Sanhedrin 7b (ז:) — the Talmud in English

As it is stated: “Behold, his couch

which is Solomon’s, sixty mighty men surround it, of the mighty men of Israel, all of them grasping the sword, trained in war ,

each man with his sword upon his thigh, because of the fear by night.”

And we expound the verse as referring to Solomon’s couch; this alludes to the court, which is the place where the Divine Presence rests, as he expounded above. “Sixty mighty men”—these are the mighty in Torah [and sixty is not meant literally ], “surround it”—the couch; “all of them grasping the sword”—that is, it is as though a sword were placed between their thighs, to kill them if they pervert the judgment; “trained in war”—that is, the war of Torah; “because of the fear by night”—

because of the fear of Gehinnom, which resembles night.

Rabbi Yoshiya expounded, and some say

or it was Rabbi

Naḥman bar Yitzḥak [some versions read:

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:

Does one judge in the morning—

and does one not judge throughout the entire day,

as a rhetorical question?

Rather,

it should be expounded as follows:

If the matter is as clear to you

the verdict in all its details

as the morning

which is luminous—

state it

render the judgment;

but if not

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

do not state it.

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

Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said that Rabbi Yonatan [some versions read

Rabbi Yoḥanan] said:

From here

this verse is expounded:

“Say to wisdom: You are my sister”—

if the matter is clear to you

the verdict,

as

it is clear to you that

your sister

is forbidden to you—

state it

render the judgment;

but if not—

do not state it.

The Gemara continues with the laws concerning the judges’ diligence.

Rabbi Yehoshua 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 collar

the punishment for perverting the judgment

hangs upon the necks of all of them.

The Gemara raises an objection:

Obviously —

is not the judge one of the ten? Why, then, did Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi need to teach us this?

The Gemara answers:

It is necessary

to teach this with regard to one of the judges,

but rather: a student sitting before his teacher

at the time of judgment, who understands that his teacher is mistaken and thinks that he is permitted to remain silent, since he is not a judge. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi teaches us that the collar hangs upon his neck.

Therefore, the Gemara relates the practice of the amoraim when they sat in judgment or issued rulings concerning what is prohibited and permitted.

Rav Huna—

when a case would come before him

when he needed to adjudicate, he would

gather and bring ten Torah scholars from Rav’s academy

he would gather and bring ten Torah scholars from Rav’s house of study.

He said: So that a shaving from the beam may reach us ,

so that a small shaving from the beam would reach us. The analogy is that if we were to err in judgment, the punishment would be divided among all of us, thereby lessening my burden.

And likewise,

Rav Ashi—

when a case of an animal with a wound rendering it a tereifa would come before him

when he needed to rule whether an animal was a tereifa and forbidden to eat, or kosher, he would

gather and bring all the slaughterers of Mata Meḥasya

he would gather and bring all the slaughterers—who were expert in tereifot and their laws—from the city of Mata Meḥasya.

He said: So that a shaving from the beam may reach us,

so that a small shaving from the beam would reach us. The analogy is that if we were to err in a ruling and declare the animal a tereifa, thereby causing its owner a loss, or if we permitted it when it was in fact a tereifa, the punishment would be divided among all of us, thereby lessening my burden.

Another exposition warning the judges.

When Rav Dimi came

when Rav Dimi came from Eretz Yisrael,

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 establishes the land through justice, but a man who seeks gifts destroys it,”—

if the judge resembles a king

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

who needs nothing,

then

he establishes the land,

for the judge is one of the pillars of the world.

But if

the judge

resembles a koen 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 rule, then he

destroys it,

and is among those who destroy the land.

The Gemara relates an incident concerning one who appointed an unfit judge.

The house of the Nasi

the Reish Galuta, 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 adjudicate.

He said to

Yehuda bar Naḥmani,

who was

the interpreter of Reish Lakish [the one who would publicly repeat Reish Lakish’s lectures in a loud voice, what Reish Lakish whispered into his ear]:

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,

stand and publicly deliver that judge’s lectures before the people.

He stood,

the interpreter,

and bent over him,

inclining his ear toward the judge’s mouth,

but he did not say anything to him,

the judge did not say anything to him.

He began

the interpreter himself began to expound,

and said

this verse:

“Woe to one who says to wood: Awaken! To a silent stone: Arise! Can it teach? Behold, it is plated with silver and gold, but there is no spirit within it,”

and his intention was that this judge resembled wood, which must be awakened, and concerning him the prophet laments: “Woe!” He likewise resembled a silent stone, to which one must say, “Arise.” And he asks: Can it teach?! Behold, it is plated with silver and gold—he had purchased his position from the Reish Galuta with silver and gold—and there is no spirit within it.

And in the future, the Holy One, blessed be He, will exact punishment from those who appoint

and the Holy One, blessed be He, will punish the Reish Galuta who appointed him, as

it is stated

in the following verse:

“But the Lord is in His holy Temple; let all the earth be silent before Him.”

The Holy One, blessed be He, from His holy Temple, will destroy the land on account of this sin of appointing an unfit judge.

Reish Lakish said: Anyone who appoints a judge [some versions read

“who appoints a judge

over the community”]

who is unfit is

like

one who plants an asheira tree

for idolatry

among Israel.

As

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

the following verse:

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

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

Rav Ashi expounds “any tree” as referring to the judge, since a person is likened 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, one who appoints him is

as though he planted it

the asheira

beside the altar,

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

beside the altar of the Lord your God”;

and an unfit judge, who is likened to an asheira, if he is appointed in a place where there are Torah scholars who atone for and protect the world like offerings upon the altar, it is as though he planted an asheira beside the altar.

Rav Ashi expounds further:

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 you may not make—

and shall we infer from this that

a god of wood is permitted

that, Heaven forbid, it is permitted to make a god of wood? This is impossible. Rather,

Rav Ashi said:

the intent of the verse is:

a god,

a judge,

who comes because of silver, and a god who comes because 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 in court,

would say thus

he would regularly say:

He goes forth willingly to be killed

he willingly goes forth to be killed for the sin of perverting justice [and he was referring to himself, but expressed the curse as though it applied to others],

and he does not attend to the needs of his household

he does not fulfill his household needs here,

and he enters his house empty-handed

and he will return home empty-handed; that is, he earns nothing, and there is no benefit to his household ,

and would that entering were like leaving

and would that [here, when he prayed, he was already speaking about himself] I enter my home as I left it—that is, just as I left my home without the sin of perverting justice, so may I return home without the sin of perverting justice.

Rav would also customarily say.

When he would see

when he saw

a great retinue following him

many people accompanying him in his honor,

he would say

he would customarily recite this verse:

“Though his height reaches the heavens

and his head touches the clouds,

like dung

he will perish forever

and so on.” If his height reaches the heavens, in the end he will perish like dung [like the excrement of animals]. Rav said this so that he would not become haughty and grow arrogant.

Mar Zutra the Pious likewise acted in this manner.

When Mar Zutra the Pious was carried on the shoulders on the Shabbat of the Festival discourse,

on the Shabbatot during the thirty days preceding a Festival, the rabbis would customarily expound the laws of the Festival, and a large crowd would gather to hear the discourse. The rabbis did not wish to pass through the crowd, thereby requiring the people to trouble themselves to rise before them, and they could not run because they were elderly. Their servants would therefore carry them swiftly on their shoulders, and this was a great honor,

he would say thus

he would customarily recite this verse:

“For strength is not eternal, and will the crown endure for all generations?”

The meaning of the verse is: Strength does not last forever, and will the crown endure for all generations? Mar Zutra intended that this honor with which they honored him would not last forever.

Another exposition concerning the conduct of judges.

Bar Kappara expounded: From where

do we know

this matter that the Sages said: Be deliberate in judgment,

that judges must wait and not conclude the judgment hastily, but rather examine it properly and investigate it thoroughly,

as it is written: “You shall not ascend

by steps” ,

and this is expounded to mean that they should not proceed hastily,

and adjacent to it

and in the following verse it is written:

“And these are the ordinances

that you shall place before them,” and the juxtaposition teaches us: Be deliberate in judgment.

Rabbi Eliezer said

and some versions read

Rabbi Elazar

From where

do we know

that a judge

must not step over the heads of the holy people,

when the translator repeats the discourse, the judge should not enter among the people sitting on the ground, since one who passes between them appears to be stepping over their heads,

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

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

and adjacent to it

and in the following verse it says:

“And these are the ordinances,”

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

The Gemara continues to expound the verse: “

And these are the ordinances 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 necessary,

to say that ordinances are taught, rather than placed before them.

Rav Yirmeya said, and some say

or it was

Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba

who said this, that it comes to teach about the implements placed before the judges:

these are the implements of the judges

as the Gemara will explain.

When Rav Huna would go out to judgment,

when he left his house to go to the court,

he would say thus

he would command:

Bring out

for me

bring out for me

my implements of the craft

my working tools, namely:

a staff

to administer lashes of rebellion to one who refuses to admit the truth,

a strap

to flog transgressors,

a horn

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

and a sandal

a sandal for the purpose of halitza.

It is written in the Torah that Moses our teacher said to the Israelites: “

And I commanded your judges at that time.”

Rabbi Yohanan said:

the expression “commanded” denotes urging. And regarding what did he urge the judges?

Concerning a staff and a strap

of the judges,

be zealous

to 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 among your brethren and judge them,”

rather than “Hear your brethren.”

Rabbi Hanina said:

The verse comes

as a warning to the court

to hear both of them—that is, for one to present his claim in the presence of the other—

so that he should not hear

the judge

the words of one litigant—

before his fellow litigant comes,

because if he presents his claim without his fellow’s presence, he will state falsehoods as though they were truth, since there is no one to contradict him, and the judge’s heart will incline to find in his favor. It will then be difficult for the judge also to incline toward the words of the second litigant. This is alluded to by the verse: “among” your brethren.

And

this is likewise learned from this verse:

a warning to a litigant—

that he should not present his arguments

to the judge, saying things that in his view are cogent arguments,

before his fellow litigant comes,

and has the opportunity to contradict him. And how is this exposition alluded to in the verse?

Read it also as—

“Hear among your brethren”

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

Rav Kahana derives this instruction—that a litigant is forbidden to present his arguments before his fellow litigant comes—from another verse.

Rav Kahana said: From here

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

“You shall not bear

a false report.” The plain meaning of the verse is that the Torah warns the judge not to accept false reports, but Rav Kahana comes to expound it as follows:

“You shall not cause to bear”

that a 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: First establish the righteousness of the judgment, and afterward cut it.

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 to mean that a judge adjudicating inheritance law, where two brothers are dividing an inheritance, must judge fairly 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 will take the upper story, and there is no distortion of judgment in this, since each receives a dwelling; rather, he must appraise them at equal value, and they must divide equally.

And it is also written there:

“And between his resident alien”

and it is expounded:

Rav Yehuda said: “His resident alien” 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, since it is not a righteous judgment for an oven to be worth more than a stove; rather, the owner of the oven must compensate the other with money.

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

“You shall not show favoritism in judgment”

and it is expounded:

Rabbi Yehuda says: You shall not favor him

if one of the litigants is your friend, do not display your affection. Whereas

Rabbi Elazar says: You shall not estrange him,

if one of the litigants is your enemy, do not appear to him as a stranger, thereby convicting him.

Regarding this instruction, the Gemara relates an incident:

Rav’s innkeeper

the owner of the inn where Rav stayed

came before him for judgment,

he came before him to litigate,

he said to him

the innkeeper said to Rav:

“Are you not my inn guest?”

Were you not lodging at my inn? He wanted to hint that Rav should repay a kindness with a kindness,

he said to him

Rav answered him:

“Indeed,”

that is correct. [The Maharshal’s version:

He said to him

Rav said to the innkeeper:

“What do you want from me?”

What is your request of me?].

He said to him

the innkeeper said to Rav:

“I have a case,”

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

He said to him

Rav

: