Parashat Re'eh

A Gutten Erev Shabbos!
Shabbos Mevorchim Chodesh Elul, haba aleinu ve'al kol Yisrael l'tovah!

In this week's parashah it is written:

"וְדָרַשְׁתָּ וְחָקַרְתָּ וְשָׁאַלְתָּ הֵיטֵב, וְהִנֵּה אֱמֶת נָכוֹן הַדָּבָר."

(Devarim 13:15)
Rashi brings the Gemara in Sanhedrin:

"From here Chazal learned), from the extra wording of the pasuk that there are seven Chakirot (Questions that the Beis Din use to examine the witnesses)"

When Beis Din questions the witnesses, there are seven fixed questions called chakirot which they must ask: Which Shemittah cycle? Which year? Which month? Which day of the month? Which day of the week? What time? And in which place?

The question:
The Mishnah in Avos (Perk 1 Mishnah 10) says:
Shimon ben Shetach says: The Dayanim should ask many questions when examining the witnesses.
As it is written:

״שמעון בן שטח אומר: הֱוֵי מַרְבֶּה לַחֲקוֹר אֶת הָעֵדִים״.

But if there are only seven chakirot, how can one ask many questions?

The Rishonim ask this question.
Before I bring their answers, I would like to share with you an interesting fact, that it is specifically Shimon ben Shetach who teaches this Mishnah, and it may be because of a tragic incident that occurred with his own son, who was executed after the witnesses had not been questioned thoroughly enough. The story is brought by Rashi Sanhedrin Page 46b. as follows;
A wicked Jewish tax collector died, and on the very same day one of the great Torah scholars of the city also passed away. The entire city came to accompany the great talmid chacham, while the relatives of the tax collector brought out his coffin behind them.
Suddenly enemies attacked, and everyone fled, leaving both coffins behind.
One faithful disciple remained with the coffin of his rebbi. Later, when the townspeople returned, they got mixed up and mistakenly buried the tax collector with great honor, believing him to be the talmid chacham, while the real talmid chacham was buried by the tax collector's relatives.
The disciple was devastated. He wondered what sin could have caused such a disgrace for his rebbi, and what merit the wicked tax collector had earned to receive such honor.
His rebbi later appeared to him in a dream and said:
“Do not be distressed. Come and I will show you my place of honor in Gan Eden, and I will also show you that wicked mans suffering in Gehinnom.
As for me, once I heard people speaking negatively about Torah scholars and I failed to protest. That is why I was punished.
As for the tax collector, once he prepared a lavish meal for the governor of the city. When the governor never came, he distributed all the food to the poor. That single act was the merit for which he received an honorable burial."
The disciple then asked:
"How long will that wicked man continue to suffer?"
His rebbi answered:
"Until Shimon ben Shetach dies and takes his place."
The disciple asked:
"Why?"
He replied:
"Because there are Jewish sorceresses in Ashkelon, and Shimon ben Shetach has not yet brought them to justice."
The next morning the disciple related the dream to Shimon ben Shetach.
Shimon ben Shetach gathered eighty strong young men. It was a rainy day, and he gave each one a large jug with a dry cloak hidden inside. He instructed them:
"There are eighty sorceresses. When you enter, each of you must lift one of them off the ground. Once they are no longer touching the ground, they lose their powers. Otherwise, we will not be able to overcome them."
Shimon ben Shetach first entered alone and claimed to be a sorcerer who wished to demonstrate his abilities.
"What can you do?" they asked.
"I can bring you eighty young men wrapped in dry cloaks, even on a day like today."
"Let's see," they replied.
He signalled to the young men waiting outside. They removed their dry cloaks from the jugs, wrapped themselves in them, entered, and each lifted one of the sorceresses off the ground. Once their powers were gone, they seized them all and had them executed.
The relatives of those women sought revenge. They arranged for two false witnesses to testify against Shimon ben Shetach's son, accusing him of a capital offence, and Beis Din sentenced him to death.
As he was being led to his execution, he declared:
"If I am guilty, may my death not serve as an atonement. But if I am innocent, may my death atone for all my sins, and the guilt rests upon the heads of the witnesses."
Hearing this, the witnesses admitted they had lied out of hatred for the women who had been executed.
Nevertheless, the sentence could not be overturned, because once witnesses have testified in Beis Din, they cannot retract their testimony.
This explains why Shimon ben Shetach later taught that judges must question witnesses thoroughly. He had personally witnessed the terrible consequences of insufficient examination.
However, returning to our question, If there are only seven fixed questions, how can one ask many questions?
Rabbeinu Yonah's approach
Rabbeinu Yonah gives a very interesting explanation. Although there are only seven questions, the judges should ask them repeatedly but from different angles and using different wording. In this way, even if the witnesses prepared their testimony in advance, the repeated questioning in different ways will mix them up and eventually expose any inconsistencies.
This is a quote of Rabbeinu Yonah:

Question the witnesses repeatedly and from different angles. In this way, you will uncover the truth, for when people speak at length, they are bound to slip up, and their own words will reveal whether their testimony is false.

Be’ezrat Hashem Yisborach, I found the same approach written by Rav Avraham Farissol, one of the leading Rabbanim of Italy during the period of the Spanish Expulsion, he also explains the Mishnah in the same way.
This is a quote:

9. He also instructed the judge to observe the Torah's laws regarding the seven investigations and seven examinations that Chazal derived in Sanhedrin (40a): questions concerning the day, the hour, the place, and other details, all learned from the verse, "You shall inquire, investigate, and question thoroughly" (Devarim 13:15).
He further said that the judge should continue questioning the witnesses repeatedly, asking the same matters in different ways, with great care and diligence. Through repeated questioning and varied wording, the truth of the matter will emerge, for if they are lying, they will eventually reveal the falsehood in their testimony. A lie cannot remain consistent in every detail that is examined. As Chazal say, falsehood has no legs, it cannot stand for long. (Rashi; Yalkut Torah, Remez 3 and 573; Zohar II; see also Shabbos 104a.)

The Meiri's approach
The Meiri gives a different explanation.
Besides the seven fixed investigations, there are also questions called bedikos, that need to be asked they are questions relating to the details of the incident.
For example:
What was the murderer wearing?
What was the victim wearing?
Was it a clear day or an overcast day?
These questions have no fixed number.
The Meiri therefore explains that although Shimon ben Shetach uses the expression "Lachkor et haeidim”  he is referring to these questions called bedikos, which can be asked without limit in order to test the accuracy of the witnesses' testimony.
As he writes:

"Although the investigations are fixed and well known, numbering seven, all relating to the time and place of the incident, here the word 'investigate' refers to the additional examinations, asking how it happened, what the murderer or victim was wearing, and similar details, in order to scrutinise their testimony and determine whether it is consistent."

On behalf of the entire Sheilot website team, we wish you a Shabbos Shalom U'Mevorach and a Chodesh Tov.