Gemara Clarity

Sanhedrin 5b

סנהדרין ה׳ ע״ב

Learn Sanhedrin 5b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Sanhedrin 5b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Limits on רב's authority, why a student needs permission to rule, and whether two judges can form a valid court

Overview

The amud opens by finishing an explanation: רב was called 'my sister's son' because of his great wisdom. The גמרא then asks why רבי did not let רב permit בכורות. It gives two answers: to give honor to רבה בר חנה, or because רב's expertise was so great that ordinary people might copy him and wrongly permit temporary blemishes. Next the גמרא asks why a learned scholar needs permission to rule at all. It answers with a story: a student taught that egg liquid (מי ביצים) does not make food able to become טמא, and people misheard it as swamp water (מי בצעים). After that, the חכמים decreed that a תלמיד may not rule without his רבי's permission. Short stories follow about תנחום ruling near his teacher and about a חלל standing in a cemetery. The גמרא then shows that permission to rule can be limited by a condition. Finally it returns to שמואל's rule that two judges who ruled have a valid judgment. רב נחמן answers רבא's first challenge from a משנה. רבא then brings a second challenge from a ברייתא, and the answer continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

עַל שֵׁם חׇכְמָתוֹ, דִּכְתִיב:

It was because of his wisdom, as it is written:

״אֱמֹר לַחׇכְמָה אֲחֹתִי אָתְּ״.

"Say to wisdom: You are my sister."

יַתִּיר בְּכוֹרוֹת?

May he permit firstborn animals?

אַל יַתִּיר.

He may not permit them.

The steps (25)

  1. Resolutionרב was called 'my sister's son' because of his wisdom
  2. QuestionWhy was רב not allowed to permit firstborn animals?
  3. RejectionIt cannot be that רב lacked wisdom
  4. Responseרב lacked practical skill in judging blemishes
  5. ChallengeBut רב trained eighteen months with a shepherd
  6. ResolutionTo give honor to רבה בר חנה
  7. Resolutionרב's great expertise could mislead ordinary people
  8. ChallengeWhy does a scholar who knows the law need permission to rule?
  9. ResolutionPermission is required because of a past incident
  10. Proofרבי finds a town kneading dough in טומאה
  11. StatementThe student actually said egg liquid, not swamp water
  12. StatementA second mistake: mixing up פרה אדומה water with הכשר
  13. RejectionWhy their comparison is wrong
  14. ConclusionThe decree: a student may not rule without his רבי's permission
  15. Statementתנחום teaches a פסח ruling in חתר
  16. ChallengeThe townspeople object that his teacher is nearby
  17. Resolutionתנחום says he did not realize
  18. Questionרבי חייא sees a כהן in a cemetery
  19. ResponseHis father married a גרושה, so he is a חלל
  20. QuestionCan permission to rule be given with a condition?
  21. Responseרבי יוחנן gives רב שמן permission until he returns
  22. Statementשמואל: two judges who ruled have a valid judgment
  23. Challengeרבא challenges from the case of a judge who says 'I don't know'
  24. ResolutionThe judges in the משנה planned to be three
  25. ChallengeA ברייתא says the two sides can back out of a ruling by two