Talmud do Wyjścia 23:7

HALAKHAH: “Civil suits can be retried both for credit and for debit,” etc. ³⁰Babli 33b, Mekhilta dR. Ismael Mišpatim 20 (p.327–328), dR. Simeon ben Iohai 23:7; shortened Sifry Deut. 144. If he left the court being acquitted, and they found reasons for conviction, could I understand that one returned him? The verse says³¹Ex. 23:7., do not slay the acquitted. If he left the court being convicted, and they found reasons for acquittal, could I understand that one should not return him? The verse³¹Ex. 23:7. says, but do not slay the innocent. I could think that if he is acquitted in your court, he is acquitted in My court; the verse³¹Ex. 23:7. says, I shall not acquit the wicked. Rebbi Isaac said, Rebbi Yose told me: There is no difference; if the acquittal was in error³²For example, if the clerk of court made an error in tallying the votes. The Babli, 33b, holds that a retrial is possible if an acquittal was in clear violation of a biblical verse., one retries him.

How does one dance before a bride?¹⁰What does one recite or sing in praise of a bride? Beth Shammai said, ‘The bride as she is’.¹¹One should not exaggerate, and if she is obviously not beautiful one should not say that she is. Beth Hillel said, ‘Beautiful and graceful bride’.¹²Every bride should be complimented. Beth Shammai said to Beth Hillel, ‘According to your view, if she were lame or blind one still has to call her “beautiful and graceful bride”, but the Torah has declared, Keep thee far from a false matter!’¹³Ex. 23, 7. Beth Hillel replied to Beth Shammai, ‘If one has made a bad purchase in the market, should one praise it in his eyes or depreciate it? Surely one should praise it in his eyes’. Therefore the Sages said: The disposition of man should always be pleasant with people.

BARAITHA.¹Keth. 16b-17a (Sonc. ed., pp. 92ff.). How does one dance²The meaning here is to recite the praises of a bride. before the bride? Beth Shammai said: The bride as she is; and Beth Hillel said: Beautiful and graceful bride!³Whether she possessed the qualifications or not. Beth Shammai said to Beth Hillel: Even if she is lame or blind? But it is written, Keep thee far from a false matter!⁴Ex. 23, 7; and there must be no departure from the truth even for a bride. Beth Hillel replied: If one has made a bad purchase, should one esteem it in his eyes or depreciate it? Surely one should esteem it in his eyes. Therefore Beth Hillel said: Always should the disposition of a man be pleasant towards his fellow-creatures.
GEMARA. But how can Beth Hillel [say of a bride] that she is beautiful when in fact she is not? [Beth Hillel can reply that in the circumstances people will understand it as] beautiful in her deeds and graceful in her person because we do not presume [to attribute to a person] what is unbecoming. And [what can] Beth Shammai [reply to this]? They can say: Is it written, ‘Keep far from a falsehood’? [It is written, From a false] matter,⁵lit. ‘word’. even if it be inexplicit.⁶It is therefore wrong to make a statement and expect people to take it in a different sense. And [what can] Beth Hillel [reply to this]? They can say: When the All-present declared, Keep thee far from a false matter, it is in connection with what follows, And the innocent and righteous slay thou not;⁷i.e. the context is giving false evidence which will lead to an innocent person being condemned to death. but where it is a case of preserving life⁸Creating a deeper love between husband and wife. it is in order [to depart from the strict truth]. Should the question be raised: Why do Beth Hillel in their refutation cite the example of ‘a bad purchase’, let them refute Beth Shammai from the Torah! For it has been taught:⁹Yeb. 65b (Sonc. ed., pp. 437f.); B.M. 87a (Sonc. ed., p. 502, n. 4). Great is peace, seeing that for its sake the Holy One, blessed be He, modified a statement. At first it is written, My lord being old,¹⁰Gen. 18, 12. and afterwards, I … who am old.¹¹ibid. 13. When Sarah was told by the angel that she would have a son she laughed to herself and exclaimed, My lord being old; but when God repeated what she had said to Abraham, not to hurt his feelings He changed the word to I … who am old. [Beth Hillel] can reply: There is no question [that what we say] is correct according to the Torah, but it is also correct by the standard of human beings; reverse it.¹²The text should read kelappë ’alyah, lit. ‘towards the tail’, i.e. reverse it, and the word which follows is an explanatory gloss (Jastrow s.v. ’alyah). The meaning is, To meet the question raised, it would be best in the Baraitha first to cite the passage from Genesis and then the example of ‘a bad purchase’.
[It was quoted above:] And the innocent and righteous slay thou not. Since you mention the innocent [may not be slain], obviously the righteous [may not]!¹³The term innocent has a negative connotation, viz. one who keeps away from evil; but the term righteous has both a negative and positive connotation, viz. one who keeps away from evil and does good. [It denotes] ‘innocent because of witnesses’ and ‘righteous because of disciples’.¹⁴These are forensic terms. I. Where two witnesses testify against a man that he had committed an offence but disagree on the details, the accused is discharged. E.g., two witnesses testify that they saw him worshipping idols; one says that he worshipped the sun and the other that it was the moon. Because the witnesses are in disagreement on details, the man is acquitted. He is technically termed naḳi me‘edim, ‘innocent (or, freed) because of [the disagreement of] witnesses’. II. In the criminal court young scholars sat in rows in front of the judges. When the trial ended and before the verdict was delivered, any one of these scholars could, if he knew anything in favour of the accused, come forward and speak for him, and if the judges accepted his statement they discharged the accused. He was then termed ẓaddiḳ min hattalmidim, ‘righteous (i.e. acquitted) because of the disciples’. If the disciple wished to testify against the accused, he was not permitted to do so. That would be a case of rasha‘ min hattalmidim, ‘condemned because of the disciples’, which was not allowed. Cf. Sanh. 33b-34a (Sonc. ed., p. 212) and Rashi ad loc. From this we learn [the ruling]: Do not put to death ‘the innocent because of witnesses’ and ‘the condemned because of disciples’. [Do you think,] ‘Condemned because of disciples’? Say, because of one of the disciples.¹⁵This refusal to listen to disciples’ statements against the accused holds good only when one disciple came forward. This procedure is based on Num. 35, 30; cf. Sanh. loc. cit.
Raba expounded: What is the meaning of what is written, For the Lord is righteous, He loveth righteousness; the upright shall behold His face?¹⁶Ps. 11, 7. If so, [the verse should read,] ‘He loveth the righteous’!¹⁷Since He is described as righteous, that is the wording which might have been expected. But [it is to be understood] as Raba interpreted it:¹⁸Cf. ‘Erub 19a (Sonc. ed., pp. 129f.). Abraham¹⁹So the text must be emended. V reads ‘from forty’. comes and brings [redemption to the wicked who are under sentence to suffer in Gehinnom, in agreement with] Resh Laḳish [who said: The fire of Gehinnom has no power over the transgressors in Israel,] or it may be deduced by an argument from minor to major [from the golden altar], as it is stated, Every one that is written unto life in Jerusalem.²⁰Isa. 4, 3. The text is obviously corrupt and is conjecturally reconstructed from the Talmud. Abraham, in freeing the sinners of Israel from Gehinnom, performs an act of righteousness which merits him the love of God, Who is righteous, especially as He has written unto [eternal] life every one in Jerusalem (i.e. the whole people of Israel).