Mishnayos Sanhedrin Perek 1 Mishnah 1
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סנהדרין פרק א׳ משנה א׳
Cases concerning monetary law are adjudicated by three judges. Cases concerning robbery and personal injury are adjudicated by three judges. Cases concerning damage that one is responsible for because he or his property caused the damage are adjudicated by three judges as well. Likewise, cases concerning payment for half the damage, which is paid in the event that an ox whose owner has not been warned that it gored more than two times gores another animal (see Exodus 21:35); cases concerning payment of double the principal by a thief who was caught stealing (see Exodus 22:3); and cases concerning payment of four or five times the principal by a thief who slaughtered or sold a stolen ox or a lamb (see Exodus 21:37) are all adjudicated by three judges. Cases concerning one who rapes or one who seduces a virgin girl, and must therefore pay the girl’s father fifty silver shekels (see Deuteronomy 22:29, Exodus 22:15); and cases concerning a defamer who falsely asserts that his wife was not a virgin when she married him, and brings false witnesses who testify that she committed adultery while betrothed to him and who must therefore pay the girl’s father one hundred silver shekels as well as receive lashes (see Deuteronomy 22:13–19): All of these are adjudicated by three judges; this is the statement of Rabbi Meir. And the Rabbis say: Cases concerning a defamer are adjudicated by a court of twenty-three judges, which is the type of court authorized to judge cases of capital law, because this case includes the possibility of becoming a case of capital law. The husband brings witnesses that his wife committed adultery. If she is found guilty, she is liable to receive the death penalty. This punishment applies to the witnesses if they are exposed as conspiring witnesses.
דִּינֵי מָמוֹנוֹת, בִּשְׁלֹשָׁה. גְּזֵלוֹת וַחֲבָלוֹת, בִּשְׁלֹשָׁה. נֶזֶק וַחֲצִי נֶזֶק, תַּשְׁלוּמֵי כֶפֶל וְתַשְׁלוּמֵי אַרְבָּעָה וַחֲמִשָּׁה, בִּשְׁלֹשָׁה. הָאוֹנֵס וְהַמְפַתֶּה וְהַמּוֹצִיא שֵׁם רַע, בִּשְׁלֹשָׁה, דִּבְרֵי רַבִּי מֵאִיר. וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים, מוֹצִיא שֵׁם רַע, בְּעֶשְׂרִים וּשְׁלֹשָׁה, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁיֶּשׁ בּוֹ דִינֵי נְפָשׁוֹת:
Bartenura
דיני ממונות. דהיינו הודאות והלואות:
בשלשה. הדיוטות. ולא אצרכוהו רבנן לשלשה מומחין, שלא תנעול דלת בפני לוין, שמא יכפור הלוה ולא ימצא מומחין לכופו לדין אלא יחיד מומחה או שלשה הדיוטות. אבל גזילות וחבלות בשלשה מומחין, דאלהים כתיב בפרשת שומרים בואלה המשפטים שלש פעמים. ומינה ילפינן שלשה מומחין:
נזק. אדם או שור המועד שהזיקו דמשלמים נזק שלם:
חצי נזק. שור תם שהזיק. ואע״ג דהיינו חבלות, איידי דבעי למיתני תשלומי כפל ותשלומי ארבעה וחמשה שאינו משלם כמו מה שהזיק, שמשלם יותר, תנא נמי חצי נזק שאינו משלם כמו שהזיק שהרי משלם פחות. ואיידי דתנא חצי נזק תנא נמי נזק:
והמוציא שם רע. לא מצאתי לבתך בתולים וענשו אותו מאה כסף:
דיני נפשות. דאם אמת היה הדבר וזנתה תחתיו וסקלוה. ודיני נפשות בעשרים ושלשה כדלקמן. והלכה כחכמים:
דיני ממונות – that is admissions (according to Tractate Shevuot 6:1 – worth at least one Perutah) and loans.
בשלשה – commoners/lay persons, for the Rabbis did not require three specialists, in order not to lock the door before loans, lest the borrower confess and specialists are not found to force him to court, but rather, or one [judge] would be a specialist or [all] three are commoners; but cases of theft and mayhem [require] three specialists, for [the word] אלהים/”God” (which means judges) is written in the section of the guardians in [the Torah portion] of “And these are the statutes” (Exodus, chapter 21 and beyond; specifically, the verses are: Exodus 22:6-8) , and from it we derive three specialists.
נזק – [damage caused] by man or by a warned bull , who damaged him for which they pay complete damages.
חצי נזק – an innocuous bull, who caused damage (and even though this is mayhem) , since it was necessary to teach in the Mishnah “double fines, and four and five-times payment, which he doesn’t pay like what he damages, when he pays more. The Tanna [our Mishnah] also taught half-damage in which he does not pay what he damaged, for he pays less. And since the Mishnah taught half-damage, it also taught [full] damages.
ומוציא שם רע – “I did not find your daughter a virgin” (Deuteronomy 22:17); “and they shall fine him one hundred shekels of silver [and give it to the girl’s father for the man has defamed a virgin in Israel…]” (Deuteronomy 22:19).
דיני נפשות – and if the matter was found to be true that she was unfaithful [to her husband] and they stoned her. And capital cases [are judged] by twenty-three, as seen further, and Halakha is according to the Sages.