Eduyos 1:4-5

Eduyos 1:4

Why does the Mishna mention Hillel and Shammai if it’s just going to reject their opinions? This is to teach future generations not to obstinate in their opinions since we see that these great pillars of Torah were not stubborn in this way. (They retracted their opinions in mishna 1:3 in light of the testimony delivered by two humble weavers.)

Eduyos 1:5

Similarly, why do we bother mentioning an individual’s opinion alongside that of the majority seeing that the halacha will follow the majority? This is because a court can accept an individual’s position and rely upon it. One court cannot overturn the ruling of another (earlier) court unless it exceeds that court both in wisdom and in number. If it was only greater in wisdom but not in number, or vice versa, then it cannot overturn the earlier court’s decision. [Since courts had a fixed number of judges, being greater in number cannot mean that a court has more members. Rambam says that it refers to the number of contemporary Torah authorities who concur with the decision.]