The Mitzvah To Obey The Wise
‘If Beis Din Issued A Ruling’
(Horayos 2b)
Our sugya states that if a chacham fit to issue rulings hears of a decision by the Sanhedrin that contradicts the Torah, he should not follow it. It’s true that the Torah commands us to obey the wise, but that mitzvah does not extend to committing a prohibition.
Many commentators on the Gemara quote the Sifri, which interprets the verse “You shall not swerve from the thing that they tell you, right or left” to mean: “Even if they tell you that right is left or left is right.” The Sifri seems to state that one must obey the Sanhedrin, even if one believes it erred.
To Obey Or Not To Obey
The author of Be’er Sheva (on our sugya) distinguishes between the case in our sugya and the one addressed by the Sifri. Our sugya concerns someone who hears a ruling that clearly contradicts an explicit halacha whereas the Sifri, he argues, refers to a talmid chacham who disagrees with the Sanhedrin because its ruling does not appear to him to be logical.
The Ramban (Sefer Hamitzvos, shoresh 1) and the Ran (on Sanhedrin 99a) state that our Gemara discusses a chacham who heard a ruling in the name of the Sanhedrin that appears to be in error. Such a person should go to Yerushalayim and present his arguments to the Sanhedrin; in the meantime, he should be stringent and ignore its ruling in case it erred.
After he presents his arguments and proofs, if his opinion is not accepted, he must obey the Sanhedrin as the Sifri states.
One May Not Be More Strict Than The Sanhedrin
Some Acharonim suggest that the obligation to obey the Sanhedrin only means one may not be more lenient than the Sanhedrin; one can, though, be more strict. According to this understanding, our sugya rules that a chacham who believes that a lenient ruling of the Sanhedrin is incorrect should be strict. The Sifri, though, is discussing someone who disagrees with a strict ruling of the Sanhedrin; such a person must obey the Sanhedrin’s ruling.
The Rishonim, though, seem to reject this distinction. They argue that one may not rule more strictly than the Sanhedrin. Indeed, the Rambam states (Hilchos Maachalos Asuros 17:22) that someone who forbids the oil of gentiles that Chazal permitted has committed a sin “because he disobeys the beis din that allowed it” (see Responsa Yabia Omer 6:Yoreh Deah 7).