Una tribù, un falso profeta e un sommo sacerdote non sono giudicati se non da un battito di settantuno. [("una tribù" :) la maggior parte di una tribù che serviva idoli, scritta (Deuteronomio 17: 5): "Allora porterai quell'uomo o quella donna ... alle tue porte": un uomo o una donna che prendi verso le tue porte (di giudizio), ma non porti fuori una tribù alle tue porte, ma al Grande Beth-din (di settantuno giudici.) ("un falso profeta" :) Questo deriva dall'identità: "cosa-cosa" da un anziano ribelle, che viene scritto qui (rispetto a un falso profeta (Deuteronomio 18:20): "... che presumerà di parlare una cosa", e rispetto a un anziano ribelle (Ibid. 17 : 8): "Se ti viene nascosto qualcosa." Proprio come un anziano ribelle viene giudicato dal Grande Beth-din, vale a dire. (Ibid.): "Allora ti alzerai e salirai nel luogo, ecc. ", quindi un falso profeta viene giudicato dal Grande Beth-din. (" un sommo sacerdote ":) scritto (Esodo 18:22):" La grande cosa ti porteranno ": Le cose del" grande "(cioè il sommo sacerdote) ti porteranno (Mosè)", e Mosè fu al posto di settantatré ne.] E il popolo non è portato a una guerra "permessa". [(Ogni guerra tranne la guerra con le sette nazioni e la guerra con Amalek è chiamata una guerra "permessa")] tranne che da un battito di settantuno, [scritto in relazione a David (I Cronache 27:34 ): "e dopo Achitofel venne Benayahu ben Yehoyada": Achitofel—il consigliere; Benayahu ben Yehoyada—il Sinedrio, di cui lui (Benayahu) era il mufla (gli "eletti"), che tutti seguirono.] Aggiunte alla città, [Gerusalemme, la cui santità è maggiore di quella del resto di Eretz Yisrael] e all'azaroth ( i tribunali del tempio), [la cui santità è maggiore di quella di Gerusalemme] sono fatti solo da un battito di settantuno. [Non è permesso originare santità se non attraverso un frastuono di settantuno, essendo scritto (Esodo 25: 9): "Secondo tutto ciò che ti mostro ... e così farai", per le (successive) generazioni , vale a dire: proprio come il tabernacolo fu santificato attraverso Mosè, che era al posto del Grande Sinedrio, così, per le (successive) generazioni, le aggiunte alla città e all'azaroth sono fatte dal Grande Sinedrio.] Sanhedraoth (di venti -tre giudici) non sono fatti per le tribù se non da un clamore di settantuno, [come troviamo con Mosè, che stabilì sanhedraoth, Mosè al posto di settantuno.] Una "città condannata" è dichiarata solo con un frastuono di settantuno, [scritto (Deuteronomio 17: 5): "Allora porterai quell'uomo o quelle donne ... alle tue porte": porterai l'uomo o la donna alle tue "porte, "vale a dire, al beth-din (di ventitre) nelle tue porte; ma non porti l'intera città alle tue porte, ma alla "porta distintiva" (cioè il Grande Sinedrio)]. E una "città condannata" non è fatta in una città di confine, [una tra Eretz Yisrael e la terra delle nazioni, in quanto scritta (Deuteronomio 13:14): "da te," e non da una città di confine. La logica: affinché le nazioni ascoltino e vengano e devastino Eretz Yisrael. Pertanto, la città non è resa "un mucchio per sempre", come indicato per una città condannata, ma i suoi abitanti vengono uccisi da soli.] E non tre, ma ne fanno uno o due. [vale a dire, un beth-din non rende tre città "città condannate" in un posto, vicine l'una all'altra. Ma li fanno in due o tre posti.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Sanhedrin
את השבט – the majority of a tribe that intentionally worshiped idolatry, they are not judged other than with a Jewish court of seventy one, as it is written (Deuteronomy 17:5): “You shall take the man or the woman [who did that wicked thing] out to the public place….”, You can take a man or a woman out to the public place, but you cannot take out a tribe to the public place (i.e., literally, “your gates”) other than with the large Jewish court [of seventy-one members].
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English Explanation of Mishnah Sanhedrin
Introduction
Mishnah five deals with cases which are only adjudicated in front of a full court of seventy one, which was the number of the full Sanhedrin.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sanhedrin
ולא את נביא השקר – The Rabbis learn/derive [by analogy from the double usage of the word] דבר דבר [from the case of] the rebellious elder [disregarding the decision of the Supreme Court]. It is written here (Deuteronomy 18:20): “[But any prophet] who presumes to speak [in My name an oracle that I did not command him to utter…],” and it is written regarding the rebellious elder (Deuteronomy 17:8): “If a case is too baffling for you to decide…” Just as the rebellious elder [is judged] in the Great Jewish court, as it is written, (Deuteronomy 17:8): “you shall promptly repair [to the place the LORD your God will have chosen], so also the false prophet [is to be tried] in the Great Jewish court.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Sanhedrin
A tribe, a false prophet, or the high priest may not be tried save by the court of seventy-one; The trial of a “tribe” refers to a case in which an entire tribe is suspected of having committed idolatry. According to the mishnah in such a case the tribe is tried in front of seventy-one judges and not the twenty three who would adjudicate a normal case of idol worship (which is punishable by death). A false prophet is referred to in Deut. 18:20 which states that such a prophet should be executed. The High Priest also may only be judged by a court of seventy one. The common denominator between the High Priest and the prophet is the high regard that society would have for both of them. In order to reflect this high regard and the public nature of such trials they would have been held in front of the Great Sanhedrin of 71. Note that according to the Christian Bible, Mark 14:53ff and John 18:13 Jesus was tried in front of the Sanhedrin. In other passages some of the disciples and Paul are also questioned by the Sanhedrin.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sanhedrin
ולא את כהן גדול – For the Biblical verse states (Exodus 18:22): “…Have them bring every major dispute to you, [but let them decide every minor dispute themselves].” The matters for a great person, they should bring to you, and Moses was in place of [the court] of seventy-one.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Sanhedrin
They may not send forth the people to wage a battle of free choice save by the decision of the court of one and seventy; In Jewish law there are two types of war: a mandatory war and a war of free choice. A mandatory war would be either a defensive war or a war whose purpose was to capture the Land of Israel as was in the days of Joshua. A war of free choice would be one which expands the borders beyond the Biblical borders. [Note: the Biblical borders are very difficult to delineate, and there are indeed several versions of them]. Since there will inevitably be heavy casualties in war, the decision to go to a war of free choice requires a full Sanhedrin of 71. A mandatory war would not require the decision of any court.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sanhedrin
ואין מוציאין למלחמת הרשות – Every war except for the wars [against] the seven {Canaanite] natiosn and the war [against] Amalek, is called the optional (secular/political) war.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Sanhedrin
They may not add to the City [of Jerusalem], or the Courts of the Temple save by the decision of the court of seventy-one; They would not add to the borders of Jerusalem or to the size of the Courts in the Temple except by a court of 71. Adding to either the border of Jerusalem or the Temple causes a greater level of sanctity in these places and therefore requires a full court. Note that as the population grew it was occasionally necessary to expand both the Temple and Jerusalem itself, a fact that can be seen in any archaeological dig in Jerusalem.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sanhedrin
אלא בבית דין של שבעים ואחד – as it is written (I Chronicles 27:34): “After Ahitophel were Jehoiada son of Benaiah [and Abiathar. The commander of the king’s army was Joab.” (In verse 33 is written:) “Ahitophel was a counselor to the king.” Jehoiada son of Benaiah is the Sanhedrin, for he was the greatest of them all and all of them were dragged after him. (The Bartenura or the Gemara – Sanhedrin 16b and see the Tosafot misquoted the verse).
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English Explanation of Mishnah Sanhedrin
They may not set up sanhedrins for the several tribes save by the decision of the court of one and seventy. Setting up smaller, local sanhedrins, which would have included 23 judges can only be done by the Great Sanhedrin of 71.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sanhedrin
על העיר – Jerusalem, whose holiness is greater than the rest of the Land of Israel (see Mishnah Kelim, Chapter 1, Mishnah 6 and following).
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English Explanation of Mishnah Sanhedrin
And they may not proclaim [any city to be] an Apostate City (ir ha- (Deut. 13:13–19] save by the decision of one and seventy. According to Deut. 13:12ff. if a town has been subverted into idol worship all of the residents of the town are to be executed and the entire town and all of its contents are to be burned. This harsh law (that was never in actuality carried out) could only be decided upon by the Great Sanhedrin.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sanhedrin
והעזרות – their holiness is greater than the holiness of Jerusalem and it is impossible to renew sanctity other than in the Jewish court of seventy-one, as it states in the Biblical verse (Exodus 25:9): “Exactly as I show you, etc. – so you shall make it,” for all generations. Just as the Tabernacle is holy through the mouth of Moses who is in place of the Great Sanhedrin, even for all generations, the addition of the city [of Jerusalem] and the courtyards – by the mouth of the Great Sanhedrin.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Sanhedrin
No city on the frontier may be proclaimed an Apostate City, nor three together, but only one or two. This section contains several other laws pertaining to the Apostate City. According to Deuteronomy only cities within the borders of Israel can become an Apostate City which is to be executed. The fear is that if this law is performed on one of the border towns it will encourage raids from neighboring tribes, which would endanger all of Israel. For a similar reason even the Great Sanhedrin was not allowed to declare more than two cities to be Apostate Cities. For obvious reasons declaring a city to be an Apostate City and thereby killing all of its inhabitants might encourage other countries to engage Israel in war.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sanhedrin
ואין עושין סנהדראות לשבטים כו' – as we find with Moses who established Sanhedrins, for Moses stands in place of [the Great Sanhedrin] of seventy-one.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Sanhedrin
Questions for Further Thought: • Section six is quite apparently a law brought by the mishnaic editor to our mishnah from another source. Why do you think he taught this law here? What light might it shed upon the previous law?
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sanhedrin
ואין עושין עיר הנדחת – As it is written (Deuteronomy 17:5): “You shall take the man or the woman.” A man or a woman you take out to your gates (i.e., “the public place”), to the Jewish court that is in your city, but you do not take the entire city to your gates (i.e., “the public place”) other than to a special gate.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sanhedrin
בספר – [on the border] a city that separates between the Land of Israel and the heathen countries, as it is written, “among you” (Deuteronomy 17:2), but not from the border. And the reason of the verse is, lest the heathens hear and come and lay waste/destroy the Land of Israel; therefore, we do not leave eternal mound of ruins according to the statute of the apostate city, but we only kill all of its inhabitants.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sanhedrin
ולא שלשה – [but not three] towns, the apostate city with one Jewish court and in one place. That is to say, each is near to the other, but with two or three places we do it.
