From Idlers to Judges: The Essential 120 Men and Infrastructure Essentials in the Ideal City (Sanhedrin 17b-18a)
And Breakdown of 78,600 Ministers Appointed in the Wilderness, Based On Exodus 18:21
Outline
Breakdown of the 120 Men Required for a City to be Eligible for a Lesser Sanhedrin
Essential Civic Infrastructure: A List of 10 Items Needed in the Ideal City
Breakdown of Ministers Appointed in the Wilderness, Based On Exodus 18:21
The Passage
Breakdown of the 120 Men Required for a City to be Eligible for a Lesser Sanhedrin
Wikipedia, “Sanhedrin“:
The Sanhedrin (Hebrew and Middle Aramaic סַנְהֶדְרִין, a loanword from Koinē Greek: Συνέδριον, romanized: synedrion, 'assembly,' 'sitting together,' hence 'assembly' or 'council') was a legislative and judicial assembly of either 23 or 70 elders, existing at both a local and central level in the ancient Land of Israel.
There were two classes of Rabbinite courts called sanhedrins: Greater and Lesser.
A lesser Sanhedrin of 23 judges was appointed to sit as a tribunal in each city.
There was only one Great Sanhedrin of 70 judges, which, among other roles, acted as a supreme court, taking appeals from cases that lesser courts decided.
In general usage, the Sanhedrin without qualifier usually refers to the Great Sanhedrin, which was presided over by the Nasi, who functioned as its head or representing president, and was a member of the court; the Av Beit Din or the chief of the court, who was second to the nasi and 69 general members.
In the Second Temple period, the Great Sanhedrin met in the Temple in Jerusalem, in a building called the Hall of Hewn Stones [….]
The Talmud tractate Sanhedrin identifies two classes of rabbinical courts called Sanhedrin, a Great Sanhedrin (בית דין הגדול) and a Lesser Sanhedrin (בית דין הקטן).
Each city could have its own lesser Sanhedrin of 23 judges, but there could be only one greater Sanhedrin of 71, which among other roles acted as the Supreme Court, taking appeals from cases decided by lesser courts.
The Sanhedrin as a body claimed powers that lesser Jewish courts did not have. As such, they were the only ones who could try the king, extend the boundaries of the Temple and Jerusalem, and were the ones to whom all questions of law were finally put.
Moreover, the lesser Sanhedrin of 23 judges was the only juridical body in Israel having the statutory and constitutional authority and power to render a verdict of capital punishment to would-be offenders, and the greater Sanhedrin of 71 judges was solely authorized to send forth the people to a battle waged of free choice.
Eligibility for Lesser Sanhedrin: A city must have 120 men to be eligible for a lesser Sanhedrin.
Breakdown of 120:
23 members: The number of judges in a Lesser Sanhedrin (סנהדרי קטנה).
69 men watching (observers): Organized into three rows of 23 students who sit before the Sanhedrin to observe.
10 idlers (בטלנין) of the synagogue: Individuals free from manual work, dedicated to maintaining and managing the synagogue.1
2 scribes (סופרים): To record the proceedings.
2 bailiffs (חזנין): To enforce court rulings.
2 litigants (בעלי דינין): Representing the disputing parties.
2 witnesses (עדים): For the plaintiff's side.
2 rebuttal witnesses (זוממין): Who could disqualify the plaintiff’s witnesses by proving them elsewhere during the alleged incident.2
2 counter-rebuttal witnesses (זוממי זוממין): Who could disqualify the rebuttal witnesses, rendering them conspiring witnesses.
Grand total: 114 men accounted for so far in the city.
וכמה יהא בעיר ויהא ראויה לסנהדרין? מאה ועשרים וכו׳.
מאה ועשרים מאי עבידתייהו?
עשרים ושלשה כנגד סנהדרי קטנה,
ושלש שורות של עשרים ושלשה – הרי תשעים ותרתי,
ועשרה בטלנין של בית הכנסת – הרי מאה ותרי.
ושני סופרים,
ושני חזנין,
ושני בעלי דינין,
ושני עדים,
ושני זוממין,
ושני זוממי זוממין –
הרי מאה וארביסר.
The mishna teaches: And how many men must be in the city for it to be eligible for a lesser Sanhedrin? The opinion of the first tanna is that there must be 120 men.
The Gemara asks: What is the relevance of the number 120?
The Gemara explains that
23 are needed to correspond to the number of members of the lesser Sanhedrin,
and it is necessary for there to be three rows of 23 students who sit before the lesser Sanhedrin to learn and also to advise them; that is a total of 92 people.
And since there also need to be 10 idlers of the synagogue, people who are free from urgent work and are always sitting in the synagogue to take care of its repair and the other needs of the public, that would be 102.
And in addition there are two scribes required for the Sanhedrin,
and two bailiffs,
and two litigants who will come to be judged.
And there are two witnesses for one side,
and two witnesses who could render those witnesses conspiring witnesses by testifying that they were elsewhere at the time of the alleged incident,
and two additional witnesses who could testify against the witnesses who rendered the first witnesses conspiring witnesses, rendering the second pair conspiring witnesses.
All of these are necessary in order for a trial to take place, as is described in Deuteronomy 19:15–21.
Therefore, there are so far a total of 114 men who must be in the city.
Essential Civic Infrastructure: A List of 10 Professionals, Buildings, and Institutions Needed in the Ideal City
A Torah scholar may only reside in a city with these 10 essential elements:3
A court4 authorized to whip (מכין) and otherwise punish (עונשין) transgressors.
A charity5 basket (קופה) collected by two and distributed by three.
A synagogue (בית הכנסת)
A bathhouse (בית המרחץ)
A public toilet/latrine (בית הכסא)6
A doctor7
A bloodletter/surgeon8
A scribe9
A slaughterer10
A teacher for young children.
ותניא:
כל עיר שאין בה עשרה דברים הללו אין תלמיד חכם רשאי לדור בתוכה:
בית דין מכין ועונשין,
וקופה של צדקה -- נגבית בשנים, ומתחלקת בשלשה,
ובית הכנסת,
ובית המרחץ,
ובית הכסא,
רופא,
ואומן,
ולבלר,
וטבח,
ומלמד תינוקות.
[...]
And it is taught in a baraita:
A Torah scholar is not permitted to reside in any city that does not have these ten things:
A court that has the authority to flog and punish transgressors;
and a charity fund for which monies are collected by two people and distributed by three, as required by halakha. This leads to a requirement for another three people in the city.
And a synagogue;
and a bathhouse;
and a public bathroom;
a doctor;
and a bloodletter;
and a scribe [velavlar] to write sacred scrolls and necessary documents;
and a ritual slaughterer;
and a teacher of young children.
With these additional requirements there are a minimum of 120 men who must be residents of the city.
[...]
Breakdown of Ministers Appointed in the Wilderness, Based On Exodus 18:21
Based on Exodus 18:21, the hierarchical judicial structure in the wilderness (after the Exodus) is described by a baraita as follows:
Ministers (שרי) of thousands: 600.
Ministers of hundreds: 6,000.
Ministers of fifties: 12,000.
Ministers of tens: 60,000.
Total judges (דייני): 78,600.
These positions reflect the judicial needs of 600,000 Israelite men of fighting age.11
תנו רבנן:
״ושמת עליהם
שרי אלפים
שרי מאות
שרי חמשים
ושרי עשרת״.
״שרי אלפים״ – שש מאות,
״שרי מאות״ – ששת אלפים,
״שרי חמשים״ – שנים עשר אלף,
״שרי עשרות״ – ששת ריבוא.
נמצאו:
דייני ישראל
שבעת ריבוא
ושמונת אלפים
ושש מאות.
The Sages taught:
The verse states: “And place over them
ministers of thousands,
ministers of hundreds,
ministers of fifties,
and ministers of tens” (Exodus 18:21).
The number of
ministers of thousands was 600, as there were 600,000 men in total;
the number of ministers of hundreds was 6,000;
of ministers of fifties, 12,000,
and of ministers of tens, 60,000.
Therefore, it is found that
the total number of judges of the Jewish people was
78,600.
On this institution, see here, my translation:
Ten Batlanim (עשרה בטלנים - in Talmudic language: Asara Batlanin - עשרה בטלנין, and in short: Yud Batlanim) is a group of ten individuals who abstain from engaging in any labor and instead spend their time in the synagogue all day or during prayer times.
This group is included among the 120 individuals required for a city to qualify for having a Sanhedrin, and without them, the city is not considered a proper city for the purpose of reading the Megillah.
This term (zomem - זוממין) generally means “false witnesses”; the term is biblical, see Deuteronomy.19.16-20:
כי־יקום עד־חמס באיש לענות בו סרה
If someone appears against another party to testify maliciously and gives incriminating yet false testimony,
ועמדו שני־האנשים אשר־להם הריב לפני יהוה לפני הכהנים והשפטים אשר יהיו בימים ההם
the two parties to the dispute shall appear before YHWH, before the priests or magistrates in authority at the time,
ודרשו השפטים היטב והנה עד־שקר העד שקר ענה באחיו
and the magistrates shall make a thorough investigation. If the one who testified is a false witness, having testified falsely against a fellow Israelite,
ועשיתם לו כאשר זמם לעשות לאחיו ובערת הרע מקרבך
you shall do to the one as the one schemed (זמם - zamam) to do to the other. Thus you will sweep out evil from your midst;
והנשארים ישמעו ויראו ולא־יספו לעשות עוד כדבר הרע הזה בקרבך
others will hear and be afraid, and such evil things will not again be done in your midst.
And see Hebrew Wikipedia, עדים זוממים, my translation:
In Jewish law, eidim zomemim (conspiring witnesses) are witnesses whose testimony is proven false due to the testimony of others who claim that the original witnesses were in a different location at the time of the event they testified about, making it impossible for them to have been present.
In such a case, the Torah mandates that the conspiring witnesses receive the same punishment they sought to impose on the accused: "You shall do to him as he conspired to do to his brother" (Deuteronomy 19:19).
This ruling is generally applied precisely, though there are exceptions.
The following list adds another six people required in the ideal city, leading to the total of 120 men needed for a Lesser Sanhedrin, as mentioned above
Compare my previous piece, on advice give by sages in tractate Pesachim, for other suggested requirements and things not to have when choosing a city to live in.
And see my series on the Mishnah and talmud end of tractate kiddushin on professions, “From Donkey Drivers to Doctors, Bloodletters to Tanners: Rabbinic Insights and Guidance on Professions (Mishnah Kiddushin 4:14; Talmud ibid., 82a-b)“, final part here.
Many of those are mentioned here as well, such as doctor and slaughterer.
See also Wikipedia, “Public toilet“, section “History“. And see my series on outhouses, “Demons, Direction, and Decorum: A Talmudic Approach to Hygiene and Outhouse Use (Berakhot 61b-62b)“, final part here.
טבח.
Compare my piece “Pt2 Astrological Destinies in the Talmud: Influence of Birth Timings on Character (Shabbat 156a)“, section “Mars: Blood spiller (e.g., butcher or surgeon)“:
האי מאן דבמאדים —
יהי גבר אשיד דמא.
אמר רב אשי:
אי אומנא,
אי גנבא,
אי טבחא,
אי מהולא.
אמר רבה: אנא במאדים הואי.
אמר אביי: מר נמי עניש וקטיל.
One who was born under the influence of Mars
will be one who spills (אשיד) blood.
Rav Ashi said: He will be
a blood letter (אומנא),
or a thief (גנבא),
or a slaughterer (טבחא) of animals,
Rabba said: I was born under the influence of Mars and I do not perform any of those activities.
Abaye said: Master (מר - Mar) also punishes (עניש) and kills (קטיל) as a judge.
See Wikipedia, “Planets in astrology“, section “Mars“:
Mars is the Roman god of war and bloodshed, whose symbol is a spear and shield.
Both the soil of Mars and the hemoglobin of human blood are rich in iron and because of this they share its distinct deep red color. (E.B. the name of the planet in Hebrew - Ma’adim - מאדים - is related to the Hebrew word for red - adom.)
He was second in importance only to Jupiter and Saturn, due to Mars being the most prominent of the military gods worshipped by the Roman legions […]
In astrology, Mars is associated with aggression, confrontation, masculinity, the male body, the warrior, the man, courage, energy, strength, ambition and impulsiveness. Mars governs sports, competitions and physical activities in general.
On Rabba punishing (עניש) and killing (קטיל) as a judge, see my series on his pursuit by the authorites, final part here. Ostensibly this was due to his teaching large numbers of people, but it’s possible that it was due to his corporal punishments. There are a number of instances in the Talmud of sages getting in trouble with the Sasanian Persian authorities for meting out corporal punishments.
See Wikipedia, “Sources and parallels of the Exodus“, section “Historical consensus“:
According to Exodus 12:37–38, the Israelites numbered "about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children", plus the Erev Rav ("mixed multitude") and their livestock.
Numbers 1:46 gives a more precise total of 603,550 men aged 20 and up […]
The 600,000, plus wives, children, the elderly, and the "mixed multitude" of non-Israelites would have numbered some 2 to 2.5 million