Bava Kamma 15A

״בני חורין ובני ברית״. ״בני חורין״⁠ – למעוטי עבדים, ״בני ברית״⁠ – למעוטי גוים.

free men and members of the covenant. The Mishnah states: Free men, to exclude Canaanite slaves from being valid witnesses, and it states: Members of the covenant, to exclude non-Jews.

וצריכא; דאי אשמעינן עבד ⁠– משום דאין לו חייס, אבל גוי ⁠– דיש לו חייס, אימא לא; ואי אשמעינן גוי ⁠– משום דלא שייך במצות, אבל עבד ⁠– דשייך במצות, אימא לא; צריכא.

The Talmud notes: And it is necessary to teach both exceptions, as had the Torah taught us only about a slave, I might have presumed that he is disqualified from serving as a witness because he has no lineage, i.e., the child of a Canaanite slave is not legally considered to be his child in any sense; but a free non-Jew, who has lineage, I might say no, he is qualified. And similarly, had the Torah taught us only about a non-Jew, I might have presumed that he is disqualified from serving as a witness because he has no connection to the mitzvot of the Torah; but with regard to a Canaanite slave, who does have a connection to the mitzvot, as he is obligated to keep the mitzvot that a woman is obligated to keep, I might say no, he is qualified. Therefore, it is necessary to teach both exceptions.

והנשים בכלל הנזק. מנהני מילי?

§ The Mishnah continues: And women are included in the halakhot of damages in the same way as men. The Talmud asks: From where is this matter derived?

אמר רב יהודה אמר רב, וכן תנא דבי רבי ישמעאל, אמר קרא: ״איש או אשה כי יעשו מכל חטאת״⁠ – השוה הכתוב אשה לאיש לכל עונשין שבתורה.

The Talmud presents 3 sources for this halakha. Rav Yehuda says that Rav says, and similarly, the school of R' Yishmael taught: The verse states with regard to the liability of one who takes a false oath that he had not stolen: “When a man or woman should commit any of the sins of a person” (Numbers 5:6). The verse equates a woman with a man with regard to all punishments in the Torah.