7.5 Makkos Daf 05 B (10 lines Up)SummaryMishna:It states “A man can be put to death based on the testimony of two or three witnesses”. “Three” is superfluous , the Torah wrote it in order to compare two to three. Just as we understand that three witnesses can be _mazim_ two; two can be _mazim_ three as well.How do I know that this applies even to a hundred?The passuk says “Eidim - witnesses” (this implies even many) .Rabbi Shimon: The words “or three” teach that just as both witnesses need to be _huzam_ in order for the _hazamah_ to be effective (3.2), so to when there are three witnesses, all three need to be _huzam_ in order for the _hazamah_ to be effective.How do I know that this applies even to a hundred?The passuk says _“Eidim - witnesses”_ (this implies even many ).Rabbi Akiva: The third witness cannot produce a leniency for the others. He can only be punished together with them.This third witness is completely unnecessary for the plot of the first two _zoimemim_ , and yet, the Torah punishes him with the full punishment. This teaches us that certainly Hashem will reward anyone who joins in with others doing a mitzvah. (That’s the big story of Yefes [see Toras Avigdor Parshas Shoftim 2 “The Third Witness”], https://torasavigdor.org/parshas-shoftim-2-the-third-witness/Sheim didn’t need Yefes’ help to cover his father, yet he received a bracha for that). See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.