Sanhedrin 7b — the Talmud in English

As it is stated: “Behold, his couch

which is Solomon’s, sixty mighty men around it, from the mighty men of Israel, all grasping swords, trained in warfare ,

each man with his sword upon his thigh, because of the fear in the nights.”

And we expound the verse as referring to Solomon’s couch: it is an allusion to the court, which is the place where the Divine Presence rests, as he expounded above. “Sixty mighty men”—these are the mighty men of Torah [and sixty is not specifically meant ]. “Around it”—around the couch; “all grasping swords”—that is, it is as though a sword is placed between their thighs, to kill them if they incline the judgment; “trained in warfare”—that is, the warfare of Torah; “because of the fear in the nights”—

because of the fear of Gehinnom, which resembles night.

Rabbi Yoshiah expounded, and some say

or Rabbi Nachman bar Yitzhak expounded:

Rabbi Naḥman bar Yitzḥak [some versions read Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani]:

Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani]:

What is the meaning of that which is written

what is the meaning of the verse:

“House of David! So said the Lord: Judge judgment in the morning and rescue the robbed from the hand of the oppressor,”

and the question arises:

And do they judge in the morning—

and do they not judge all day

rhetorically?

Rather,

it is expounded:

If the matter is clear to you

the judgment in all its clarity

as the morning

which gives light—

say it

issue the judgment;

but if not

and it is not as clear to you as the morning—

do not say it.

Another exposition warning the judge to issue a ruling only when the matter is clear to him.

Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yonatan

and some versions read: Rabbi Yohanan, said:

From here

from this verse they expound:

“Say to wisdom: You are my sister”—

if the matter is clear to you

the judgment,

as

just as it is clear to you that

your sister

is forbidden to you—

say it

issue the judgment;

but if not—

do not say it.

The Gemara continues with the laws of the judges’ promptness.

Rabbi Joshua ben Levi said: Ten

who sit in judgment,

but one of the judges should not rely on the fact that there are many other judges besides him; rather,

the yoke

the punishment for distorting the judgment

hangs upon the necks of all of them.

And the Gemara raises an objection—

It is obvious ,

for is not the judge one of the ten, and why must Rabbi Joshua ben Levi teach us this matter?

And the Gemara answers:

It is necessary

to teach us this regarding one of the judges,

rather: regarding a student sitting before his rabbi

at the time of judgment, who understands that his rabbi is erring and thinks that he is permitted to remain silent, since he is not a judge; it teaches us that the yoke hangs upon his neck.

Therefore, the Gemara relates the practice of the amoraim when they sat in judgment or issued rulings concerning prohibition and permission.

Rav Huna—

when a judgment would come before him

when he needed to judge, he would

gather and bring ten Torah scholars from Rav’s academy

he would gather and bring ten Torah scholars from Rav’s academy;

he said: So that a chip from the beam may reach us ,

so that a small amount of sawdust from the beam would reach us. The analogy is: so that if we err in judgment, the punishment would be divided among all of us and eased from upon me.

And likewise

Rav Ashi—

when a case of an animal with a fatal defect would come before him

when he needed to rule regarding an animal, whether it had a fatal defect and was forbidden for consumption or was fit, he would

gather and bring all the butchers of Mata Mehasya

he would gather and bring all the slaughterers—who were expert in fatal defects and their laws—of the city of Mata Mehasya;

he said: So that a chip from the beam may reach us,

so that a small amount of sawdust from the beam would reach us. The analogy is: so that if we err in our ruling and declare the animal to have a fatal defect, thereby causing its owner a loss, or if we permit it when it has a fatal defect, the punishment would be divided among all of us and eased from upon me.

Another exposition warning the judges.

When Rav Dimi came

when Rav Dimi came from the Land of Israel,

he said: Rav Naḥman bar Kohen expounded: What is the meaning of that which is written

what is the exposition of the verse:

“A king by justice establishes the land, but a man of terumot destroys it,”—

if the judge resembles a king

if the judge is expert in laws and filled with wisdom, like a “king” who is filled with wealth,

who needs nothing,

then

he will establish the land,

the judge is one of the pillars of the world.

But if

the judge

resembles a kohen who goes around the threshing floors,

who circulates among the threshing floors so that they will give him teruma, and likewise this judge is not expert and must go around asking a court how he should judge, then he

will destroy it,

he is among those who destroy the land.

And the Gemara relates an incident concerning one who appointed an unfit judge.

The house of the Nasi

the Exilarch, who had the authority to appoint judges in Babylonia,

appointed a judge

appointed a judge

who was not learned

who did not know how to judge.

He said to him

to Judah bar Naḥmani,

who was

the interpreter of Reish Lakish

who would announce to the people in a loud voice the teachings of Reish Lakish, what he whispered into his ear:

Stand over him as an interpreter,

that he should stand and announce the teachings of that judge before the public.

He stood,

the interpreter,

and bent over him,

he inclined his ear toward the judge’s mouth,

but he did not say anything at all to him

the judge did not say anything to him.

He began

the interpreter himself began to expound,

and said

this verse:

“Woe to him who says to wood: Awaken! To a mute stone: Stir! It will teach? Behold, it is held fast with silver and gold, and there is no spirit within it,”

and his intention was that this judge resembles wood which must be awakened, and concerning him the prophet laments: “Woe.” And likewise he resembles a mute stone which must be told, “Stir”; and he asks: Will it teach?! Behold, it is held fast with silver and gold—for he purchased his position from the Exilarch with silver and gold—and there is no spirit within it.

And the Holy One, blessed is He, will in the future exact retribution from those who appoint them,

and the Holy One, blessed is He, will punish the Exilarch who appointed him, as

it is stated

in the following verse:

“But the Lord is in His holy Sanctuary; silence before Him, all the earth,”

the Holy One, blessed is He, from His holy Sanctuary will destroy the earth on account of this sin of appointing an unfit judge.

Reish Lakish said: Whoever appoints a judge [

and some versions read:

over the public ]

who is unfit,

he is

as though he plants an Asherah tree

for idolatry

in Israel.

As

it is stated: “You shall appoint for yourself judges and officers,” and adjacent to it is

and in the following verse it says:

“You shall not plant for yourself an Asherah, any tree,”

thus the Torah wrote them together in order to equate them with one another.

Rav Ashi expounds “any tree” as referring to the judge, for he is a person who is compared to a tree, as it is stated: “For man is a tree of the field,”

and elsewhere [Ta’anit 7a] it is explained that the reference is to an unfit Torah scholar.

Rav Ashi said: And in a place where there are

Torah

scholars

who are fit, the one who appoints him is

as though he planted it

the Asherah

beside an altar,

as it is stated: “You shall not plant for yourself an Asherah, any tree

beside the altar of the Lord your God,”

and the unfit judge, who is compared to an Asherah, if they appoint him in a place where there are Torah scholars who atone for and protect the world like sacrifices upon the altar, is as though he planted an Asherah beside the altar.

Rav Ashi further expounds:

It is written: “You shall not make with Me gods of silver and gods of gold,”

and the question arises: Is it only

gods of silver and gods of gold—

that one may not make

and shall we learn from this that

one of wood is permitted,

that, Heaven forbid, it is permitted to make gods of wood? Rhetorically. Rather,

said Rav Ashi:

the meaning of the verse is:

a god,

a judge,

who comes on account of money, and a god who comes on account of gold.

That is, he purchased his authority from the king with silver and gold.

The Gemara relates the extent of Rav’s dread of judgment.

Rav, when he would come to the court

when he appeared before the court,

would say thus

he would customarily say this:

With the desire of his soul he goes out to be killed

with the desire of his soul he goes out to be killed, on account of the sin of distorting the judgment [and the intention was regarding himself, but he attributed his curse to others],

and he does not perform the needs of his household

he does not attend to the needs of his household here,

and he enters his house empty-handed

and he will return to his house empty-handed—that is, he earns nothing, and there is no benefit in this for his household ,

and may it be that entering will be like leaving

and would that [here, when he was praying, he was already speaking about himself] I should come to my house as I left: just as I left my house without the sin of distorting the judgment, so may I return to my house without the sin of distorting the judgment.

And Rav was also accustomed to say.

When he would see

when he would see

a large retinue behind him

many people accompanying him in his honor,

he said

he was accustomed to recite this verse:

“If his height should rise to the heavens

and his head reach to the clouds,

like his dung

he shall perish forever

and so on.” If his height should reach to the heavens, in the end he will perish like dung [like the excrement of animals], and Rav said this so that he should not become arrogant and his mind should not become haughty over him.

And Mar Zutra the pious was likewise accustomed.

Mar Zutra the pious, when they would carry him on the Shabbat of the Festival

On the Shabbatot of the thirty days before the Festival, the rabbis were accustomed to expound the laws of the Festival, and a large public would gather to hear the exposition. The rabbis did not want to pass among the assembled in order not to trouble them to rise before them, and they could not run because they were elderly; their servants would carry them swiftly on their shoulders, and this was a great honor,

he said thus

he was accustomed to recite this verse:

“For strength is not forever, and will the crown be for generation after generation?”

The meaning of the verse is: Strength is not permanent, and will the crown be for generation after generation? And Mar Zutra intended that this honor with which they honored him would not be forever.

Another exposition concerning the conduct of judges.

Bar Kappara expounded: From where

from where do we know

this matter that the Sages said: Be deliberate in judgment

that the judges must wait and not conclude the judgment quickly, but rather examine it well and investigate it in depth,

as it is written: “You shall not go up

by steps” ,

and it is expounded that they should not run quickly,

and adjacent to it

and in the following verse it is written:

“And these laws

that you shall place before them,” and the adjacency teaches us: To be deliberate in judgment.

Rabbi Eliezer said [

and some versions read

Rabbi Elazar ]

from where

do we know

for a judge

that he should not step over the heads of the holy people

when the translator repeats the exposition, the judge should not enter among the public sitting on the ground, for one who passes among them appears as though he is stepping over their heads,

as it is stated: “You shall not go up by steps,”

and it is expounded in the sense of “going up” over the heads of the holy people,

and adjacent to it

and in the following verse it is stated:

“And these laws,”

to teach that even judges are warned not to step over the heads of the holy people.

The Gemara continues to expound the verse: “

And these are the laws that you shall place before them”

Why is it stated

“that you shall place before them?”

But

“that you shall teach them” would have been required

to say, meaning that laws are taught, and they are not placed.

Rav Yirmeya said, and some say

or it was

Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba

who said this, that it comes to teach about utensils that are placed before the judges,

these are the judges’ utensils [

as the Gemara will explain ].

Rav Huna, when he would go out to judgment

when he left his house to go to the court,

said thus

he instructed as follows:

Bring out

for me

bring out for me

my instruments of office

his tools of his work, namely:

a staff

to strike with a rebellious blow one who does not want to admit,

and a strap

to flog the transgressors,

and a horn

a shofar with which to excommunicate one liable for nidui and shamta,

and a sandal

a sandal required for halitza.

It is written in the Torah that Moses our teacher said to the Children of Israel: “

And I commanded your judges at that time.”

Rabbi Yohanan said:

The expression of “commanding” is an expression of “urging,” and regarding what did he urge the judges?

Regarding the staff and the strap

of the judges,

be diligent

that they should use them to instill fear in the public for the sake of Heaven.

It is written there in the Torah that Moses our teacher commanded the judges:

“Hear between your brothers and judge them,”

and it was not stated, “Hear your brothers.”

Rabbi Hanina said:

The verse comes

as a warning to the court

to hear both of them, meaning that one should make his claim in the presence of the other,

that he should not hear

the judge

the words of a litigant —

before his fellow litigant comes

for if he makes his claim not in the presence of his fellow, he will say false words as though they were true, since there is no one to contradict him, and the judge’s heart will incline toward acquitting him; and afterward it will be difficult for the judge also to incline toward the words of the second litigant. And this is hinted at in the verse, “between” your brothers.

And

this too is learned from this verse:

a warning to a litigant —

that he should not present his words

to say things that in his eyes are words of reason

to the judge before his fellow litigant comes

and has the possibility of contradicting him. And how is this exposition hinted at in the verse?

Read in it also —

“Hear between your brothers”

make your words heard when you are together with your brother.

Rav Kahana derives this instruction, that a litigant is forbidden to make his words heard before his fellow litigant comes, from another verse.

Rav Kahana said: From here

from this verse we derive: It is written in the Torah [Exodus 23]:

“You shall not bear

a false report,” and the plain meaning of the verse is that the Torah warns the judge not to accept false reports, and Rav Kahana came to expound:

You shall not cause to bear

that the litigant should not cause the judge to bear a false report.

It is also written there in the Torah that Moses our teacher warns the judges:

“And you shall judge righteously” —

Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: Make the judgment just, and afterward cut it.

And they continue to expound the verse: “And you shall judge righteously between a man and between his brother,”

“Between a man and between his brother,”

and it is expounded that a judge who judges inheritance cases, in which two brothers divide an inheritance, and regarding

this

Rav Yehuda said: Even between a house and an upper story,

so that the judge should not say to one of the brothers: You take the house and your brother shall take the upper story, and there is no distortion of the judgment in this, since each one receives a dwelling; rather, he should appraise them at equal value, and they should divide equally.

And it is also written there:

“And between his resident,”

and it is expounded:

Rav Yehuda said:

“His resident” refers to residential fixtures, namely:

even between an oven and a stove

so that the judge should not say that one of the brothers should take the oven and the other the stove, because it is not a righteous judgment that an oven is worth more than a stove; rather, the owner of the oven should supplement the other with money.

And it is also written there that Moses our teacher warns the judges:

“You shall not show partiality in judgment,”

and it is expounded:

Rabbi Yehuda says: You shall not recognize him

if one of the litigants is one whom you love, do not display your love; whereas

Rabbi Elazar says: You shall not estrange him,

if one of the litigants is one whom you hate, do not appear to him as a stranger, and condemn him.

And concerning this instruction the Gemara relates an incident:

Rav’s innkeeper

the owner of Rav’s lodging

came before him for judgment,

he came before him to litigate,

he said to him

the innkeeper said to Rav: Is it not that

you are my inn guest

did you not lodge with me, and he wished to hint to him that he should repay kindness for kindness,

he said to him

Rav answered him:

Yes

that is correct. [The Maharshal’s version:

He said to him

Rav said to the innkeeper:

What do you want

what do you want from me?].

He said to him

the innkeeper said to Rav:

I have a case

I have a legal case, and I want you to be the judge.

He said to him

Rav: