Kiddushin, Daf Ayin Vav, Part 3

 

Introduction

The Talmud continues to explain the Mishnah.

 

אין בודקין מן המזבח ולמעלה מאי טעמא אי לאו דבדקוה לא הוו מסקי ליה

 

We do not investigate from the altar and upwards. What is the reason?

If they had not examined her, he would not have been promoted.

 

If the priest serves on the altar, then we can assume they checked his lineage. Therefore, his daughter may be married.

 

ולא מן הדוכן ולמעלה מאי טעמא דאמר מר ששם היו יושבים מייחסי כהונה ומייחסי לויה

 

Nor from the dais and upwards. What is the reason? Because a Master said: For there sat those of best lineage from the priestly and the Levitical families.

 

Same as above if the girl s father sung as a Levite in the Temple, we can assume her genealogical purity has been checked.

 

ולא מסנהדרין ולמעלה מאי טעמא דתני רב יוסף כשם שבית דין מנוקין בצדק כך מנוקין מכל מום

אמר מרימר מאי קראה (שיר השירים ד, ז) כולך יפה רעיתי ומום אין בך

אימא מומא ממש

אמר רב אחא בר יעקב אמר קרא (במדבר יא, טז) והתיצבו שם עמך עמך בדומים לך

 

Nor from the Sanhedrin and upwards. What is the reason?

For R. Joseph taught: Just as the court must be pure in righteousness, so must it be pure from any [genealogical] blemish.

Meremar said: What verse teaches this? You are entirely beautiful my love; and there is no blemish in you (Song of Songs 4:7).

Why not say [this means] literal blemish?

R. Aha b. Jacob said: The verse says, And they will stand there with you (Numbers 11:16): with you, like you.

 

Those who serve on the Sanhedrin are assumed to have no genealogical blemishes. Meremar uses a verse from Song of Songs to show this, but the problem with the verse is that it might refer to physical blemishes, not genealogical ones.

Therefore R. Aha b. Ya akov provides another verse, one dealing with those who will judge with Moshe, i.e. serve on the Sanhedrin. Just as Moshe had no genealogical blemishes, so too those who served on the Sanhedrin must not have blemishes.

 

ודלמא משום שכינה אמר רב נחמן אמר קרא (שמות יח, כב) והקל מעליך ונשאו אתך בדומים לך

Yet perhaps that was on account of the Shekhinah?

R. Nahman said: The verse says, And they will lighten the burden on you and bear it with you (Exodus 18:22): those who are like you.

 

The problem with Numbers 11:16 is that these judges were going to have the Shekhinah, God s divine presence, rest on them. This is what happens in the continuation of that story. Maybe that is why they needed to be free of genealogical blemishes like Moses. But this would not be true of the Sanhedrin.

Therefore, R. Nahman brings another verse from another context. Here God s divine presence does not settle on the judges and therefore the fact that they still must be like Moses means that all members of the Sanhedrin must be like him in purity of lineage.