Daily Page Issues: Why Does a Student Need Permission from the Rabbi Before Posing Halacha?

This week in the daily page, we study issues from the beginning of Tractate Sanhedrin. One issue is about taking permission from the rabbi to instruct. When a student wants to deliver halacha, they need to take permission from the rabbi. Why is that necessary?

The Gemara tells (page 5b) that once Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi went to a small town in Israel and saw that the locals were preparing dough with impure hands, which made all the dough impure, and when they separated challah from the dough, the challah was impure and could not be given to a kohen.

Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi was surprised and asked them: Why don’t you care about the purity of the dough, at least until separating challah?

The locals replied: Several years ago a student from your yeshiva came, stayed with us on Shabbat, and taught us laws, and among other things instructed us that "water from pools does not prepare". For food to receive impurity, it first needs to be prepared to accept impurity, to be wet, as it is written in the Torah "because water is placed on it". Once food is washed with water, it prepares it for eating, and from that moment it can receive impurity.

'Water from pools' are rainwaters that collect in puddles. Once the locals heard this new law that puddle water does not prepare for impurity, they used such water and thought they were saving themselves the need to keep their hands pure.

And what is the truth? There is really no difference between rainwater, puddle water, or spring water, all water prepares for impurity. What that student said was "egg liquid does not prepare" - if you knead the dough with eggs, it indeed doesn't prepare it to receive impurity. There are only seven beverages that prepare for impurity, and the egg is not among them.

Perhaps the student was not precise, or at least did not try hard enough to see if the listeners understood completely. From this, Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi learned again that it’s not enough to know the halacha, one needs to be responsible for how it is said, and to whom it is said. If the listeners are not knowledgeable enough, one needs to explain more and be attentive. Therefore, Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi instituted a rule: A student shall not instruct unless they have taken permission from their rabbi!

However, even a student who has taken permission to instruct, and received it, may not instruct in the presence of their rabbi, as this is disrespectful towards the rabbi. The Gemara states that the measure of "the presence of their rabbi" is three parasangs, which is close to four kilometers, like the camp of Israel.

The Gemara tells a dreadful incident that happened when the prophet Samuel was young. The prophet Samuel grew up in the Shiloh tabernacle and served the high priest Eli. And behold, it is written in the book of Samuel "And they slaughtered the bull and brought the young lad to Eli," after the slaughtering of the sacrifice they brought the young Samuel to Eli. Why did they bring him? What was the connection?

The Gemara tells, the priests were looking for a priest to slaughter the sacrifice, and the young Samuel said to them: Why are you looking for a priest? After all, slaughtering is valid with a non-priest? All the tasks were done by a priest, but slaughtering can be done by any person.

The priests heard this innovation and brought the young lad to Eli to check if he was correct. Eli asked him: Where do you know this from? And Samuel replied: It’s simple, it is written and the priests shall offer, and the priests shall sprinkle, all priests, but in slaughter it does not say "and the priest shall slaughter" or "and the priests shall slaughter".

Eli replied: Very true, you say a wonderful reason, but you violated the law that a student should not instruct in the presence of their rabbi, therefore you are deserving of death!

Our mother Chana came and started shouting: Eli, do not do this, "I am the woman who stood here with you," you promised me this child!

Eli said to her: He deserves death, with Hashem's help you will have another child, greater than him.

Chana replied: "I prayed for this child," this one and not another. Eli heard her words, and did not punish Samuel.

 In another case the Gemara tells of a student who instructed in the presence of his rabbi and was punished: It was a student of Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, named Yehuda ben Guria. That student instructed halacha within three parasangs of Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus's place. When Rabbi Eliezer heard about this, he said to his wife, Emma Shalom, the sister of Rabban Gamliel the Nasi: "I am amazed if he completes his year." She asked him: Are you a prophet? How do you know? Rabbi Eliezer replied: I am not a prophet, but I received from my teachers that anyone who instructs halacha in the presence of their rabbi is deserving of death. And indeed so it happened, within the year that student died, because he did not respect his rabbi.