Gemara Clarity

Sanhedrin 56a

סנהדרין נ״ו ע״א

Learn Sanhedrin 56a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Sanhedrin 56a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

The trial of the מגדף, what counts as cursing ה׳'s name, and how the law applies to non-Jews, leading into the seven מצוות בני נח

Overview

This amud finishes the משנה about the מגדף, someone who curses ה׳'s name. During the trial the עדים say 'Yosei' instead of the real curse. At the end, everyone else leaves, the oldest witness says the exact words, and the דיינים stand and tear their clothes. The גמרא then teaches that a מגדף is liable only if he curses the שם using the שם. שמואל learns this from the doubled 'נוקב שם' in the פסוק. The גמרא proves that נוקב means cursing, and rejects the readings 'making a hole' and 'pronouncing the name'. Next, a ברייתא teaches from 'איש איש' that non-Jews are also forbidden to curse ה׳, and they are punished by the sword. רבי מאיר and the חכמים argue about cursing with a כינוי, and רבי יצחק נפחא and רבי מיישא explain how this applies to a non-Jew. The amud ends by opening the list of the seven מצוות בני נח.

Opening lines

בְּכׇל יוֹם דָּנִין אֶת הָעֵדִים

On every day [of the trial] they examine the witnesses

בְּכִינּוּי, ״יַכֶּה יוֹסִי אֶת יוֹסִי״.

using a substitute name: "Let Yosei strike Yosei."

נִגְמַר הַדִּין,

When the judgment is finished,

לֹא [הָיוּ] הוֹרְגִין בְּכִינּוּי,

they would not execute [him] based on the substitute name,

The steps (35)

  1. StatementDuring the trial, witnesses use a substitute name
  2. StatementFor the final verdict, the oldest witness repeats the exact words in private
  3. StatementThe judges stand and tear their clothes, never to mend them
  4. StatementThe other witnesses just say 'I heard the same'
  5. StatementThe מגדף is liable only if he cursed God's name with God's name
  6. QuestionWhat is the source for 'the שם with the שם'?
  7. Responseשמואל's source: the פסוק says 'שם' twice
  8. QuestionHow do we know נוקב means cursing?
  9. ResponseProof from בלעם, and the warning from אלהים לא תקלל
  10. ChallengeMaybe נוקב means making a hole
  11. ResolutionThe פסוק needs שם בשם, and that does not fit making a hole
  12. ChallengePlacing two written names on top of each other and tearing them
  13. ResolutionStacked names are just two separate holes
  14. ChallengeEngraving the name on a knife point and cutting with it
  15. ResolutionThe knife's sharpness does the cutting, not the name
  16. ChallengeMaybe נוקב means pronouncing the explicit name
  17. ResolutionTwo reasons pronouncing the name does not fit
  18. ProofSecond proof: ויקב sits right next to ויקלל
  19. ChallengeMaybe a person must do both acts to be liable
  20. ResolutionThe Torah calls him only 'the one who cursed', so it is one act
  21. StatementNon-Jews are also forbidden to curse ה׳
  22. ChallengeWe already know this from a different פסוק
  23. ResolutionThe extra word includes cursing with a substitute name
  24. ProofThe ברייתא: רבי מאיר includes all substitute names
  25. StatementThe חכמים: death only for the special Name
  26. Statementרבי מיישא: a non-Jew is liable for a substitute name even according to the חכמים
  27. QuestionWhat is רבי מיישא's reason?
  28. ResponseThe 'Name' condition is only for a convert and a born Jew
  29. QuestionWhat does רבי מאיר learn from 'כגר כאזרח'?
  30. ResponseA Jew gets סקילה, a non-Jew gets סייף
  31. QuestionWhat does רבי יצחק נפחא learn from 'כגר כאזרח'?
  32. ResponseOnly a Jew needs to curse 'שם בשם'
  33. QuestionWhy does the תורה say 'איש איש'?
  34. ResponseThe תורה speaks like people do
  35. StatementThe seven מצוות of בני נח