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Today's MitzvahAdar II 11, 5771 • (3 17, 2011)

A daily digest of Maimonides' classic work "Sefer Hamitzvot"

False Testimony

Negative Commandment 285



The 285th prohibition is that we are forbidden from giving false testimony.

The source of this prohibition is G d's statement,1 "Do not testify as a false witness (eid sheker) against your neighbor." This prohibition is repeated using a different expression,2 "as a perjurous witness" (eid shav).

Scripture3 dictates the punishment for one who violates this prohibition, "You must do the same to them as they plotted to do to their brother." The Mechilta says,4 "The verse, 'Do not testify as a false witness' is the prohibition regarding false witnesses (eidim zom'mim5)"

The punishment for violating this prohibition is lashes, as explained in the last chapter6 of tractate Makkos, where the details of this mitzvah are explained.

FOOTNOTES

1.

Ex. 20:13

2.

Deut. 5:17.

3.

Ibid., 19:19.

4.

Parshas Yisro. Evidently the Rambam quotes the Mechilta because the phrase "the prohibition" proves that this verse constitutes a Biblical prohibition and therefore included in the count of the 613 mitzvos.

5.

Eidim zom'mim are a particular type of false witnesses, who have been proven false by virtue of testimony that they were not present at the event they claim to have witnessed. If Reuven and Shimon testified, for example, that they saw Levi kill Yehudah, they could be proven to be eidim zom'mim if others testify that they saw Reuven and Shimon in another city on that day. If this happens, Reuven and Shimon are put to death since this is what they tried to have inflicted on Levi. See the next mitzvah, P180.

6.

4b. This should evidently read, "first chapter." See Kapach, 5731, footnote 1.



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Today is: Thursday, Adar II 11, 5771 • March 17, 2011

Fast of Esther



Today's Laws & Customs



• Fast of Esther



Because Adar 13 (the day before Purim) falls on a Shabbat this year, the "Fast of Esther," usually observed on that date, is moved back to today.

The fast -- which is observed today by all adults (i.e., over bar or bat mitzvah age) -- is in commemoration of the three-day fast called at Esther's behest before she risked her life to appear unsummoned before King Achashveirosh to save the Jewish people from Haman's evil decree (as related in the Book of Esther, chapter 4). The fast also commemorates Esther's fasting on the 13th of Adar, as the Jews fought their enemies (see "Today in Jewish History" for Adar 13). No food or drink is partaken of from daybreak to nightfall. Pregnant of nursing woman or people in ill health are exempted from fasting.



• Giving of "Half Coins"



In commemoration of the half shekel contributed by each Jew to the Holy Temple -- and which the Talmud credits as having counteracted the 10,000 silver coins Haman gave to King Achashverosh to obtain the royal decree calling for the extermination of the Jewish people -- it is customary to give three coins in "half denomination" (e.g., the half-dollar coins) to charity on the afternoon of the Fast of Esther. (In many synagogues, plates are set out with silver half-dollars, so that all could purchase them to use in observance of this custom).

Links: Parshat Shekalim; the mystical significance of the half-shekel



• Earliest Day for Megillah Reading



In Talmudic times, a special stipulation allowed for Jews living in small villages or hamlets to hear the reading of the Megillah (Book of Esther) on the Monday or Thursday before Purim -- the days when villagers would come to town because the courts were in session. Depending on the year's configuration, this meant that the Megillah could be read as early as the 11th of Adar or as late as the 15th -- but no earlier or later than these dates (Talmud, beginning of Tractate Megillah).

Link: The Book of Esther with commentary



Today in Jewish History



• First Print of Rashi (1475)



Rashi, the most basic commentary on the Torah, was printed for the first time, in Reggio di Calabria, Italy. In this print, the commentary on the Five Books of Moses, authored in the 11th century by Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, was not on the same page as the text of the Scriptures, as it is normally printed today.

This was the first time that the rounded Hebrew font was used, the font which has since become known as "Rashi Letters."

Links:

Rashi

Did Rashi Lack a Scientific Method?



• Passing of the "Rogatchover Prodigy" (1936)



Rabbi Yosef Rosen, known as the Rogatchover Gaon (Prodigy/Genius), passed away in Vienna on Thursday, March 5, 1936.

Rabbi Rosen, born in 1858, and raised in the Belarusian city of Rogatchov, served for decades as a rabbi in the Latvian city of Dvinsk (Daugavpils). He was an unparalleled genius, whose in depth understanding of all Talmudic literature left the greatest of scholars awestruck. He habitually demonstrated that many of the famous debates between the Talmudic sages have a singular thread and theme.

Rabbi Rosen authored tens of thousands of responsa on the Talmud and Jewish law. Many of them have been compiled in the set of volumes Tzafnat Paneach.



Daily Quote



When a person walks along without a thought of Torah in his head, the very ground under his feet cries out: "Clod! What makes you any better than me? By what rights do you step on me?"



- Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak of Lubavitch



Daily Study



Chitas and Rambam for today:



Chumash: Tzav, 5th Portion Leviticus 8:14-8:21 with Rashi



Tehillim: Chapters 60 - 65



Tanya: Likutei Amarim, end of Chapter 36

• Hebrew Text



Rambam:

• Sefer Hamitzvos:

• 1 Chapter: She'ar Avot haTum'ah Chap. 17

• 3 Chapters: Edut Chapter 17, Edut Chapter 18, Edut Chapter 19



Hayom Yom:



Topics in the news



Following a series of accidents at Japan's Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant (pictured), engineers work to contain radiation.

Murder charges in Pakistan against CIA contractor Raymond Allen Davis are dropped after the payment of blood money.

Security forces confront protesters in Bahrain, as the Gulf Cooperation Council agrees to send troops to the country.

The 14th Dalai Lama submits his resignation as political leader of the Tibetan government in exile.

The People's Republic of China adopts a new five-year plan, which includes a goal of increasing GDP by eight percent this year.

A tsunami triggered by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake devastates stretches of Japan's coastline, killing thousands and leaving thousands more missing.



Current events of 17 March 2011 (2011-03-17)

Armed conflict and attacks

The International Committee of the Red Cross withdraws from the rebel held city of Benghazi, Libya, fearing an attack from forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi. (BBC)

2011 Bahraini protests:

The United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office urges Britons to leave Bahrain as protests and violence continues. (BBC)

Leaders of the opposition are arrested. (ABC Radio Australia)

Yemen arrests human rights activist Tawakel Karman. (The Guardian)

Disasters

Prince William of Wales visits Christchurch, New Zealand, to inspect relief efforts for the 2011 Canterbury earthquake. (Sydney Morning Herald)

Fukushima I nuclear accidents:

Helicopters drop water on the stricken Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant to cool overheated fuel rods inside the core. (AP via Google News)

The Kyodo News Agency reports that power to the cooling system of the plant could partially resume this afternoon. (BBC)

The United States authorises the first evacuation of Americans from Japan. (MSNBC)



March 17, 2011 Wikinews articles

Expedition 26 crew returns to Earth safely

US rapper Nate Dogg dies at age 41