תלמוד על סנהדרין 3:1

There, we have stated⁸⁷Mishnah Sanhedrin 3:6. The Mishnah gives a list of people whose testimony cannot be trusted in court: Gamblers, usurers, organizers of animal fights, and traders in Sabbatical produce. R. Jehudah says, these are unacceptable as witnesses (since they will sin for monetary gain and, therefore, are open to bribery) only if they make their living from these activities, not if gambling, etc., is done only on the side. The entire discussion appears word by word in Sanhedrin 3:6, fol. 21a–b.: “Rebbi Jehudah said, when is that? If he has no other, different profession. But if he has another, different profession it is permitted.” How is this implemented? If he was sitting idle all the years of the sabbatical cycle but when the Sabbatical began he became active and traded in forbidden produce, if he has another profession on the side he is acceptable, otherwise he is unacceptable. But if he was working in his profession all the years of the sabbatical cycle and when the Sabbatical began he became active and traded in forbidden produce, even if he has no other profession on the side he is permitted. Rebbi Abba bar Zavda, Rebbi Abbahu in the name of Rebbi Eleazar: Practice follows Rebbi Jehudah of our Mishnah. Rebbi Abba bar Zavda was publicly praised for presenting a tradition in the name of a younger person. It was stated⁸⁸In Sanhedrin, “R. Ḥiyya stated”.: Rebbi Jehudah is restrictive. How is this implemented? If he was working in his profession all the years of the sabbatical cycles but when the Sabbatical began he became active and traded in forbidden produce, if he has another profession on the side he is permitted, otherwise he is forbidden. (But if he was working in his profession all the years of the sabbatical cycles and when the Sabbatical began he became active and traded in forbidden produce, even if he has no other profession on the side he is forbidden.)⁸⁹The text in parentheses is missing in Sanhedrin and in the quotes of this paragraph by Maimonides, R. Simson, and R. Isaac Simponti. It is dittography and should be disregarded. With this we are not concerned. Rebbi Abba bar Zavda, Rebbi Abbahu in the name of Rebbi Eleazar⁹⁰Even though the Babli holds (in the name of the first generation R. Joshua ben Levi) that all statements of R. Jehudah in the Mishnah which start with אימתי are explanations of the anonymous text, not disagreements, and are always practice to be followed (Sanhedrin 24b, Erubin 81b–82a); the Babli (Sanhedrin 26b) states explicitly in the name of R. Abbahu and R. Eleazar that practice follows R. Jehudah. One has to take that as an echo of the discussion in the Yerushalmi.: Practice follows Rebbi Jehudah of our Mishnah. Rebbi Abba bar Zavda was publicly praised for presenting a tradition in the name of a younger person. Here also should it be so⁹¹Do the restrictive rules of R. Jehudah effectively apply to dealers in Sabbatical produce? R. Yannai permitted growing crops in the Sabbatical (Halakha 4:2) because of the tax burden on farmers; the tannaitic rules cannot be enforced as long as the tax is collected whether there is a crop or not.? Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun said, there the government is not oppressive, here the government is oppressive.

Rav Huna said: Who is the Tanna of “participants in pigeon contests”? Rebbi Eliezer, as we have stated there³⁰⁵Mishnah Idiut2:7, formulated as testimony in R. Aqiba’s court in the name of R. Eliezer.: “Two in the name of Rebbi Eliezer. A woman may go out with a city of gold³⁰⁶On the Sabbath a woman may go into the public domain wearing a golden diadem depicting the walls of a city. This is classified as jewelery which is standard clothing for a woman., and participants in pigeon contests are disqualified from testimony.” Rebbi Mana said before Rebbi Yose: Is the entire statement in Sanhedrin Rebbi Eliezer’s³⁰⁷If Mishnah Sanhedrin3:6 represents a minority opinion, it should have been labelled as such.? He told him, it is everybody’s opinion. What means “it is everybody’s opinion”? ³⁰⁸Here starts the discussion of the Mishnah in Roš Haššanah… So said Rebbi Yose: We knew that he was disqualified for testimony in money matters. What does he³⁰⁹One of the witnesses mentioned in the Mishnah Roš Haššanah. come to testify about? For as he is disqualified in money matters, so he is disqualified to testify in criminal trials. The witnesses for the New Moon are held to the standards of criminal trials, as we have stated: “any testimony for which a woman is not qualified, they are not qualified.” Who stated this? The rabbis³¹⁰Since the Mishnah is anonymous.! Do the rabbis follow Rebbi Eliezer? They agree with him and disagree with him. Rebbi Jonah in the name of Rav Huna: It follows Rebbi Eliezer in everything. It turns out that this disagreement³¹¹R. Eliezer and the rabbis, R. Meïr and R. Yose (the Tanna). parallels another disagreement, as it was stated³¹²Tosephta Makkot1:11, in the name of R. Jehudah (student of R. Eliezer’s student.): “A perjured witness is disqualified for any and all testimony required by the Torah, the words of Rebbi Meïr. Rebbi Yose said, when? If he was found perjured in criminal matters. But if he was found perjured in money matters, he is suspect in money matters and disqualified in money matters.” It turns out that Rebbi Yose parallels the rabbis and Rebbi Meïr Rebbi Eliezer.

There¹⁰⁰In Babylonia (Babli 174a in the name of R. Joḥanan.), they instruct that practice everywhere follows Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel except for the guarantor¹⁰¹The Mishnah here, Bava batra10:14., Sidon¹⁰²Mishnah Giṭṭin 5:5., and the last proof¹⁰³Mishnah Sanhedrin 3:13 (in most Mishnah editions, the last statement of Rabban Simeon in Mishnah 3:8 dealing with the right of the parties to submit proof to the court out of order.). They say, only in the Mishnah¹⁰⁴But not in the baraitot. The Babli agrees, loc. cit.. Rebbi Immi bar Qorḥa in the name of Rav: Why did they say, practice everywhere follows Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel? For he pronounced specific practices decided by his court¹⁰⁵His pronuncements have the status of precedents decided by the Supreme Court..