarding the investigations, "I do not know," the testimony is void, whereas if both say, regarding the examinations, "We do not know," their testimony stands—this is what I shall set out for you. It rests on one of our governing principles: "Any testimony that you cannot subject to refutation is not testimony" (BT Sanhedrin 41a).
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Now refutation can be effected only by establishing the time and the place in which the deed occurred, for the one who refutes says to them, "But were you not with us at that very hour, in such-and-such a place?"—as will be explained below.
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The seven investigations are precisely the establishing of the time and the place. Hence, if a witness says regarding the investigations, "I do not know," no refutation can be effected upon him in any way, and therefore their testimony is void, for we say, "It is false testimony"—this being the one who says, regarding the investigations, "I do not know," such that no refutation can be established against them.
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Mishnah 3
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What we said—that if a discrepancy of one day arises between them their testimony stands—applies only up to the middle of the month; but if one says "on the sixteenth" and the other says "on the seventeenth," their testimony is void, even though they agree as to the day of the week. For the month cannot reach its midpoint without all the people already knowing on which day the New Moon fell.
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From the eastern horizon to the middle of the sky is called *east* (mizraḥ); and from the middle of the sky to the western horizon is called *west* (maʿarav).
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We have already explained in [tractate] Berakhot that all the hours mentioned throughout the Mishnah are seasonal hours. And the law is not according to R. Yehudah.
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Mishnah 4
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*He does not descend from there all that day*—this applies only when there was no substance to his words; but if there was substance…