What are the implications of "Zekeinecha ve'Shoftecha"?
1.
Rashi: "Zekeinecha" implies the Great Sanhedrin - the choice of your elders.
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2.
Targum Yonasan: "Zekeinecha" implies two Chachamim, and "Shoftecha" three Dayanim (from the Sanhedrin), making five in all [who must go to measure].
3.
Sanhedrin 14a #1 (according to R. Yehudah): 'Zekenecha' implies two Dayanim, and 'Shoftecha'
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two. And we add a fifth Dayan to make an odd number.
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4.
Sanhedrin 14a #2 (according to R. Eliezer ben Ya'akov): "Zekenecha" refers to the Sanhedrin ha'Gadol and "Shoftecha", to the king
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and the Kohen Gadol.
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- all of whom must go out to where the murdered man is lying.
The Gemara concludes that, according to R. Yehudah "Shoftecha" implies the Sanhedrin ha'Gadol, and he learns another two Dayanim from the 'Vav' in "ve'Shoftecha".
Sifri: It implies that they must measure from the corpse to he towns and not vice-versa.
6)
What if it is obvious that one of the towns is the closest to the corpse?
1.
Sotah, 45a: "u'Mad'du el he'Arim" implies that it is a Mitzvah to measure, irrespective of whether they know which town is the closest or not.
7)
What if the corpse is found to be equidistant to two towns?
1.
Yerushalmi Sotah, 9:2: Then the two towns bring one Eglah Arufah between them and they stipulate that it covers the town to which it was actually the nearest.
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