Sanhedrin 6a

סנהדרין ו׳ ע״א

Learn Sanhedrin 6a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Sanhedrin 6a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Courts of fewer than three judges: רבי אבהו's view, a judge's mistakes (טעה בדבר משנה vs. שיקול הדעת), and how many judges a פשרה needs and whether it requires a קנין.

Overview

The גמרא has been explaining שמואל, who says a ruling by two judges is valid after the fact. An objection comes from רבי אבהו, who says everyone, even רבן שמעון בן גמליאל, holds that two judges' ruling is invalid. The גמרא answers that one אמורא may simply disagree with another. It then examines רבי אבהו's statement. רבי אבא challenges it from a משנה where a single judge's mistaken ruling stands. The גמרא answers that the litigants accepted that judge. He still pays because they asked him to judge by דין תורה. רב ספרא shows that the mistake must be in שיקול הדעת and not against an explicit משנה. רב פפא defines that as ruling against common practice where no הלכה was stated. Next, the גמרא asks whether the two-judge question is an argument between תנאים about ביצוע and פשרה. It concludes that they only argue whether פשרה is compared to דין, and that the view requiring two judges wants them only as witnesses. רב אשי infers that a פשרה does not need a קנין, but the הלכה is that it does. The amud ends with a new ברייתא: ביצוע needs three judges, just like דין.

Opening lines

The steps (20)

1. ChallengeChallenge: רבי אבהו says everyone rejects a court of two
2. RejectionAnswer: you are setting one אמורא against another
3. Statementרבי אבהו's statement quoted on its own
4. Challengeרבי אבא challenges from a משנה about one judge
5. ResolutionAnswer: the litigants accepted that judge
6. ChallengeChallenge: then why does he pay?
7. ResolutionAnswer: they asked him to judge by דין תורה
8. Questionרב ספרא asks: what kind of mistake?
9. RejectionIt cannot be a mistake in an explicit משנה
10. ResponseIt was a mistake in judgment
11. QuestionWhat exactly is a mistake in judgment?
12. Responseרב פפא defines a judgment-call mistake
13. ProofIs the two-judge question an argument between תנאים?
14. ProofSo the argument is about judgment itself
15. RejectionNo: everyone agrees judgment needs three
16. QuestionAre there three opinions about compromise?
17. RejectionTwo judges are only for witnesses
18. Proofרב אשי infers that compromise does not need a formal acquisition
19. ConclusionThe הלכה is that compromise does need an acquisition
20. StatementA new ברייתא: mediation needs three judges just like judgment