ת"ר איזהו שוטה
היוצא יחידי בלילה והלן בבית הקברות והמקרע את כסותו
איתמר רב הונא אמר עד שיהו כולן בבת אחת ר' יוחנן אמר אפי' באחת מהן
היכי דמי אי דעביד להו דרך שטות אפי' בחדא נמי אי דלא עביד להו דרך שטות אפילו כולהו נמי לא לעולם דקא עביד להו דרך שטות
והלן בבית הקברות אימור כדי שתשרה עליו רוח טומאה הוא דקא עביד
והיוצא יחידי בלילה אימור גנדריפס אחדיה
והמקרע את כסותו אימור בעל מחשבות הוא
כיון דעבדינהו לכולהו הוה להו
כמי שנגח שור חמור וגמל, ונעשה מועד לכל.
אמר רב פפא: אי שמיע ליה לרב הונא הא דתניא: אי זהו שוטה - זה המאבד כל מה שנותנים לו, הוה הדר ביה.
איבעיא להו: כי הוה הדר ביה - ממקרע כסותו הוא דהוה הדר ביה, דדמיא להא, או דלמא מכולהו הוה הדר?
- תיקו.
Our Rabbis taught, Who is a shoteh?
One who goes out alone at night, and one who sleeps in a cemetery, and one who tears his clothes.
It is said: R. Hunna said, Only if they all happen at once. R. Yochanan said, Even with one of them.
What is this case? If he has done these in a manner of shtut, even one also [counts]. If he have not done these in a manner of shtut, then doing all of them also doesn't [count]? Really, then he had done them in a manner of shtut.1
And one who sleeps in a cemetary, I would say that he is doing it so that a spirit of impurity2 will rest upon him.
And one who goes out alone at night, I would say that the Gandripas3 seized him.
. One who tears his clothes, I would say because he was a thinking person4
Once he has done all of them, he becomes like somebody who has gored an ox, a donkey, and a camel, and has been declared mu'ad for all.5
Rav Pappa said: If Rav Huna had heard what was taught "Who is a shoteh? One who loses everything that you give him," he would have retracted this.
It was asked of them: When he would have retracted it, would he have retracted 'the one who tears his clothes,' since it's similar to this, or maybe he would have retracted all of them?
Tie.
1. If he does one of them, there may be another justification but if he does all three at once, there is no possible explanation other than shtut
2. Rashi: רוח טומאה- רוח שדים שיסייעוהו להיות מכשף
A spirit of impurity:A spirit of demons who will help him to be a magician
3. Gandripas- "lycanthropy, a form of melancholy, the patient so afflicted believing himself to be a wold (or dog) and spending his nights among tombstones" (Jastrow)
Rashi describes this as an illness that grips him because of worrying where his body heats up and he has to go into the fresh air.
4. And he was lost in thought
5. Forewarned. The owner of an animal that is muad is fully responsible for any future attacks, as the animal's behavior is now predictable. This happens after three injuries.
איזהו שוטה. האמור בכל מקום שפטור מן המצות ומן העונש ואין קנינו קנין ואין ממכרו ממכר:
Rashi on Chagigah 3b
Who is a shoteh? It is said in all cases that he is exempt from mitzvot and from punishments and his acquisitions are not acquisitions and his sales are not sales
English
(9) The shoteh is disqualified from testifying according to the Torah since he is not ben mitzvot. And this isn't just a shoteh who walks around naked and breaks things and throws stones, but it's anybody whose mind is mixed up and his mind is found to be continually confused about certain things, even if he can speak and ask questions on topic about other things, he is disqualified. And in the category of shotim: An epileptic at the time of his epilepsy is disqualified, but at a time when he is healthy, he is kosher. Both somebody who is epileptic from time to time or who is always epileptic without a specific time, and he whose mind is not always confused, for there are epileptics whose minds are mixed up even in their times of health, and you have to be really cautious about testimony from epileptics. (10) Especially feeble-minded people who don't know that things contradict each other and don't understand concepts about the issue in the way that the rest of the general population would. And also fearful/shocked people, and people whose minds are disturbed and people who are especially crazy: These are in the category of shotim and this is according to what the judge sees since it's impossible to describe the mind in writing.