False Testimony

Found 4 Search results

  1. Examining Witnesses, in the Torah and in Halakha

    Rabbi Yehuda Rock

    The Torah commands that we examine situations where suspected idolatry has taken place. Similar formulations of "derisha" and "chakira" are used in the matter of false witnesses. These episodes teach us about the importance of exploring the truth and validating witnesses in order to determine what the truth really is.

  2. Navot's Vineyard (Part 2)

    "Have You Murdered And Also Inherited?!" ֠- Ahav's Responsibility

    Rabbi Elchanan Samet

    While Izevel plots and executes Navot’s murder, Ahav becomes a hidden but necessary partner. The attempt to enjoy the fruits of wickedness without dirtying one's hands with the actual deed, may work in relation to other people, but it cannot work in the real reckoning between man and God. This is Eliyahu’s harsh accusation towards Ahav.

  3. A Perfect Murder: Navot's Vineyard

    Rabbi Alex Israel

    Though it is completely clear from the beginning of the storyline that Ahav is legally powerless to commandeer Navot's vineyard - a significant statement regarding the autonomy of the common citizen in ancient Israel - the outcome after Izevel's ruthless plan displays the helplessness and vulnerability of the simple Jewish farmer. While the story describes Ahav as passive and ignorant of Izevel's plan and Izevel as the mastermind, Eliyahu makes it clear that Ahav is fully implicated in the murder. Ahav succeeds in taking Navot's ethical stand and grotesquely twisting it into an egotistical gesture of greed and as king he cannot absolve himself by claiming ignorance, all the more so when the pointers were rather obvious.

  4. The Personal Dimension of Yirmiyahu’s Prophecy

    Part II

    Rabbi David Sabato

    In the analysis of the personal dimension that are found in the chapters of Yirmiyahu, one encounters  the complicated relations between Yirmiyahu and his neighbors, the agony that he suffered as a result of his prophecies, and his resignation from and reappointment to prophecy.

    The descriptions in Yirmiyahu of the prophet’s conflicts with those who wished to stop him from prophesying raise another dimension of Yirmiyahu's personal tragedy: Yirmiyahu's twofold roles and identities – his being a member of his people and his mission as a prophet – not only cause a profound mental crisis, but also create a severe disconnect between him and the people. A false image is created of him as enemy of the people who seeks their harm, when there is nothing further from Yirmiyahu's true goal. The budding opposition and the attempted assassination at the beginning of his prophetic mission in Anatot herald the great dangers and challenges that await him in the future and prepare him for them.