20
In the manuscript Parma 3173 there is no "מישראל";
In the manuscript Budapest Kaufman A50 no more;
The Mishna of Mechon Mamre, Mishna Sanhedrin 4:5 based on Rambam manuscript idem;
לפיכך נברא אדם יחידי בעולם, ללמד שכל המאבד נפש אחת, מעלים עליו כאילו איבד עולם מלא; וכל המקיים נפש אחת, מעלים עליו כאילו קיים עולם מלא.
In Shinuye Nussachaot Shas ...
16
A number of Rishonim quote from Makkot but call it Sanhedrin, implying they considered them to be one tractate. See Ramban to Devarim 21:13 and Rashba to Kiddushin 22a who refer to what we have in the Yerushalmi of the second chapter of Makkot as "פרק בתרא דסנהדרין." Also check out Ralbag to Shemot 21 (Shoresh 4 and 16) who calls our second chapter of Makkot ...
13
R. Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg has a responsum that deals with this question. It is a lengthy responsum (and you should read it in it's entirety if you can) but one key point is what he derives from Rambam's wording of this rule:
Shu"t Seridei Eish 2:90 (Mosad Harav Kook edition)
יוצא מדבריו שהאיסור הוא רק בעושה לשם מצוה ומתכוון לחדש דת אבל לא
בלומד ...
13
My understanding of the Mishnah is as follows:
The court must contain at least 20 members because the court must be able to simultaneously contain an "assembly" of convicters and an "assembly" of pardoners. If it didn't need to have the potential for both simultaneously then we shouldn't need 20 to begin with – e.g. a court of 15 can ...
13
This law is codified by Rambam in Hilchot Sanhedrin 2:6:
כשם שבית דין מנוקין בצדק כך צריכין להיות מנוקין מכל מומי הגוף וצריך להשתדל ולבדוק ולחפש שיהיו כולן בעלי שיבה בעלי קומה בעלי מראה נבוני לחש ושידעו ברוב הלשונות כדי שלא תהא סנהדרין שומעת מפי התורגמן
Just as the judges of a court must be on the highest level of righteousness; so, too, must they be ...
12
From TheSanhedrin.org:
Etymologically, Sanhedrin is a late Hebrew representation of the Greek word synedrion συνέδριον meaning "sitting together" as a legislative assembly or Senate.
11
Rabbi Avraham Chayim Schorr (Toras Chayim to Sanhedrin 90a) addresses this question and concludes that this refers to people who would merit immediate admission to olam haba without any prior suffering of the soul.1
R' Tzadok of Lublin (P'ri Tzadik, Vayikra, Lag Ba'Omer V'siyum HaShas, §3) provides an alternative explanation. He says that all of Israel is ...
11
Jastrow supports Yishai's answer, that "סנהדרין" derives from the Greek συνέδριον:
סַנְהֶדְרִין, סַנְהֶדְרֵי f. (also pl.) (συνέδριον) Sanhedrin, the supreme council of the Jews; ס' גדולה the Great S., consisting of seventy-one members; ס' קטנה the Small S., a judicial court of twenty-three. Snh. I, 6. Ib. ראויה לס' fit to be a seat of the S....
10
Halachic Yerushalyim is indeed still the same size (eg. for Maaser Sheni purposes).
Shushan Purim is celebrated both in an ancient walled city and "adjacent" to it (Megilla 2b).
10
Tosafot on Sanhedrin 36a s.v. dinei nefashot is bothered by your question as to why we're not concerned that junior judges can't argue on the senior judge in monetary cases. They suggest two possible resolutions:
A junior judge is always allowed to argue on the senior judge b'derech she'elah (through asking leading questions, rather than directly ...
9
Rambam seen here in his introduction to his pirush on mishnayos seems to be the first who mentions an opinion like this. Rambam himself however disagreed with this.
אבל מסכת מכות היא נקשרת בנוסתאות עם מסכת סנהדרין ובכללה היא מנויה ואמרו שבשביל שאמר ואלו הן הנחנקין הדביק אליו ואלו הן הלוקין ואין זה טעם אמת אבל היא מסכת בפני עצמה ונסמכה לסנהדרין מפני שאין ...
9
Rambam in his introduction to Mishneh Torah provides the chain of transmission from Moses through the end of the Talmud. He lists Hillel as a seventh-generation student of Ezra:
בית דינו של עזרא הם הנקראים אנשי כנסת הגדולה והם חגי זכריה ומלאכי דניאל וחנניה ומישאל ועזריה ונחמיה בן חכליה ומרדכי בלשן וזרובבל והרבה חכמים עמהם תשלום מאה ועשרים זקנים האחרון מהם ...
8
In maseches Sanhedrin chapter one, mishna 6, the word is presented as sanhedrei. The Tiferes Yisroel #43 quotes the Aruch who writes this is the Latin version of the name. He also quotes the Maharil as saying Chazzal chose this word because in notrikin it stands for Sonei Hadras Din.
The actual words of the Maharil are found in the Likutei Maharil #6 אמר ...
8
I too was always bothered as to the origins of this word, until I saw the following Midrash Lekach Tov on Parshas Beha'aloscha:
ומהו לשון סנהדרין, סין זה תורה שניתנה מהר סיני, הדרין שמהדרין התורה במדרשה ומיפים ומישרין הכתוב זה עם זה-"What is the meaning of the term 'Sanhedrin'? 'Sin' refers to the Torah which was given from Mount 'Sin'ai, 'hadrin': since ...
8
This is an excellent question, and is asked in many places such as here, here, here, here, and many other places. By far the best set of answers are found in the second link above, from Daf-yomi.com, with my rough summary below:
א. דבר ה' ליהושע היה בגילוי נבואה, והיא מדרגה עליונה של דבקות בקדושה. רק על גילוי נבואה נאמר שאין בו פחיתות ערך של דילטורין. ...
8
Artscroll answers your questions in their notes to this Mishna
In general, once someone has been sentenced to death, the court must
execute him on the same day to spare him the emotional agony of
waiting for his death. R Akiva rules, however, that since the Torah
requires everyone to know about the execution of the rebellious sage,
his execution ...
7
Other answers have already noted that this comes from the Greek συνέδριον ("synedrion"). I'll add more detail: That word comes from the Greek σύνεδρος ("sitting together"), from σύν ("with", also found in e.g. English synergy and synchronize) and ἕδρα ("seat", also found in English cathedral and distantly related to English sit).
7
In the Avi Ezri on Hilkhot Avodah Zarah 4:2, R. Schach asks why the Rambam interprets the gemara as referring to the number of sinners, when this requirement is about the size of the city--to become an עיר הנדחת, the city cannot be a כפר or a כרך. What does this have to do with the number of people who sinned? He quotes the Minchat Chinukh (no. 464) and ...
7
We have similar concepts in the Mishna.
One is the exiled murderer who is not allowed to leave his city of refuge, even if the entire nation needs him.
See Makos פרק ב - משנה ז
וַאֲפִלּוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל צְרִיכִים לוֹ, וַאֲפִלּוּ שַׂר צְבָא יִשְׂרָאֵל כְּיוֹאָב בֶּן צְרוּיָה, אֵינוֹ יוֹצֵא מִשָּׁם לְעוֹלָם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (במדבר לה) אֲשֶׁר נָס שָׁמָּה, שָׁם ...
7
R. Yosef Chaim of Baghdad discusses this in his commentary to this Talmudic passage. His answer is that the whole thing was a mere ploy. The Sages actually knew that Shlomo was a worthy person and they never entertained the notion that he was in the same category as those who have no share in Olam Haba.
However, the verse in I Kings 11:6 states that Shlomo ...
7
Rambam, Hilchos Melachim 3:2:
ואם הוסיף אחת ובעלה לוקה
If he adds an extra wife and has relations with her, he gets lashed.
So that answers question #3. As for the others:
On the face of it, kiddushin ought to take effect like in any other case of חייבי לאוין (according to everyone except R' Akiva, and maybe even according to him, since the issur isn't ...
7
The gemara says in Berachot 6b:
אמר רבי חלבו אמר רב הונא כל הקובע מקום לתפלתו אלהי אברהם בעזרו
וכשמת אומרים לו אי עניו אי חסיד מתלמידיו של אברהם אבינו
R. Helbo said in the name of Rab Huna : Whoever fixes a place for his
prayer has the God of Abraham for his help :
and on his
death, it is said of him, "Where is the humble and pious man, of the
...
7
There have been various rabbinic interpretations on this issue. In addition to Tamir's note on Rashi's commentary (to Megillah 3a) - that Daniel was not technically considered a prophet since he didn't publicly declare his visions to the Jewish people - here are a few other explanations.
The Rambam offers an intermediate position - arguing that Daniel had a &...
6
The Rambam explains, in line with his explanation of what Kares is, that they are cut off from their own spiritual component, and they remain physical. When the physical world comes to an end (as it will, in the Rambam's world), these people will end with it. They have no connection to spirituality, as they have chosen to involve themselves and invest in ...
6
It is documented in the R' Aryeh Kaplan translation of the sefer yetzeira regarding forming a humanoid from earth/clay (Golem) and engraving the name of God on his forehead then there are specific phrases to be said at specific intervals etc.
In On the Kabbalah and Its Symbolism by Gershom Scholem there is a chapter dedicated to the topic of Golem. ...
6
Ever play scissor paper rock...?
Sometimes if A is greater than B and B is greater than C then certainly A is greater than C. This is true if we compare something like mathematical amounts (like weight).
However, it sometimes works out that A is greater than B; B is greater than C; and C is in fact greater than A!
Scissors cuts paper, and paper covers ...
6
The book - The Great Sanhedrin (Sidney B. Hoenig) suggests that the original term was Bais Din Hagadol, which is a Hebrew term. However, he notes that due to Greek influence the term synedrion was Hebraized to Sanhedrin, and became popular. He also explains the words dikasterion, and kriterion should have been used since its more of an exact translation of ...
6
The Chasam Sofer Kovetz Teshuvos 85 says that even though they did not know whether the Mekalel (blasphemer) was Chayav Misa(liable to death) or not, they still warned him that transgressing could lead to death by Sekila-stoning (which is the most severe death according to Rabanan). Going like the opinion Sanhedrin 80b מותרה לדבר חמור הוי מותרה לדבר קל (one ...
6
R. Judah Loewe explains in his commentary to this passage that the Talmud is referring to all the people who died in Egypt over the entire course of time the Israelites were there:
והם כל הדורות שמתו במצרים כי כל הדורות שהיו במצרים היו סבורים לצאת היו שנים מששים רבוא
Thus, the Talmud never meant that there were 300,000 x 600,000 people at one time, but ...
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