Gemara 11.42: Final Review Sheet

Monday, June 8 2015. All documents can be accessed here.

SUGYA#1: INTRO TO SANHEDRIN

Handout: 1

TorahCommandment (דבריםטז: יח–כ)

●“You shall set up judges and law enforcement officials for yourself in all your cities that the Lord, your God, is giving you, for your tribes, and they shall judge the people [with] righteous judgment. You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show favoritism, and you shall not take a bribe, for bribery blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts just words. Justice, justice shall you pursue, that you may live and possess the land the Lord, your God, is giving you.”

●What is the difference between this system and modern western culture?

○IntheAmericansystem, wehavechecksandbalances, andalegislativebranch. IntheJewishsystem, thereisaביתדין.

Introductory Words: Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz

●3 branches of government:

○Torah - דאורייתא - legislative

○King - executive

○Sanhedrin - judicial

.

TorahCommandment (דבריםיז: יח–כ)

●“If a matter eludes you in judgment (כִּייִפָּלֵאמִמְּךָ דָבָרלַמִּשְׁפָּט), between blood and blood, between judgment and judgment, or between lesion and lesion, words of dispute in your cities, then you shall rise and go up to the place the Lord ( אֶלהַמָּקוֹםאֲשֶׁריִבְחַרה), your God, chooses. And you shall come to the Levitic kohanim and to the judge who will be in those days, and you shall inquire (וְדָרַשְׁתָּ), and they will tell you the words of judgment. And you shall do according to the word they tell you, from the place the Lord will choose (הַמָּקוֹםהַהוּאאֲשֶׁריִבְחַרה), and you shall observe to do according to all they instruct you (לַעֲשׂוֹתכְּכֹלאֲשֶׁריוֹרוּךָ). According to the law they instruct you and according to the judgment they say to you, you shall do; you shall not divert (לֹאתָסוּר) from the word they tell you, either right or left. And the man who acts intentionally, not obeying the kohen who stands there to serve the Lord, your God, or to the judge that man shall die, and you shall abolish evil from Israel. And all the people shall listen and fear, and they shall no longer act wantonly.”

●Know all the bolded words and their significances:

○Ifamattereludesyouinjudgment (כִּייִפָּלֵאמִמְּךָ דָבָרלַמִּשְׁפָּט) - Even when you arent 100% sure you go to the sanhedrin

○TheplacetheLordwillchoose ( אֶלהַמָּקוֹםאֲשֶׁריִבְחַרה) - The sanhedrin which is found by the beit hamikdash

○Youshallinquire (וְדָרַשְׁתָּ) - You have to be active

○Accordingtoalltheyinstructyou (לַעֲשׂוֹתכְּכֹלאֲשֶׁריוֹרוּךָ) - the rabbis have the power to interpret the pesukim

○Youshallnotdivert (לֹאתָסוּר) - Even if the rabbis tell right is left and vice versa you have to listen to them cuz blind faith of the rabbis. You cannot stray left and right.

Rabbi Yochanan

●Thepeopleinsanhedrinmustbe: smart (חכמה), good-looking (מראה), oftall (קומה), old (זקנה), magical (כשפים), andknow 70 languagesthatwillbeabletobyanyone (ידעיםשבעיםלישון)

SUGYA #2: DINEI MAMANOT

Handout: 2

לב. - לב:

Mishna

Bothtypesofcasesneedדרישהandחקירה (investigators). Apasuksays “משפטאחדיהיהלכם”

●Why one rule? We treat outsiders and insiders the same - one ruling for everyone. This was very progressive for their time because normally an outsider would be enslaved or killed

Rashi “אחדדיניממנות” - We use the same measure of questioning and interrogating for dinei mammanot and nafshot

Differencesbetweenדיניממנותandדינינפשות:

דינינפשות / דיניממנות
  1. Need 23 peopleinביתדין
  2. פותחיןלזכותואיןפותחיןלחובה - wedonotopentoargumentunlessitisadefenseargument**
  3. You need more than 2 in majority favor to execute someone (13-10) and majority of 1 to acquit (12-11)
  4. מחזיריןאךוכךלזכות - youcanonlychangetherulingifyou'retryingtofindhiminnocentbecausewealwaystrytolimitthedeathtoll.
  5. Anyonecanargueforזכותbutnotforחובה. Onlymoreexperiencedcanargueforחובה - andtheyareallowedtogobackandtrytoproveinnocent
  6. If you think a man is innocent then you can’t argue for guilty but if you think he is guilty then you can argue for innocent
  7. Can’t start it at nighttime
  8. Cant make a verdict at night - only during the day****
  9. We start on the side*****
  10. Only people of really good lineage can judge
/
  1. Need 3 peopleinביתדין*
  2. פותחיןלזכותאולחובה - openuptoanyargument***
  3. Only need 1 majority favor for conviction or innocence (2-1)
  4. מחזיריןבכלמקרה- youcanchangetherulingnomatterwhat
  5. Anyone can argue either prosecuting or defensive argument
  6. If you think he is innocent you can argue for innocent and the other way around
  7. Can start at any time
  8. Can make a verdict at any time
  9. We start with the av beit din
  10. Anyone can judge

*So there is no even number for a majority vote

**Because we want to try to save someone’s life

***There is no win or lose - one’s gain is another person’s loss

****Because you can’t kill on shabbat

*****So that the younger judges on the side are not influenced by the av beit din and therefore change their opinion

Rashi: “ודינינפשותמעיןעלפיאחד”
●If 12 people find the person innocent, and 11 people find him guilty, he is innocent
●But if 12 people find him guilty, and 11 people find him innocent then he is not guilty - we need at least 2 people more finding him guilty to make him guilty
●This is because if we do something good, we want the majority, but if were doing something bad, we need more than just a simple majority
Rashi: “מןהצד”
●Don’tfightthepersonthatisgreaterthanyou. Inנפשותweletthesmallerpeoplestartfirstsotheycanhavearealsayinthematter, andsotheywon’tbeintimidated

SUGYA #3: DRISHA V’CHAKIRA

Handout: 3,4,5

מ.

Mishna

Theחקירות

●According to the Tana Kama, there are 7:

  1. “שבוע” - Whichשמיטהcycle?
  2. “שנה” - Whichofthe 7 yearsinthatשמיטהcycle?
  3. “חודש” - Whichmonthofthatyear?
  4. “כמהבחודש” - Whatdateofthatmonth?
  5. “באיזהיום” - Whichdayoftheweek?
  6. “באיזהשעה” - Whattime/hour?
  7. “ביאיזהמקום” - Where?

●Accordingtoר’ יוסי, thereareonly 3 חקירות:

  1. What day of the week?
  2. What time/hour?
  3. Where?

The ּבדיקות

●Case specific questions

  1. Do you know him?
  2. Did you warn him?
  3. Ifhewasdoingעבודהזרה, whom/whatdidheworshipandhowdidhedoit? (casespecific)

●You are encouraged to ask as many questions as possible

●Thestoryofבןזכאי - teachesthatthemorequestionsyouaskthebetter - בןזכאיwentsofarastoevenaskaboutthestemsofthefigs (עוקציתאנים)

Whatarethemaindifferencesbetweenבדיקותandחקירות?

בדיקות / חקירות
●Questions are specific to each case so can vary from case to case
●There is no set amount of questions-The more we ask, the better
●Thetestimonystandseveniftheעדor 2 don’t knowtheanswertooneofthequestions / ●General background questions that are the same for every case
●Set amount of questions - No more and no less
●Iftheעדdoesn’tknowananswer, thetestimonyisnullified
אחדאמראנייודע / שנייםאומוריןאיןידעים / מכחשים – theycontradict
חקירות / ✘ / ✘ / ✘
בדיקות / ✔ / ✔ / ✘

Is there any margin of error when it comes to Bedikot and Hakirot?

●Case:Ifoneעדsaysithappenedonthe 2ndofthemonthandtheothersaysithappenedonthethirdofthemonth, thetestimonystands

○Why? Oneעדmightknowaboutעיבורחדוש and the other may not so technically, even though they said different dates, they really mean the same day. This is why we go on to ask what day of the week

■An עיבורחדושiswhenthemooncycletakes 30 daysinsteadofthenormal 29 becausetheעדים . Theעדwhothoughtithappenedonthe 2ndday, knewofעיבורחדושwhiletheotherעדdidnotsohestartedthemonthonedayearlyandthoughtthecrimehappenedonthe 3rdday. Thus, thesecondandthethirddaycanactuallybethesameday, andthetestimoniesmatch

●Whichcarriesmorestrength, aבדיקהoraחקירה?

○Bedikas because they are more specific so it is more reliable. Also, there is a margin for error chakiras

Tosfot on the Mishna:
●Question: Why are we willing to risk someone’s life for a safek? If we were worried about the difference of an hour, why would we let an entire day slide?
●Answer: See Rashi
Rashi on the Mishna:
●Answer (to Tosfot): Inordertocatchעידיםזוממים. Thewitnessesdon'tthinkabouttheexactdayandifthereisaneibur. Thesecondsetofeidim (theonestocatchthefirstone) mightnotrememberthedayofthemonthbuttheywouldrememberthedayoftheweek. [1]

Question: Dowereallyneedtoaskalltheחקירות? Isn’titabitredundant?

Rambam (Formulistic)
●Answer: Yes, because it’s a torah commandment. The reason behind this is to “scare” the witnesses in order to trip them up (if they have a lie, they might get intimidated into not saying it). Even if the guy says he was killed today, westillaskall 7 חקירות.
Ran (Ulitarian)
●RavZackria: Allthese 7 חקירותexisttomaketestimonychallenging. Ifhestartshistestimonywithwhatyearithappened, youdon’thavetoaskaboutshmita. Ifaspecificquestionisansweredthenamoregeneralonedoesn'tneedtobeasked.
Margoliot Hayam
●Lookintheמנחתחינוך, lawnumberתסגitishardforustofigureoutthetruth. Withyovelandshmitah, theyknewwhichyovelinthefirstbeithamikdash, butthesecondbeithamikdashtheydidn’t. Itwashardtofigureoutbecausetheydidn’tknowthecountoftheyear. Thisisacaseofדינינעפשות - wecan’tevenholdsuchacasewithoutיובל! Andsincewedon'tevenknowtheyovel, howcanwehavethesecourtcasesthatcankillpeopleorgiveoutlasheswhenwedon'tknowtheyears? Thetorahonlystatesthatweneedchakirotbutdoesn'tsaywhichchakirottheyare. Thepointisjusttocheckthemandmakethemscared. Chazalsaysthatthereare 7 chakirot, buttheyarejustsuggestions. Butthese 7 shouldonlybeinaplacewhereitmakessense - whenthereisnobenefittoaskachakira, itisbettertoasksomethingthatyouthinkcouldtripupafalsewitness

SUGYA #4: Pshara Badin

Handout: 6, 7

ו.-ו:

Compromise

Is it allowed?

●No: Moshe and beit shammai (strict, literalists)- mishpat, torat emet

●Yes: Aharon and beit hillel (lenient, interpretive)- tzedakah, torah chesed, shalom

Gemara

The Rabbis taught: you need 3 judges for a compromise. Once you pass judgement, you can’t go back and compromise

●Rabbi Eliezer - “בוצעברךנעץה.” You cannot compromise, and if you do it, you sin. And anyone that does compromise gives up their opinion and is blasphemous to Hashem

○Rather, the law should “tunnel through a mountain,” as Moshe would say. Aharon, however, loved peace and chased after it, put peace between man and his friend.

●Rabbi Eliezer - someone who stole a se’ah of wheat, and ground it, baked, and separated it into challah. He cannot say a bracha since he is a thief, as a thief who recites a bracha is considered blasphemous to God.

●Rabbi Meir - Yehuda said “what can we gain from killing our brother, Yosef?” Anyone who praises Yehuda for this is considered a blasphemer, as Yehuda has blasphemed Hashem.

○Rabbi Yehoshua:

●With David: “David did justice and tzedakah.” And if there always a place with justice - there is not tzdakah. And with a place with tzdakah - there is no justice? Rather, justice with tzedakah is a compromise

○Tana Kamah: you must judge the guilty as guilty, the innocent as innocent. If you feel bad about making a poor person who is guilty pay, you can pay the money back to him out of your own pocket. This is what justice and tzedakah is, and this is how we explain the David case. Justice in the court, and tzedakah with your own money.

●Rabbi Shimon ben Manasee: if 2 people come with a problem and after hearing their statements there is no clear, verdict, you are allowed to compromise. If the judgement is clear, you are not allowed to compromise, as it says “one who releases the water is like the beginning of the judgement - you can’t stop it once it’s begun” (פוטרמיםראשיתמדוןולפניהתגלעהריבנטוש). You can only compromise before the clear judgement is revealed.

Numberג:

Whyisthererepetition - itsays “אסורלבצוע” andthenitsays “וכלהבוצעחוטא”

●Rashbag: There are 3 pillars - justice, emet, peace.

○Why does it need to ask about the 3 pillars? You could just state it.

○Why change the order of din and Shalom when answering? The order was different in the question.

Answer: Its possible to interpret the pasuk as one thing, mishpat bisua. so he changes the order to emphasize that it is 3 separate things. This shows us that its strictly not allowed to compromise, even if it is a good compromise.

Numberה:

Why was Moshe forbiddentocompromise? Whywasheonlyallowedtodotheמשפטאמת?

●Moshe had ruach hakodesh so he always knew the judgement - and you aren’t allowed to compromise if you already know the judgement, so he was never in a situation where he had to compromise and therefore was never in a position of uncertainty, thus never allowed to compromise

Numberו:Whydothekohanimjudgecasesofצרעת?

●Kohanimarealwayspure, youwantpurepeopletojudgeaטמאcase[2][3]

SUGYA #5: TAUT B’DIN

Handout: 8, 9

גמראלג.

Can You Appeal a Case?

●Briitah: if you can appeal (if a mistake was made) in a monetary situation.

○Contradiction: in a case where someone guilty is acquitted or versa, or something impure became pure or vice versa, you cannot change the case - rather, let the judgement be fixed by payment out of your own pocket

●Rabbi Yosef: There is no contradiction. It depends if it an expert veteran (במומחה) judge exist. If one does then we can appeal, if not, we do not.

○An appeal is allowed with an expert?!?!? We taught that if there is an expert in the beit din you are exempt from paying!

○Rav nachman: the paying out of pocket doesn’t apply for only the top top judge, but other judges can do “machzirin” if a smarter judge exists.

○Rav sheshet: one case he made a mistake in logic so he was not allowed to go back, and the other one he made a mistake in a black and white case, so he has allowed to go back.

■Ravina asks: Do the following things apply to a mishna machloket?

●Rabbi Chiya or Rabbi Ushya? They said to them: yes.

●Even of Rav or Shmuel? yes.

●Even if it was me or you? They said to him: are we like simple reeds by the river? (What are we, chopped liver?).

■Rav Papa: “shikul hadat” is like like 2 tannas or 2 amoras that are arguing, and we haven’t decided yet who the halacha would follow. The mistaken knowledge, shikul hadaat, is when there is no clear cut side and the judge makes a “judgement call.”

Mefarshim: “Are we simple reed cutters? (Are we chopped liver?)

Margoilot Hayam
Afieldofwheatyoumustplowandplantthefield. Onlyaftercanyouhoptoreapfromthefield. Butlargereedsinswamp/lake, theyarenaturallyoccurring. Theygrowontheirown. Lookwhat'swrittenononpage 102. Rabbisthatworkveryhardtounderstandthewordsoftoraharecalled “reapers” (מחצדיחקלא) - theycutdownthatwhichtheyhaveplantedinthefield. Their planting is learning torah so they achieve benefit. This is what Rav Ashi is really saying to Ravina - have we not struggled i learning torah? Our knowledge of the torah is like reeds that have struggled on their own. We’re at the point where our efforts are bearing fruit. We are at that level. It can grow on its own. Is that not so? Someone who makes a mistake in our words is mistaking a dvar mishna. Let’s say they are reed cutters (great Rabbis). Who is to say that people cannot argue on what they say? There are other people of their time period - people can argue on them? If you ignore the word of amoras, and you didn’t know what they said, were you to hear it, that’s as if you make a mistake in dvar mishna. If you didn’t know their words
●Chidushei Haran: What does a mistake in shikul hadaat mean?
○A mistake in the words of the geonim (later). Someone who made a mistake in shikul daat, it is not explicit what the mistake it (as opposed to halacha). What about someone who makes a mistake in the words of the geonim (later)? If some great acharon makes a mistake in the words of the geonim, because he is unaware and ignorant of his words, that is like someone who makes a mistake (shikul daat) and we have to go back. Lesson: even if it is a gaon, and he is not in the mishna, you cannot completely ignore him
●Rayvid (quoting Rav Zachya HaLevi):I heard from a chacham that there is no such thing as a mistake in shikul daat in our generation . All the halachic decisions have been decided - no more open arguments. Rav zrachya does not agree with this. The rayvid said: What Rav Zachya said was incorrect. There is no such thing as shikul daat in our generation. If a person made a mistake with the words of the geonim that would have caused him to go back, that is not a mistake with shikul daat, rather dvar mishna. Even if a person made a mistake on a ruling of the geonim based on what he thought was correct, this too is a mistake in dvar mishna. In our day and age it is not correct to argue on the words of geonim based on our own ruling without absolute proof that geon is wrong. Lesson: there is no such thing as a shikul hadaat. If there is a mistake in the words of the gaonim, it is just a mistake in dvar mishna.

SUGYA #6: BEN SORER U’MOREH

Handout: 10

מסכתסנהדריןעא:-עב.

סנהדריןסט:-ע.

סנהדריןעא.

Mishna:

A rebellious son is killed before he is proven guilty.

●If a bad person is killed it is both good for them and for the world, and if a good person is killed, it is both bad for them and bad for the world

●Wine/sleep for a bad person is both good for them and for the world, and wine/sleep for a good person is both bad for them and bad for the world

●Scattering bad people is good for them and good for the world. For good people, it is bad for them and bad for the world.

●Gathering bad people is bad for them and bad for the world, and for good people, good for them and good for the world

●Quiet for bad people is bad for them and bad for the world. For good people, it is beneficial for them and beneficial for the world

Gemara

Rabbi Yosi Haglili: when someone eats a measurement of meat and drinks a half a thing of wine, we are stoning him?

●Rather, we come to the end of ben soreh, when he finishes his parents money and cannot eat, he will become a robber. It is better for him to die before he sins even more.

●The torah says: one shall die innocent and not die guilty. Because when a wicked man dies, it is good for him and the rest of the world and when a good man dies it is bad for him and for the world

סנהדריןסט:-ע.

Briitah: Rabbi Shimon says - In judgement the habits of a ben sorah moreh should also apply to girls. She could also become addicted to meat and wine and steal to support herself.

●The torah said it only applies to boys

סנהדריןעא.

Mishna: A BSM must eat meat and drink one to become a BSM

●Ifheeatsmeatbutdoesnotdrinkwine, ordrinkswinebutdoesnoteatmeat, heisnotaBSM, asitsays “זוללוסבא”

Mishna: If he steals from his father and has permission from his father, if he steals from others and has permission from others, if he steals from others and has permission from his father - he is not considered a BSM. Only if he steals from his father and has permission from others is he considered a BSM.

●Rabbi Yose in the name of Rabbi Yehuda: he must steal from his father and his mother

Mishna: Both parents must want the court to judge their son for there to be a BSM. If only one parent is on board, it is not valid.

●Rabbi Yehuda: if the mother is not “acceptable” for his father, he is not a BSM.

Gemara: What does “not acceptable” mean?

●Answer #1: Ifsheisforbiddentohimbythelawsofכריתותandמיתות. Butno, thisanswerisnot valid...they are still married. They are still the BSM’s parents!

●Answer #2 (Briitah Rabbi Yehuda): If the mother is not equal to the father in voice, appearance, and height.

○We know this because it says “איננושמעבקלנו” - theirvoicesshouldbethesame. Wetheninferthesameabouttheappearance/stature.

Briitah: There was never a BSM and there never will be a BSM. So why is it written?

●So we can learn and thereby be rewarded

○How is this so? Like Rabbi Yehuda, who makes all the stringencies so it will never happen.

○Or like Rabbi Shimon, as it says in a briitah: if someone drinks an amount of wine and eats a measurement of meat, his parents will never bring him to be stoned! This would never happen!

■Rabbi Yonatan: I saw a BSM and sat on his grave.

SUGYA #7: BA B’MACHTERET

Handout: 11

סנהדריןעב.-:

סנהדריןעב.- עב:

there is a spectrum of how imminent the killing will be. Rodef - haba bmachteret - ben sorrer

Margoliot hayam

SUGYA #8: DAM RA’ECHA/RODEF

Handout: 12

(סנהדריןעג.-:)

BEKIUT

1

[1]wrong

[2]what are this

[3]this is the margoliot