Chapter two of Tractate Sanhedrin opens with a mishnah that delineates the unique legal status of the nation’s two most prominent leaders: the high priest and the king. When the Temple stood, the high priest was the religious leader of the Jewish people. When there was an independent Jewish kingdom, the king served as political leader. In the time of the rabbis, following the destruction of the Temple, neither position was filled, but the unique legal status of these now practically mythical leaders is still of interest to the rabbis and will occupy us for this entire chapter.
Among the many ways the high priest and king each occupy a unique legal status, the most significant is perhaps this:
The high priest judges others, and others judge him. He testifies and others testify concerning him …
The king does not judge others and others do not judge him. He does not testify, and others do not testify concerning him …
The mishnah states that a high priest can sit as a judge on a court and can also be a defendant in the courtroom. A king, however, neither sits on the court nor is he judged by the court. This seems to run counter to the Torah’s famous dictum, usually interpreted to mean that no one is above the law: “You shall not render an unfair decision: do not favor the poor or show deference to the rich; judge your kin fairly.” (Leviticus 19:15).
There’s a lot to unpack here, so we’ll just begin today. The Gemara takes the clauses of the mishnah one at a time. Regarding the mishnah’s teaching that the high priest can sit on a court to judge others, the Gemara remarks that this should be obvious, and then explains:
It was necessary for the mishnah to mention the latter clause: And others judge him, and therefore, it taught the related halakhah with it.
True, says the Gemara, it is obvious a high priest can sit on a court, but the mishnah included this clause in order to pair it with the less obvious teaching that follows: that a high priest can also be judged by the court. But then the Gemara interjects:
This is also obvious; if others do not judge him, how can he judge others? But isn’t it written: “Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together” (Zephaniah 2:1); and Reish Lakish says: This verse teaches a moral principle: Adorn yourself first, and then adorn others.
The Gemara notes that the second clause about the high priest — that he can be judged — could be inferred from the first. Only those subject to judgment, Reish Lakish explains, are fit to judge. So, perhaps, concludes the Gemara, the comments about the high priest are merely set-up for the truly novel teaching, which is that the king neither judges nor is he judged.
That said, the high priest is not exactly like an ordinary citizen when it comes to the court system. For instance, as we will learn later, the high priest is tried by a Great Sanhedrin — 71 judges — rather than 23. And he can’t sit on every court:
A king is not seated on the sanhedrin, nor is a king or a high priest seated on a court for intercalating the year. With regard to a king on the sanhedrin, the source is as it is written: “Do not answer in a cause (riv)” (Exodus 23:2), which is explained to mean: Do not answer to a great person (rav).
Though a high priest may sit on a court, he may not sit on a court convened specifically to intercalate a year. (And you thought we were past that subject!) This is not written directly in the Torah, but midrashically derived from a play on words that suggests a larger concern: Stature will make the other judges afraid to contradict him. Why does this matter? Because, as we are about to learn, neither the high priest nor the king is a disinterested party in the determination of the calendar:
A king does not serve as a judge concerning this matter due to the sustenance of soldiers. A high priest does not serve as a judge concerning this matter due to the cold.
Kings have a vested interest in making the year longer because the treasury will gain an extra month of tax revenue that can be used to support the army. Conversely, high priests have a vested interest in making the year shorter, so that Yom Kippur — which requires him to immerse multiple times in a mikveh — falls at an earlier (and therefore balmier) time of the year. Since both would sway the court with their status, neither may join the deliberations about intercalating the year.
There’s a lot more to discuss because this whole chapter is devoted to the special legal status of the high priest and king. More tomorrow.
Read all of Sanhedrin 18 on Sefaria.
This piece originally appeared in a My Jewish Learning Daf Yomi email newsletter sent on January 4, 2025. If you are interested in receiving the newsletter, sign up here.
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