Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Eidem Zommemin



וַֽעֲשִׂ֣יתֶם ל֔וֹ כַּֽאֲשֶׁ֥ר זָמַ֖ם לַֽעֲשׂ֣וֹת לְאָחִ֑יו וּבִֽעַרְתָּ֥ הָרָ֖ע מִקִּרְבֶּֽךָ:

then you shall do to him as he plotted to do to his brother, and you shall [thus] abolish evil from among you.

כאשר זמם: ולא כאשר עשה. מכאן אמרו, הרגו אין נהרגין:

as he plotted: But not as he did. From here [our Rabbis] said that if the first set of witnesses [before being proven false,] already killed the defendant [by their testimony], they are not to be put to death.

What is strange is that the Mishna [Makos 5b] says something different.

אמרו להם חכמים, והלא כבר נאמר (דברים יט) ועשיתם לו כאשר זמם לעשות לאחיו, והרי אחיו קיים.
Why doesn't Rashi quote the Mishna properly?

See the journal שערי תורה - ווארשא ח-י עמ' 3 and listen here, here and here