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    Chapter 1 · Yetziot HaShabbat

    Judging truth to its truth

    Lesson 2 of 55 22 min

    Within a discussion of prayer times and judgment, the Gemara pauses to value the judge's work.

    Lesson goals
    • 01Restate the source in your own words.
    • 02Identify the central distinction and explain its significance.
    • 03Apply the distinction in the exercise without adding a ruling absent from the source.
    01

    Source and decoding - Shabbat 10a

    Shabbat 10a
    אֶלָּא לוֹמַר לָךְ כׇּל דַּיָּין שֶׁדָּן דִּין אֱמֶת לַאֲמִיתּוֹ, אֲפִילּוּ שָׁעָה אַחַת, מַעֲלֶה עָלָיו הַכָּתוּב כְּאִילּוּ נַעֲשָׂה שׁוּתָּף לְהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בְּמַעֲשֵׂה בְרֵאשִׁית.

    Rav Chisda and Rabbah bar Rav Huna sat in judgment all day and grew faint; Rav Chiya bar Rav of Difti taught them the statement about the value of judging.

    Rav Chisda and Rabbah bar Rav Huna sat in judgment all day and grew faint; Rav Chiya bar Rav of Difti taught them the statement about the value of judging. They were told that any judge who judges truth to its truth becomes a partner of God in the work of creation. A precise ruling in a real case is part of building the world, not a break from it.

    02

    Building the reasoning

    1. 1Restate the source in your own words.
    2. 2Identify the central distinction and explain its significance.
    3. 3Apply the distinction in the exercise without adding a ruling absent from the source.
    03

    Terms to decode

    דין אמת לאמיתו
    a true judgment, true to the facts of the case
    שותף במעשה בראשית
    a partner in creation
    04

    Before moving on

    Insight

    This lesson is a study framework, not a halachic ruling. Check everything in the sources, and bring practical questions to a rabbi.

    Practice

    Compare the question about Moses’ study time with the praise of the judge. Suggest a study interpretation of “truth to its truth,” without deciding a practical case.

    Lesson wrap-up

    As a study interpretation of “truth to its truth,” one may suggest a correct rule applied precisely to the case. The Gemara itself praises the judge even for judging just one hour.

    Check your understanding

    Test yourself before marking the lesson complete.

    Question 1 of 3

    What is related about Rav Chisda and Rabbah bar Rav Huna before the statement?

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