Deuteronômio 13:16 Halacá: Mishneh Torah, Testimony, Mishneh Torah, Foreign Worship and Customs, Mishneh Torah, Negative Mitzvot & Mishneh Torah, Positive Mitzvot

It is a positive commandment to find witnesses, to interrogate them, to ask them many questions, and examine them closely, moving from topic to topic during the questions so that they will be silenced or recant if their testimony is duplicitous. As it says, (Deuteronomy 13:16), "And you shall search, and interrogate, and ask well." Additionally, the judges must be careful while interrogating the witnesses [lest the witness learn from the judges' statements how to lie. With seven questions they examined them:] Which seven-year cycle was it? Which year? Which month? What day of the month? What day of the week? How many hours of the day? And in which place? Even if he said "Today he killed him" or "Yesterday he killed him," they still ask them which seven-year cycle, which year, which month, which day of the month, which day [of the week], and which hour [it occurred]. Among the questions, beyond the seven which apply to everyone, there are additional [questions asked]. If they are testifying about a person, saying that he worshipped strange gods, they ask them what he worshipped and what service he performed. If they are testifying that he desecrated the Sabbath, they ask him which form of [forbidden] labor he performed and in what manner did he do it. If they are testifying that he ate on the Day of Atonement, they ask him which food he ate and how much he ate. If they are testifying that he killed someone, they ask him what he used to kill the person. And similarly, all such questions are included in the interrogation.

No city is pronounced a seduced city unless its seducers be her own citizens, of the same tribe even as it is said: "From the midst of thee, and have drawn away the inhabitants of their city" (Deut. 13.14.), numbering two or more than two even as it is said: "Certain base fellows are gone out" (Ibid.), having seduced up to a majority of the citizens, the majority being more than one hundred even to the majority of the tribe, but if an actual majority of the tribe was seduced they are judged as individuals, for it is said: "the inhabitants of their city" (Ibid.) which means neither a village nor a large city, and every place of less than one hundred citizens is a village and of a majority of a tribe is a large city. Likewise, if women or small children seduced it, or it was seduced by an individual person, or only a minority of its citizens was seduced, or they themselves brought about the seduction, or its seducers were outsiders, the law of a seduced city is not applied to it, but they are judged as individuals who worshiped idolatry, and whosoever did transgress is stoned, and their property is inherited by their lawful successors as the law is concerning all upon whom the tribunal pronounces a sentence of death.²Sanhedrin, 111a-b; Ibid. 15b; Ibid. 112a. C.

Not to rebuild a city that has been led astray to idolatry, as it is said, “…. it shall not be built again” (Deut. 13:17).