## Sanhedrin Daf 31b

###### Sanhedrin 31b:1
[Sanhedrin 31b:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sanhedrin/r/31b:1)

קְלָתֵיהּ!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**she** could have **burned it.** Why did you not accept her testimony?


###### Sanhedrin 31b:2
[Sanhedrin 31b:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sanhedrin/r/31b:2)

כֵּיוָן דְּאִיתַּחְזַק בְּבֵי דִינָא, ״אִיבַּעְיָא קְלָתֵיהּ״ לָא אָמְרִינַן.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
Rav Naḥman answered him: **Since** the promissory note **was ratified in court, we do not say** that she is deemed credible to nullify its validity because **if she had wanted** to, **she** could have **burned it.** The validity of a ratified document is not nullified without evidence.


###### Sanhedrin 31b:3
[Sanhedrin 31b:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sanhedrin/r/31b:3)

אֵיתִיבֵיהּ רָבָא לְרַב נַחְמָן: סִימְפּוֹן שֶׁיֵּשׁ עָלָיו עֵדִים – יִתְקַיֵּים בְּחוֹתְמָיו. אֵין עָלָיו עֵדִים, וְיָצָא מִתַּחַת יְדֵי שָׁלִישׁ, אוֹ שֶׁיָּצָא אַחַר חִיתּוּם שְׁטָרוֹת – כָּשֵׁר. אַלְמָא שָׁלִישׁ מְהֵימַן!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rava raised an objection to** the ruling of **Rav Naḥman** from a *baraita*: **A receipt [*simfon*]** of repayment of a debt **upon which witnesses** are signed **is ratified by** means of **its signatories.** The witnesses testify that these are their signatures, and it is thereby ratified. If **there are no witnesses** signed **on it, but** the receipt **emerged from the possession of a third party** serving as a trustee, **or** if **it emerged after the signing of the documents,** i.e., the receipt was written on the promissory note beneath the content of the note and the witnesses’ signatures, it is **valid.** Rava states his objection: **Apparently,** the testimony of **a third party** serving as a trustee **is deemed credible,** as he can testify that the receipt is valid even if it was not signed by witnesses.


###### Sanhedrin 31b:4
[Sanhedrin 31b:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sanhedrin/r/31b:4)

תְּיוּבְתָּא דְּרַב נַחְמָן, תְּיוּבְתָּא.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara concludes: **The refutation of** the opinion of **Rav Naḥman is** indeed **a conclusive refutation.**


###### Sanhedrin 31b:5
[Sanhedrin 31b:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sanhedrin/r/31b:5)

כִּי אֲתָא רַב דִּימִי, אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: לְעוֹלָם מֵבִיא רְאָיָה וְסוֹתֵר, עַד שֶׁיִּסְתַּתֵּם טַעֲנוֹתָיו וְיֹאמַר: קִרְבוּ פְּלוֹנִי וּפְלוֹנִי וְהַעִידוּנִי.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ **When Rav Dimi came** from Eretz Yisrael to Babylonia, he said that **Rabbi Yoḥanan said:** One **can always bring a proof** for his claim **and overturn** the previous verdict, **until his claims are stopped up,** i.e., until he has no more claims, **and he says: Come, so-and-so and so-and-so, and testify on my behalf,** in which case those witnesses are not allowed to testify.


###### Sanhedrin 31b:6
[Sanhedrin 31b:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sanhedrin/r/31b:6)

הָא גוּפַאּ קַשְׁיָא: אָמְרַתְּ ״יִסְתַּתֵּם טַעֲנוֹתָיו״ – אֲתָאן לְרַבָּנַן, וַהֲדַר אָמְרַתְּ ״קִרְבוּ אִישׁ פְּלוֹנִי וּפְלוֹנִי וְהַעִידוּנִי״ – אֲתָאן לְרַבָּן שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן גַּמְלִיאֵל.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks: **This matter itself** is **difficult.** When **you say:** Until **his claims are stopped up, we arrive at,** i.e., this represents, the opinion of **the Rabbis,** who hold in the mishna that once a litigant stops presenting his claims, he cannot present additional claims later. **And** when **you then say:** Until he says **come, so-and-so and so-and-so, and testify on my behalf, we arrive at** the opinion of **Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel** that it is only in that case that the testimony is not accepted.


###### Sanhedrin 31b:7
[Sanhedrin 31b:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sanhedrin/r/31b:7)

וְכִי תֵּימָא: כּוּלַּהּ רַבָּן שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן גַּמְלִיאֵל, וּפָרוֹשֵׁי קָא מְפָרֵשׁ? מַאי ״עַד שֶׁיִּסְתַּתֵּם טַעֲנוֹתָיו״? עַד שֶׁיֹּאמַר: קִרְבוּ פְּלוֹנִי וּפְלוֹנִי וְהַעִידוּנִי. וְהָא אָמַר רַבָּה בַּר בַּר חָנָה אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: כׇּל מָקוֹם שֶׁשָּׁנָה רַבָּן שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן גַּמְלִיאֵל בְּמִשְׁנָתֵינוּ הֲלָכָה כְּמוֹתוֹ, חוּץ מֵעָרֵב וְצַיְדָן וּרְאָיָה אַחֲרוֹנָה?

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**And if you would say** that **the entire** statement is in accordance with the opinion of **Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel, and** Rabbi Yoḥanan **is explaining** his own statement, saying: **What is** the meaning of the phrase: **Until his claims are stopped up? Until he says: Come, so-and-so and so-and-so, and testify on my behalf,** this is difficult. **But doesn’t Rabba bar bar Ḥana say** that **Rabbi Yoḥanan says** that **anywhere that Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel taught** a ruling **in our Mishna,** the ***halakha*** is **in accordance with his** opinion, **except for** the following three cases: The responsibility of the **guarantor, and** the incident that occurred in the city of **Tzaidan, and** the dispute with regard to **evidence** in the **final** disagreement? Evidently, the *halakha* is in accordance with the opinion of the Rabbis in this case.


###### Sanhedrin 31b:8
[Sanhedrin 31b:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sanhedrin/r/31b:8)

אֶלָּא, כִּי אֲתָא רַב שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר יְהוּדָה, אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: לְעוֹלָם מֵבִיא רְאָיָה וְסוֹתֵר, עַד שֶׁיִּסְתַּתֵּם טַעֲנוֹתָיו וְיֹאמְרוּ לוֹ: ״הָבֵא עֵדִים״, וְאוֹמֵר: ״אֵין לִי עֵדִים״. ״הָבֵא רְאָיָה״, וְאוֹמֵר: ״אֵין לִי רְאָיָה״. אֲבָל בָּאוּ עֵדִים מִמְּדִינַת הַיָּם, אוֹ שֶׁהָיְתָה דִּיסַקַּיָּא שֶׁל אָבִיו מוּפְקֶדֶת בְּיַד אַחֵר – הֲרֵי זֶה מֵבִיא רְאָיָה וְסוֹתֵר.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rather,** the Gemara presents another version of Rabbi Yoḥanan’s statement. **When Rav Shmuel bar Yehuda came** from Eretz Yisrael to Babylonia, he said that **Rabbi Yoḥanan says: One can always bring a proof and overturn** the previous verdict **until his claims are stopped up, and** the judges **say to him: Bring witnesses, and he says: I have no witnesses,** and they say to him: **Bring evidence, and he says: I have no evidence.** This is in accordance with the statement of the Rabbis in the mishna. **But** if **witnesses came from overseas, or** if **there was a saddlebag [*disakkaya*] of his father’s** documents **deposited by another** individual, which are cases where he did not know of the evidence, **he can bring** this **evidence and overturn** the previous verdict, as there is no concern of artifice.


###### Sanhedrin 31b:9
[Sanhedrin 31b:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sanhedrin/r/31b:9)

כִּי אֲתָא רַב דִּימִי, אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: הַתּוֹקֵף אֶת חֲבֵירוֹ בַּדִּין, אֶחָד אוֹמֵר ״נִדּוֹן כָּאן״, וְאֶחָד אוֹמֵר ״נֵלֵךְ לִמְקוֹם הַוַּועַד״ – כּוֹפִין אוֹתוֹ וְיֵלֵךְ לִמְקוֹם הַוַּועַד.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ **When Rav Dimi came** from Eretz Yisrael to Babylonia, he said that **Rabbi Yoḥanan says:** With regard to **one who attacks another in judgment,** i.e., tenaciously raises legal claims against another, and **one** of the litigants **says: Let us go to court here** in our locale, **and** the other **one says: Let us go to the place of the Assembly,** i.e., the Sanhedrin, or another High Court, the former litigant **is compelled to go to the place of the Assembly.**


###### Sanhedrin 31b:10
[Sanhedrin 31b:10](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sanhedrin/r/31b:10)

אָמַר לְפָנָיו רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר: רַבִּי, מִי שֶׁנּוֹשֶׁה בַּחֲבֵירוֹ מָנֶה, יוֹצִיא מָנֶה עַל מָנֶה? אֶלָּא, כּוֹפִין אוֹתוֹ וְדָן בְּעִירוֹ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rabbi Elazar said before him: My teacher,** if so, **must one who claims** a debt of **one hundred dinars from another spend one hundred dinars** of travel and lodging expenses **for** the **one hundred dinars** he wants to collect? **Rather,** one **is compelled to** appear and **be judged** in a court that presides **in his** own **city.**


###### Sanhedrin 31b:11
[Sanhedrin 31b:11](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sanhedrin/r/31b:11)

אִיתְּמַר נָמֵי: אָמַר רַב סָפְרָא אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: שְׁנֵים שֶׁנִּתְעַצְּמוּ בַּדִּין, אֶחָד אוֹמֵר: ״נִדּוֹן כָּאן״, וְאֶחָד אוֹמֵר: ״נֵלֵךְ לִמְקוֹם הַוַּועַד״ – כּוֹפִין אוֹתוֹ וְדָן בְּעִירוֹ. וְאִם הוּצְרַךְ דָּבָר לִשְׁאוֹל – כּוֹתְבִין וְשׁוֹלְחִין.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**It was also stated** that **Rav Safra says** that **Rabbi Yoḥanan says:** With regard to **two who were struggling in judgment, one** of whom **says: Let us go to court here, and one** of whom **says: Let us go to the place of the Assembly,** the latter litigant **is compelled to** appear and **be judged** in a court that presides **in his** own **city. And if** the local court **needs to ask** a higher court about a certain **matter,** the judges **write** to the Assembly, **and** the higher court **sends** its response.


###### Sanhedrin 31b:12
[Sanhedrin 31b:12](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sanhedrin/r/31b:12)

וְאִם אָמַר: ״כִּתְבוּ וּתְנוּ לִי מֵאֵיזֶה טַעַם דַּנְתּוּנִי״ – כּוֹתְבִין וְנוֹתְנִין לוֹ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**And if** one of the litigants **says** to a court: **Write for what reason you judged me** in this manner **and give** it **to me,** as I do not trust your decision without explanation, the judges **write** it **and give** it **to him.**


###### Sanhedrin 31b:13
[Sanhedrin 31b:13](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sanhedrin/r/31b:13)

וְהַיְּבָמָה, הוֹלֶכֶת אַחַר הַיָּבָם לְהַתִּירָהּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
Another *halakha* was stated with regard to the location of the judgment: **And** with regard to **a woman whose husband had a brother,** and he **died childless [*vehayevama*],** she **follows her brother-in-law [*hayavam*]** for him **to free her** of the levirate bond through *ḥalitza*. The *yavam* does not have to go to her.


###### Sanhedrin 31b:14
[Sanhedrin 31b:14](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sanhedrin/r/31b:14)

עַד כַּמָּה? אָמַר רַבִּי אַמֵּי: אֲפִילּוּ מִטְּבֶרְיָא לְצִפּוֹרִי.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks: **How far** does she have to go? **Rabbi Ami says: Even from Tiberias to Tzippori.** This is the *halakha* even though the court in Tiberias is more prestigious than the one in Tzippori.


###### Sanhedrin 31b:15
[Sanhedrin 31b:15](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sanhedrin/r/31b:15)

אָמַר רַב כָּהֲנָא: מַאי קְרָא? ״וְקָרְאוּ לוֹ זִקְנֵי עִירוֹ״, וְלֹא זִקְנֵי עִירָהּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rav Kahana says: What is the verse** that alludes to this *halakha*? It is the verse that states: **“Then the elders of his city shall call him,** and speak to him, and if he stands and says: I do not wish to take her” (Deuteronomy 25:8). The fact that the elders of his city, **and not the elders of her city,** are mentioned indicates that *ḥalitza* is performed in his city and not in hers.


###### Sanhedrin 31b:16
[Sanhedrin 31b:16](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sanhedrin/r/31b:16)

אָמַר אַמֵּימָר: הִילְכְתָא, כּוֹפִין אוֹתוֹ וְיֵלֵךְ לִמְקוֹם הַוַּועַד. אֲמַר לֵיהּ רַב אָשֵׁי לְאַמֵּימָר: וְהָא אָמַר רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר: כּוֹפִין אוֹתוֹ וְדָן בְּעִירוֹ! הָנֵי מִילֵּי הֵיכָא דְּקָאָמַר לֵיהּ לֹוֶה לְמַלְוֶה, אֲבָל מַלְוֶה – ״עֶבֶד לֹוֶה לְאִישׁ מַלְוֶה״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Ameimar says:** The ***halakha*** is that if one litigant wants to go to the place of the Assembly and the other does not, the latter **is compelled to go to the place of the Assembly. Rav Ashi said to Ameimar: But doesn’t Rabbi Elazar say** that **he is compelled** to appear and **be judged** in a court that presides **in his** own **city?** Ameimar answered: **This statement** applies in a case **where the borrower said to the lender:** Let us go to the place of the Assembly; in that case, the debtor is compelled to be judged in his city. **But** if the **lender** requests to go to the place of the Assembly, his request is accepted, as it is stated: **“The borrower is servant to the lender”** (Proverbs 22:7).


###### Sanhedrin 31b:17
[Sanhedrin 31b:17](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sanhedrin/r/31b:17)

שְׁלַחוּ לֵיהּ לְמָר עוּקְבָא: לִדְזִיו לֵיהּ כְּבַר בִּתְיָה, שְׁלָם. עוּקְבָן הַבַּבְלִי קְבַל קֳדָמַנָא: יִרְמְיָה אָחִי הֶעֱבִיר עָלַי אֶת הַדֶּרֶךְ. אִמְרוּ לוֹ: הַשִּׂיאוּהוּ וְיִרְאֶה פָּנֵינוּ בִּטְבֶרְיָא.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Sages **sent** a letter **to Mar Ukva,** the Exilarch in Babylonia, which stated: **To he who has light** upon him, **like** Moses, who is called **the son of Bithiah, Shalom.** The letter continued: **Ukvan the Babylonian complained before us** as follows: **Yirmeya, my brother, came past me,** i.e., did me a great evil. **And** therefore **tell** Yirmeya; **induce him [*hassiuhu*] to see our face in Tiberias,** where we will judge his case.


###### Sanhedrin 31b:18
[Sanhedrin 31b:18](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sanhedrin/r/31b:18)

הָא גוּפָא קַשְׁיָא: אָמְרַתְּ ״אִמְרוּ לוֹ״, אַלְמָא דַּיְּינוּהּ אַתּוּן. ״הַשִּׂיאוּהוּ וְיִרְאֶה פָּנֵינוּ בִּטְבֶרְיָא״, אַלְמָא שַׁדְּרוּהּ הָכָא.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks: **This** matter **itself** is **difficult** to understand. **You said: Tell him. Apparently** the intention was: **Judge him yourselves** in Babylonia. But then the letter states: **Induce him to see our face in Tiberias. Apparently** the intention was: **Send him here.**


###### Sanhedrin 31b:19
[Sanhedrin 31b:19](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sanhedrin/r/31b:19)

(אֶלָּא), הָכִי קָאָמְרִי: אֱמַרוּ לֵיהּ, דַּיְּינוּהּ אַתּוּן. אִי צָיֵית – צָיֵית, וְאִי לָא – הַשִּׂיאוּהוּ וְיִרְאֶה פָּנֵינוּ בִּטְבֶרְיָא.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rather, this** is what the Sages **were saying: Tell him,** i.e., **judge** him **yourselves. If he listens** to the court, **he listens,** and the issue is resolved. **But if** he does **not** listen, **induce him to see our face in Tiberias.**


###### Sanhedrin 31b:20
[Sanhedrin 31b:20](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sanhedrin/r/31b:20)

רַב אָשֵׁי אָמַר: דִּינֵי קְנָסוֹת הֲוָה, וּבְבָבֶל לָא דָּיְינִי דִּינֵי קְנָסוֹת. וְהָא דִּשְׁלַחוּ לֵיהּ הָכִי – כְּדֵי לַחֲלוֹק כָּבוֹד לְמָר עוּקְבָא.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rav Ashi said:** That is not the correct understanding of the letter. Rather, **it was** a case pertaining to **the *halakhot* of fines, and in Babylonia** the courts **do not adjudicate** in cases pertaining to **the *halakhot* of fines,** as there are no ordained judges there; such Sages are found only in Eretz Yisrael. Consequently, it was necessary to send the case to Eretz Yisrael. **And** the fact **that they sent** the letter to Mar Ukva using **this** wording, as though he were capable of adjudicating the case himself, was **in order to give honor to Mar Ukva,** who was a Sage and a leader. They hinted to him that he could not judge this case and that he therefore had to send the defendant to Eretz Yisrael.


###### Sanhedrin 31b:21
[Sanhedrin 31b:21](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sanhedrin/r/31b:21)

**הֲדַרַן עֲלָךְ זֶה בּוֹרֵר.**