Gemara Clarity

Sanhedrin 7b

סנהדרין ז׳ ע״ב

Learn Sanhedrin 7b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Sanhedrin 7b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

The weight of judging: who may be a judge, how humble and careful he must be, and the rules for running a fair court.

Overview

This amud is all about how serious it is to be a judge. It opens by reading the sword-carrying guards around שלמה's bed as judges who fear גיהנם. Two אמוראים then teach that a judge may rule only when the case is as clear as morning, or as certain as the fact that his sister is forbidden to him. רבי יהושע בן לוי teaches that every judge on the court shares the blame for a wrong ruling, even a student sitting before his teacher. That is why רב הונא and רב אשי gathered many people to share the weight. The גמרא then warns against judges who depend on others, judges who are not learned, and judges appointed for money, comparing them to idols and to an אשרה. It shows how רב and מר זוטרא stayed humble when they were honored. Finally it reads פסוקים in שמות and דברים for rules of the courtroom: be patient, prepare the court's tools, never hear one side alone, check before deciding, and treat a litigant as neither friend nor enemy. A story about רב's host begins at the end and continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״הִנֵּה מִטָּתוֹ שֶׁלִּשְׁלֹמֹה

As it is stated: "Behold, the bed of Solomon;

שִׁשִּׁים גִּבֹּרִים סָבִיב לָהּ

sixty mighty men are around it,

מִגִּבֹּרֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל

from the mighty men of Israel.

כֻּלָּם אֲחֻזֵי חֶרֶב מְלֻמְּדֵי מִלְחָמָה

All of them hold the sword, trained in war,

The steps (33)

  1. ProofThe guards around שלמה's bed fear the darkness of גיהנם
  2. QuestionDo courts only judge in the morning?
  3. ResponseRule only when the case is as clear as morning
  4. ProofA second source: wisdom as clear as 'my sister'
  5. StatementEvery judge on the panel shares the responsibility
  6. ChallengeIsn't that obvious?
  7. ResolutionEven a student sitting before his teacher is responsible
  8. Statementרב הונא gathers ten scholars for every case
  9. Statementרב אשי gathers all the butchers for a טריפה question
  10. StatementA judge must be independent like a king
  11. StatementAn unlearned judge has nothing to say
  12. StatementThe interpreter compares the judge to a silent idol
  13. StatementAppointing an unfit judge is like planting an אשרה
  14. StatementEven worse where scholars are available
  15. ChallengeIs it only silver and gold idols that are forbidden?
  16. ResolutionThe פסוק is about judges who buy their position
  17. StatementWhat רב said on his way to court
  18. Statementרב humbles himself when a crowd follows him
  19. Statementמר זוטרא חסידא humbles himself when carried in honor
  20. StatementThe source for 'be patient in judgment'
  21. StatementA judge may not step over the heads of the people
  22. QuestionWhy does the פסוק say 'set' instead of 'teach'?
  23. Response'Set' refers to the judges' tools
  24. Statementרב הונא calls for the tools of his 'shop'
  25. StatementBe careful with punishment
  26. StatementDo not hear one side without the other
  27. StatementA different source for the בעל דין's warning
  28. StatementCheck the case first, then decide
  29. StatementFair even between a house and its upper floor
  30. StatementBeing careful even between an oven and a stove
  31. StatementDo not treat a litigant as someone you know
  32. StatementDo not treat a litigant as a stranger or enemy
  33. Statementרב's host comes to him for a court case