Sanhedrin - Daf 14
- Rebbe Yehudah ben Bava sacrifices his life to perpetuate סמיכה
Rav said: ברם זכור אותו האיש לטוב – In fact, that man should be remembered for good, namely, Rebbe Yehudah ben Bava, because if not for him, the laws of קנסות would have been eliminated from Yisroel, since they require סמיכה to rule on them. The Romans once decreed that anyone who gives סמיכה, or receives it, would be killed, and the city where it took place would be destroyed with its surrounding techum boundary. Rebbe Yehudah ben Bava went between two large mountains, between two cities, and between two techum boundaries, and gave סמיכה to five elders: Rebbe Meir, Rebbe Yehudah, Rebbe Shimon, Rebbe Yose, and Rebbe Elazar ben Shamua (some add Rebbe Nechemiah). When they were discovered, Rebbe Yehudah ben Bava told his students to run. They asked what would become of him, and he replied: הריני מוטל לפניהם כאבן שאין לה הופכים – I am placed before them like a rock that no one can turn. The Gemara says that the enemy drove three hundred iron spears into him and made him like a sieve.
- סמיכה can only be given if both parties are together in Eretz Yisroel
Rebbe Yehoshua ben Levi said there is no סמיכה outside Eretz Yisroel, which means it cannot be conferred outside Eretz Yisroel (but one who received סמיכה in Eretz Yisroel can rule on קנסות inחוץ לארץ). The Gemara asks, if those giving סמיכה are inside Eretz Yisroel but those receiving it are in חוץ לארץ, can סמיכה be given? The Gemara proves from two incidents in which Rebbe Yochanan sought to confer סמיכה, but could not, because they were not with him. The Gemara relates that Rebbe Yochanan strove to give סמיכה to Rebbe Chanina and Rebbe Hoshaya and was upset when he was unsuccessful. However, they explained to him that they descend from the House of Eli, from whom the passuk says there would never be a "זקן" – elder, meaning a recipient of סמיכה. Rebbe Zeira used to hide to avoid receiving סמיכה, because Rebbe Elazar said: לעולם הוה קבל וקיים – Always be in the dark (i.e., unknown), and thereby live. However, when he heard Rebbe Elazar’s other statement: אין אדם עולה לגדולה אלא אם כן מוחלין לו על כל עונותיו – no person rises to a position of greatness unless [Heaven] forgives all his sins, he strained himself to obtain סמיכה.
- Machlokes about number of דיינים for עגלה ערופה, and third opinion requiring the entire Sanhedrin
In the Mishnah, Rebbe Shimon required three members of Sanhedrin to measure from a murder victim to nearby cities for עגלה ערופה, and Rebbe Yehudah required five. Rebbe Shimon darshens the plural term "זקניך" – your elders to require two, and since a Beis Din cannot be an even number, three are required. The term "שופטיך" teaches to require ממיוחדין שבשופטיך – the unique among your judges, i.e., members of Sanhedrin. Rebbe Yehudah agrees with this derashah, and adds another two judges from the superfluous “vav” of ושופטיך. Our Mishnah disagrees with Rebbe Elazar ben Yaakov, who says: "זקניך" זו סנהדרין – “Your elders,” this refers to Sanhedrin, and "שופטיך" – “your judges” teaches to require the King and Kohen Gadol. The Gemara asks if he agrees with one of the Tannaim of our Mishnah regarding the number of judges required, or if he requires the entire Sanhedrin. A Baraisa is eventually brought which states that a זקן ממרא – rebellious elder is not punished if he ignores Sanhedrin’s ruling which he received outside of the לשכת הגזית, when they left to measure for עגלה ערופה (or other reasons). Since זקן ממרא could only apply if the entire Sanhedrin was present, that Tanna must hold the entire Sanhedrin is necessary to measure for עגלה ערופה.
