Sanhedrin

He [this stranger] said to him: 'Yesterday evening, ye omitted the evening Tamid,  and to-day  ye have neglected the study of the Torah.'  'For which of these [offences] hast thou come?' 'I have now come,'  he replied. Straightway [we read], And Joshua lodged that night in the midst of the vale'.  Whereon R. Johanan observed: It teaches that he spent the night in the profundities  of the law. R. Samuel b. Unia said in the name of Rab: The study of the Torah is more important than the offering of the Tamid, since it is written, I have now come. Abaye asked R. Dimi:  To what do ye in 'the West' relate the following verse: Go not forth hastily to strife, for what wilt thou do in the end thereof when thy neighbour hath put thee to shame. Debate thy cause with thy neighbour, but reveal not the secrets of another?  — [He answered]: When the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Ezekiel, Go and say unto Israel, An Amorite was thy father, and thy mother was a Hittite,  the intercessory  spirit said before the Holy One, blessed be He, 'Sovereign of the Universe! if Abraham and Sarah came and stood before Thee, wouldst Thou say [this] to them and put them to shame?' Debate thy cause with thy neighbour,  but reveal not the secret of another!  But has he so much license?  — Yes, For R. Jose son of R. Hanina said: He has three names: Pisakon, Itamon, and Sigaron.  Pisakon, because he argues against the Most High;  Itamon, because he hides the sins of Israel, Sigaron, because when he concludes  a matter, none can reopen it. Hadst thou prepared thy prayer before thy trouble came?  R. Eleazar said: One should always offer up prayer before misfortune comes; for had not Abraham anticipated trouble by prayer between Beth-el and Ai,  there would not have remained of Israel's sinners a remnant or a survivor.  Resh Lakish said: He who devotes his strength to prayerbelow,  has no enemies [to overcome] above.  R. Johanan said: One should ever implore mercy that all [sc. Heavenly beings] may support his effort [in prayer] so that he may have no enemies on high. AND WHENCE DO WE KNOW THAT HIS CONFESSIONS MADE ATONEMENT FOR HIM etc. Our Rabbis taught: Whence do we know that his confessions made atonement for him? — From the verse, And Joshua said unto him, Why hast thou troubled us, the Lord shall trouble thee this day: [implying] this day art thou troubled, but thou shalt not be troubled in the next world. And again it is written, And the sons of Zerah: Zimri,  and Ethan and Heman and Calcol and Darda,  five of them in all.  Why the phrase: five of them in all?  — Because all five were equally destined for the world to come. Here he is called Zimri, but elsewhere, Achan.  Rab and Samuel [differ thereon]: One maintains his real name was Achan; and why was he called Zimri? — Because he acted like Zimri.  The other maintains, His real name was Zimri; and why was he called Achan? — Because he wound the sins of Israel about them like a serpent. AND IF HE KNOWS NOT WHAT TO CONFESS … R. JUDAH SAID … TO CLEAR HIMSELF. Why not let them clear themselves? — In order that they may not bring discredit upon the Court and the witnesses. Our Rabbis taught: It happened once that a man who was being taken to be executed said: 'If I am guilty of this sin, may my death not atone for any of my sins; but if I am innocent thereof, may my death expiate all my sins. The court and all Israel are guiltless, but may the witnesses never be forgiven.' Now, when the Sages heard of the matter they said: It is impossible to reverse the decision, since the sentence has been promulgated. He must therefore be executed, and may the chain [of responsibility] ever hang on the neck of the witnesses. But is he to be relied on?  — This holds good only where the witnesses have retracted.  But even so, of what consequence is it? Once a witness testified — he cannot testify again!  It is necessary [to state this] even where they [the witnesses] give a reason for their action,  as happened in the case of Ba'ya  the tax-collector. MISHNAH. WHEN HE IS ABOUT FOUR CUBITS DISTANT FROM THE PLACE OF STONING, HE IS STRIPPED OF HIS GARMENTS.38  A MAN IS COVERED IN FRONT AND A WOMAN BOTH IN FRONT AND BEHIND: THIS IS R. JUDAH'S VIEW. BUT THE SAGES SAY: A MAN IS TO BE STONED NAKED BUT A WOMAN IS NOT TO BE STONED NAKED.