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Week 111 - Tuesday - 8 January 2002

SANHEDRIN: CHAPTER 2: MISHNAH 1

The High Priest may judge and be judged, he may testify and others may testify about him, he may perform halitzah and they may perform halitzah or yibum for his widow but he does not perform yibum, because he is prohibited a widow. If someone of his died, he may not follow the bier, but they are hidden and he is revealed, they are revealed and he is hidden. And he goes out with them until the entrance to the city; so Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Yehudah says, He does not go out from the Temple, as it is written, "Neither shall he go out of the Sanctuary" (Lev. 21:12). When he consoles others, it is the way of all the people to pass one after the other, while the appointed one places himself between him and the people. When he is consoled by others - all the people say to him, "May we be your atonement," and he says to them, "May you be blessed from Heaven." When they prepare the funeral meal for him, all the people sit on the ground and he sits on a stool.

Kehati

After it was taught above (1:5) that the High Priest is judged only by the Great Court, this mishnah continues to teach other practices regarding the High Priest because of the honor due him and his sanctity.

The High Priest may judge - others, i.e., he may be a judge and be a member of a Court, and the other judges need not fear for his honor and be deterred from disagreeing with him (Hameiri), and be judged - regarding a claim against him or regarding a transgression that he committed; in a capital case he is judged by the Court of seventy-one, as was mentioned above, and in monetary litigation - as any person - by a Court of three, he may testify - appear as a witness before the Court. According to the Gemara, he gives testimony only about the king's son, i.e., he may not testify regarding the king himself, as will be taught below: "The king may not testify and they do not testify about him" (2:2), but if the High Priest knows testimony about the son of the king, the king comes and sits in Court, to honor the High Priest, and then the High Priest comes to testify, but as a general rule, it is not becoming the honor of the High Priest that he come to testify; and others may testify about him - anyone who can testify about him, in any suit there is against him, may come and testify. He may perform halitzah - if his brother died childless, then he may fulfill the obligation of halitzah for his brother's wife, and even though she spits in his presence, we do not fear in this case for his honor, and - if the High Priest died childless, they - one of his brothers, may perform halitzah or yibum - for his brother is a common priest, and is permitted to marry a widow; but he - the High Priest, does not - is not permitted to - perform yibum - for the wife of his brother who died childless, because he - the High Priest, is prohibited - to marry - a widow - (Lev. 21:14).

If someone of his - one of his relatives, even his father or his mother, died, he may not follow the bier - to accompany the corpse, lest in his sorrow he forget himself and become impure, whereas the Torah states, "Neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother" (Lev. 21:11), but when they - the pallbearers, are hidden - from sight, i.e., after they have entered another street, and he is revealed - he may show himself in the street they have left, and when they - the pallbearers, are revealed he is hidden - i.e., he does not enter the street in which they are present until they go out from it.

And he goes out with them - he accompanies the dead person, until the entrance to the city - the city gate, for inside the city he is able to conceal himself, and not be seen with the pallbearers in the same street, but he cannot do so outside the city, and therefore he does not accompany the dead person beyond the city gate, not even from a distance; so Rabbi Meir - for Rabbi Meir holds that the passage "Neither shall he go out of the Sanctuary [haMikdash]" (Lev. 21:12) means, the High Priest may not go out from his sanctity, but he is permitted to accompany his dead relative, if he conceals himself and does not mingle with the pallbearers, as was explained above.

Rabbi Yehudah says, He does not go out - at all - from the Temple - to accompany his dead relative, as it is written, "Neither shall he go out of the Sanctuary" - which Rabbi Yehudah interprets as follows: he does not go out at all. The halakhah follows Rabbi Yehudah. The High Priest, however, may accompany a dead person who was not one of his close relatives, for since he is not enveloped by grief, there is no fear lest he forget and become impure.

When he consoles others - when people return from the burial and stand to console the mourners, it is the way - the custom, of all the people to pass one after the other - in front of the mourners and console them, while the appointed one - the deputy High Priest, who is appointed to replace the High Priest if he becomes unfit on Yom Kippur, places himself between him and the people - directs the procession, so that the High Priest is in the middle, between the deputy, who walks to the right of the High Priest, and the people, who are on the High Priest's left.

When he - the High Priest, is in mourning and - is consoled by others - all the people say to him, "May we be your atonement" - Atone through us, and we will be in your stead for everything that should come upon you (Rashi), and he says to them - the High Priest responds to them with a blessing, "May you be blessed from Heaven." When they prepare the funeral meal - the se'udat hahavra'ah (the "meal of comforting") which is given to the mourner after the burial of the corpse, for the law is that the mourner is forbidden to eat his first meal from his own food, so others bring him this meal to comfort him in his grief, for him, all the people sit on the ground - to share his grief, and he - the High Priest, sits on a stool - because of his honor; according to Rambam, even the High Priest sits on a low chair.

SANHEDRIN: CHAPTER 2: MISHNAH 2

The king may not judge nor be judged, he may not testify nor be testified against, he does not perform halitzah nor is it performed for his widow, he does not perform yibum nor is it performed for his widow. Rabbi Yehudah says, If he wanted to perform halitzah or yibum, he is remembered favorably. They answered, one does not heed him. And none may wed his widow. Rabbi Yehudah says, The king may marry the widow of a king, for we find that David married the widow of Saul, as it is written, "And I gave you your master's house, and your master's wives into your bosom" (II Sam. 12:8).

Kehati

The previous mishnah dealt with the laws of the High Priest. This and the following mishnayot in this chapter deal with the laws of the king.

The king may not judge nor be judged - the Gemara explains that this was taught only regarding the kings of Israel (i.e., the Northern Kingdom), but a king of the Davidic line may judge and others may judge him, as it is written, "O house of David, thus says the Lord: 'Execute justice in the morning, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor"' (Jer. 21:12), from which we learn that the kings of the Davidic line did judge others, and a person may not be a judge if there is no legal authority to judge him himself for his transgressions, as it is written, "Gather yourselves together (hitkosheshu), yea, gather together (vakoshu)" (Zeph. 2:1), which Resh Lakish expounded, Correct yourself (keshot) first, and afterwards correct others. What is the reason for the law regarding the kings of Israel? This is because of an incident that once happened: King Yannai’s slave killed a person, and Shimon ben Shetah summoned King Yannai to be with his slave whilst he was standing trial, for it is written regarding an ox that gored, "and warning has been given to its owner" (Ex. 21:29) - the owner of the ox shall come and stand by his ox, and the same law applies to his slave, for his slave is his property. King Yannai came to the Court and sat down. Shimon ben Shetah said to him, "King Yannai, stand on your feet that the witnesses may testify against you, for you do not stand before us, but before the One Who spoke and the world came into being, as it is written, 'Then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the Lord' (Deut. 19:17)." Yannai said to him, "Not as you say but as your colleagues will say." Shimon ben Shetah turned to his right, and the judges hung their heads in shame (because they feared the king - Rashi); he turned to his left, and they hung their heads in shame. He said to them, "Do you have your own thoughts? The Master of thoughts will come and punish you!" Gabriel came immediately and struck them to the ground, and they died. At that time - because this incident occurred - the Sages decreed, "The king may not judge and others may not judge him." They did not, however, enact this regarding the kings of the Davidic line, because the Bible states explicitly, "Execute justice in the morning," (see supra and Tosefot Yom Tov).

He may not testify nor be testified against - this law also was instituted as a result of the incident involving King Yannai; according to one opinion, even a king of the Davidic line may not testify, for it is unbecoming to a king to appear as a witness in a Court, but others may testify about him, because, as we have mentioned above, he may be tried by others. If the brother of the king died childless, he does not perform halitzah - he is not required to fulfill the obligation of halitzah to his brother's widow, for it would dishonor the king to have the yevamah spit in his presence, and they do not perform halitzah for his - the king's, widow - if he died childless, for the widow of the king may not wed another, as will be taught in this mishnah, below.

He does not perform yibum - to his brother's widow, for it is not consonant with the king's honor that he should be subordinate to his brother, by fulfilling the verse, "And it shall be, that the firstborn that she bears shall succeed in the name of his brother that is dead" (Deut. 25:6) (see Tosefot Yom Tov), nor is it performed for his - the king's, widow - as was explained above, regarding the performance of halitzah for his widow.

Rabbi Yehudah says, If he - the king, wanted to perform halitzah or yibum - to the widow of his brother, who died childless - since this is a mitzvah, if the king is willing to forgo his honor to fulfill it, he is remembered favorably. They - the Sages, answered - Rabbi Yehudah, One does not heed him - to make light of the honor of the monarchy, for even if a king is prepared to forgo his honor, it is nevertheless not waived, as it is written, "You shall in any wise set him king over you" (Deut. 17:15) - that his fear be upon you (Sanh. 19b). And none may wed his - the king's, widow - this is the law regarding his divorced wife, as well, and not even another king may wed her. Rabbi Yehudah - disagrees with the First Tanna, and says, The king may marry the widow of a king, for we find that - King - David married the widow of - King - Saul, as it is written, "And I gave you your master's house, and your master's wives into your bosom" - the First Tanna, however, holds that this Biblical verse refers to wives who befit him (i.e., who are permitted him - Rashi) from the king's family, who were Merab and Michal, the daughters of King Saul.

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