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Perek 2

Mishnayos Sanhedrin Perek 2 Mishnah 1

סנהדרין פרק ב׳ משנה א׳

1
The High Priest judges others if he is sufficiently wise, and others judge him when he transgresses. He testifies before the court and others testify concerning him. He performs ḥalitza with his brother’s widow and his brother performs ḥalitza with his wife; and his brother consummates levirate marriage with his wife. But he does not consummate levirate marriage with his brother’s widow, because it is prohibited for him to marry a widow (see Leviticus 21:14), and can therefore never fulfill the mitzva of levirate marriage, as a yevama is by definition a widow. If a relative of the High Priest dies, he does not follow the bier carrying the corpse, since it is prohibited for the High Priest to become ritually impure even for immediate relatives (see Leviticus 21:11). Rather, once the members of the funeral procession are concealed from sight by turning onto another street, he is revealed on the street they departed, and when they are revealed, then he is concealed, and in this way, he goes out with them until the entrance of the gate of the city, from where they would take out the corpse, since the dead were not buried in Jerusalem. This is the statement of Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Yehuda says: He does not emerge from the Temple at all for the burial of his relatives, as it is stated: “And from the Temple he shall not emerge and will not desecrate the Temple of his God; for the separateness of the oil of the anointment of his God is on him” (Leviticus 21:12). The mishna continues: And when he consoles others in their mourning when they return from burial, the way of all the people is that they pass by one after another and the mourners stand in a line and are consoled, and the appointed person stands in the middle, between the High Priest and the people. And when he is consoled by others in his mourning, all the people say to him: We are your atonement. And he says to them: May you be blessed from Heaven. And when they comfort him with the first meal after the burial of one of his relatives, all the people recline on the ground as if they are taking his mourning on themselves, and he reclines on the bench out of respect for his status as High Priest.
כֹּהֵן גָּדוֹל דָּן וְדָנִין אוֹתוֹ, מֵעִיד וּמְעִידִין אוֹתוֹ, חוֹלֵץ וְחוֹלְצִין לְאִשְׁתּוֹ, וּמְיַבְּמִין אֶת אִשְׁתּוֹ, אֲבָל הוּא אֵינוֹ מְיַבֵּם, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהוּא אָסוּר בָּאַלְמָנָה. מֵת לוֹ מֵת, אֵינוֹ יוֹצֵא אַחַר הַמִּטָּה, אֶלָּא הֵן נִכְסִין וְהוּא נִגְלֶה, הֵן נִגְלִין וְהוּא נִכְסֶה, וְיוֹצֵא עִמָּהֶן עַד פֶּתַח הָעִיר, דִּבְרֵי רַבִּי מֵאִיר. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, אֵינוֹ יוֹצֵא מִן הַמִּקְדָּשׁ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ויקרא כא) וּמִן הַמִּקְדָּשׁ לֹא יֵצֵא. וּכְשֶׁהוּא מְנַחֵם אֲחֵרִים, דֶּרֶךְ כָּל הָעָם עוֹבְרִין בָּזֶה אַחַר זֶה וְהַמְמֻנֶּה מְמַצְּעוֹ בֵּינוֹ לְבֵין הָעָם. וּכְשֶׁהוּא מִתְנַחֵם מֵאֲחֵרִים, כָּל הָעָם אוֹמְרִים לוֹ אָנוּ כַפָּרָתְךָ, וְהוּא אוֹמֵר לָהֶן תִּתְבָּרְכוּ מִן הַשָּׁמָיִם. וּכְשֶׁמַּבְרִין אוֹתוֹ, כָּל הָעָם מְסֻבִּין עַל הָאָרֶץ וְהוּא מֵסֵב עַל הַסַּפְסָל:
א׳

כהן גדול. אינו יוצא אחר המטה – Perhaps he would come to touch [the corpse] in the midst of his troubles. And the All-Merciful One said (Leviticus 21:11): “He shall not go where there is any dead body.”

הן נכסין והוא נגלה – since those who carry the bier are covered from the entrance to a group of buildings/alleyway that is to say, when they left him; he was revealed and went inside within, but all the while that they were revealed and appeared in the alleyway, he was covered from them and did not enter into their midst.

ויוצא עמהן עד פתח העיר – that in the city were found alleyways and he can cover himself from them, but outside of the city, there is no recognition.

שנאמר: "ומן המקדש לא יצא" – Rabbi Yehuda expounds [on the verse – Leviticus 21:12]: “He shall not go outside the sanctuary,” at all. And Rabbi Meir expounds that he shall not leave from his holiness, that is, he should be careful that he not come in contact [with the bier] and within the city there are alleys where there is recognition and he is careful. And the Halakha is according to Rabbi Yehuda.

וכשהוא מנם את אחרים – that is of a dead person that is not his (family), everyone admits that he is able to go and not go to the trouble that he won’t come in contact [with the bier]. And when they return from the graves and stand in a line to comfort the mourners and all the people pass one after another and comfort the mourner who stands at his standing post [to receive the consolation of the others in attendance] , and everyone says to him: “May you be comforted from Heaven.”

הממונה – he is the deputy [High Priest] , who is appointed to serve in place of the High Priest, lest something occur to him that would make the High Priest unfit for service on Yom Kippur.

והממונה מנצעו – who walks to the right of the High Priest and all the people are to his left, so that the High Priest is in the middle.

אנו כפרתך – though us you will be forgiven – you and we under you for all that is appropriate to come upon you.

וכשמברין אותו – for a mourner is forbidden to eat the first meal of his own [possessions], but his relatives and loved ones/friends feed him.

מסובין על הארץ – they distress themselves and mourn in his grief/pain.

והוא מיסב – with honor on his bench.

כהן גדול. אינו יוצא אחר המטה. דלמא אתי למנגע מתוך טרדתו, ורחמנא אמר (ויקרא כ״א:י״א) ועל כל נפשות מת לא יבוא:

הן נכסין והוא נגלה. כיון שנתכסו נושאי המטה מן המבוי כלומר שיצאו ממנו, הוא נגלה ונכנס בתוכו. אבל כל זמן שהן נגלין ונראין במבוי, הוא נכסה ממנו שאינו נכנס לתוכו:

ויוצא עמהן עד פתח העיר. שבעיר מצויין מבואות ויכול להתכסות מהן. אבל חוץ לעיר ליכא הכירא:

שנאמר ומן המקדש לא יצא. רבי יהודה דריש ומן המקדש לא יצא כל עיקר. ור׳ מאיר דריש ומקדושתו לא יצא, כלומר יזדהר שלא יבא לידי מגע, ובתוך העיר שיש מבואות איכא היכרא ומזדהר. והלכה כרבי יהודה:

וכשהוא מנחם את אחרים. דבמת שאינו שלו כולי עלמא מודו דיכול הוא לילך, דלא טריד ולא אתי למנגע. וכשחוזרין מן הקברות ועומדין בשורה לנחם האבלים וכל העם עוברים זה אחר זה ומנחמין האבל שעומד במעמדו וכל אחד אומר לו תתנחם מן השמים:

והממונה ממצעו. שהוא הולך לימין כהן גדול וכל העם משמאלו, נמצא כהן גדול באמצע:

הממונה. הוא הסגן, שהוא ממונה לעבוד תחת כהן גדול אם יארע פסול בכהן גדול ביום הכפורים:

אנו כפרתך. בנו תתכפר אתה ואנחנו תחתיך לכל הראוי לבא עליך:

וכשמברין אותו. שאבל אסור לאכול סעודה ראשונה משלו, וקרוביו ואוהביו מאכילין אותו:

מסובין על הארץ. הן מצירין ומתאבלין בצערו:

והוא מיסב. בכבוד על הספסל: