Gemara Clarity

Sanhedrin 11a

סנהדרין י״א ע״א

Learn Sanhedrin 11a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Sanhedrin 11a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

The laws of עיבור שנה, and great חכמים who took blame on themselves to spare others shame

Overview

This amud is about עיבור שנה, adding a month to make a leap year. It opens with the rule that only people the נשיא invited may join in the decision. A story shows the rule in action: רבן גמליאל found an uninvited eighth person, and שמואל הקטן said he was the one. The גמרא reveals that it was really someone else, and שמואל הקטן took the blame to save that person from shame. The גמרא then gives similar stories about רבי חייא and רבי מאיר, and traces this trait back through שמואל הקטן and שכניה בן יחיאל to how הקב"ה dealt with יהושע and משה. Next comes a ברייתא praising הלל הזקן and שמואל הקטן as worthy of the שכינה, along with שמואל הקטן's dying prophecy. The גמרא then returns to the laws: the נשיא must agree to a leap year, and only real needs like roads, bridges, ovens for the קרבן פסח, and travelers already on the way justify it. Young animals and birds may only serve as extra support, as in רבן שמעון בן גמליאל's letter, and רב פפא explains that the court may add either twenty-nine or thirty days.

Opening lines

בִּמְזוּמָּנִין לָהּ.

by those who were invited for it.

מַעֲשֵׂה בְּרַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל שֶׁאָמַר:

There was an incident with Rabban Gamliel, who said:

הַשְׁכִּימוּ לִי שִׁבְעָה לַעֲלִיָּיה.

Bring me seven early to the upper room.

הִשְׁכִּים וּמָצָא שְׁמוֹנָה.

He came early and found eight.

The steps (30)

  1. StatementOnly invited people may add a leap month
  2. Proofרבן גמליאל finds an extra person in the loft
  3. Proofשמואל הקטן admits, and רבן גמליאל repeats the rule
  4. StatementIt wasn't really שמואל הקטן
  5. Proofרבי חייא leaves רבי's lecture over garlic
  6. Conclusionרבי חייא reveals he did not eat garlic
  7. QuestionWhere did רבי חייא learn this?
  8. ResponseFrom רבי מאיר, who wrote a גט for a woman
  9. QuestionWhere did רבי מאיר learn this?
  10. ResponseHe learned it from שמואל הקטן
  11. QuestionWhere did שמואל הקטן learn it?
  12. ResponseHe learned it from שכניה בן יחיאל
  13. QuestionWhere did שכניה learn it?
  14. ResponseFrom יהושע: God would not name the sinner
  15. ResponseAnother option: from משה
  16. StatementAfter the last נביאים, only a בת קול remained
  17. StatementThe בת קול in יריחו points to הלל הזקן
  18. StatementThe בת קול in יבנה points to שמואל הקטן
  19. Statementשמואל הקטן's prophecy as he died
  20. StatementNo eulogy for יהודה בן בבא
  21. StatementThe נשיא must agree to a leap year
  22. Proofרבן גמליאל agrees after the fact
  23. StatementGood reasons for a leap year
  24. StatementReasons that do not count
  25. StatementYoung animals only support the decision
  26. QuestionHow are they used as support?
  27. Responseרבן שמעון בן גמליאל's announcement
  28. ChallengeA ברייתא says the added time is a regular month
  29. Resolutionרב פפא: the court may choose either length
  30. StatementOpening a comparison about the letter