Sanhedrin

'He transgresses positive and negative commandments.' But is he bound  to transgress?  — What it means is: If he transgressed a positive or a negative commandment, he is in every respect [equal to] a hedyot.  But is this not obvious? — [No,] I might think, since we learnt: 'A whole tribe, a false prophet or a high priest are not to be judged except by a court of seventy one';  and R. Adda b. Ahabah said: [This is deduced from the verse,] Every great matter they shall bring unto thee,  meaning, 'the matters of a great man':  — therefore (I might think) all matters of a great man [involve trial by the Great Sanhedrin]; the Tanna therefore teaches us [otherwise]. But perhaps it is so?  — Is it actually written, 'matters of a great [man]'? What it states is: 'The great matter', i.e., the really important matter. HE MAY TESTIFY AND BE TESTIFIED AGAINST. He may testify? But has it not been taught: And hide thyself from them;  there are times when thou mayest hide thyself  and there are times when thou mayest not. How so?  — [E.g., when the finder is] a Kohen and it [sc. the object found] is in a grave-yard;  or an old man, and it is undignified for him;  or when his work is of greater value than his neighbour's [loss]: in such cases Scripture says, And hide thyself.  — said R. Joseph: He may be a witness for the king.  But have we not learnt: HE [THE KING] MAY NEITHER JUDGE NOR BE JUDGED; TESTIFY NOR BE TESTIFIED AGAINST? — But, said R. Zera: He may be a witness for the king's son. But the king's son is a commoner!  — Rather [say thus]: He may testify in the presence of the king.  But surely the king may not be given a seat on the Sanhedrin! — For the sake of the High Priest's dignity, he comes and sits down until his evidence is received, after which he leaves and then we deliberate on his  case. The text [states]: 'The king may not be given a seat on the Sanhedrin;' nor may the king or the High Priest be members of the board for the intercalation of the year. 'The king [may not be given a seat] in the Sanhedrin,' — because it is written, Thou shalt not speak 'al rib [in a case].  [meaning], thou shalt not speak against the rab [chief of the judges].  Again. 'nor may the king or the High Priest be members of the board for the intercalation of the year.' The king, on account of 'Afsanya' [the upkeep of the army];  the High Priest, because of the [autumnal] cold. R. Papa said: This  proves that the seasons of the year fall in with the normal lunar months.  But is it so? Were there not three cowherds who were standing conversing, and who were overheard by some Rabbis. One of them said: If the early and late sowing  sprout together, the month is Adar; if not, it is not Adar.  The second said: If in the morning frost is severe enough to injure  an ox, and at mid-day the ox lies in the shade of the fig-tree and scratches its hide,  then it is Adar, if not, it is not Adar. And the third said: When a strong east wind is blowing and your breath can prevail against it, the month is Adar; if not, it is not Adar. Thereupon the Rabbis intercalated the year?  — Is it then logical for you to assume that the Rabbis intercalated the year by a simple reliance upon cowherds? But they relied on their own calculations, and the cowherds [merely] corroborated their proposed action. HE MAY PERFORM HALIZAH. The Tanna teaches this  categorically. irrespective of whether [his sister-in-law was widowed] after nesu'in or only after erusin.  Now, as for a widow after nesu'in, it is correct, since he is interdicted by a positive and a negative command;