Hebrew Bible Study
Hebrew Bible Study

Responsa for Exodus 23:2

לֹֽא־תִהְיֶ֥ה אַחֲרֵֽי־רַבִּ֖ים לְרָעֹ֑ת וְלֹא־תַעֲנֶ֣ה עַל־רִ֗ב לִנְטֹ֛ת אַחֲרֵ֥י רַבִּ֖ים לְהַטֹּֽת׃

Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou bear witness in a cause to turn aside after a multitude to pervert justice;

Shut min haShamayim

They responded: "Say to Wisdom, my sister are you!" (Proverbs 7:4) - "if something is as clear to you as the prohibition of your sister, only then speak it." (Sanhedrin 7b:2) And who can truly examine and calculate how much flavour was exuded from a spoon? Some time later they responded: "One was Abraham," (Ezekiel 33:24) "Incline after the majority." (Exodus 23:2) *i.e., the opinion of R. Abraham b. David is rejected.
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Shut min haShamayim

They responded [in my dream]: "You are not wise to ask such a question," (Kohelet 7:10) "for the ways of the Lord are upright, the righteous will walk their paths, and the wicked shall stumble" (Hosea 14:10), "Have I not written it three times?" (Proverbs 22:20) "Incline after the many" (Exodus 23:2) - and the majority today forbid such things. In the Heavenly Yeshiva, there is no dispute on this subject, and we all rule that this is forbidden.
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