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Text Excerpt
עמך״, ״עמך״ – ואת בהדייהו. ורבי יהודה: ״עמך״ משום שכינה.
with you” (Numbers 11:16), i.e., they will stand “with you,” and you are to be counted with them, leading to a total number of 71. And R' Yehuda holds that the term “with you” is mentioned due to the Shekhina that rested on Moses. According to R' Yehuda, Moses was instructed to remain with the 70 Elders in order for the Shekhina to rest upon them as well. He was not formally part of their court and therefore the number of rabbis on the Great Sanhedrin is 70.
ורבנן, אמר קרא: ״ונשאו אתך במשא העם״, ״אתך״ – ואת בהדייהו. ורבי יהודה: ״אתך״ – בדומין לך.
The Talmud asks: And how would the Rabbis respond to this line of reasoning? The Talmud answers: The verse states: “And they should bear the burden of the people with you” (Numbers 11:17), which indicates: “With you,” and you are to be counted with them. And how would R' Yehuda respond to that? He would explain that the term “with you” means similar to you, meaning, that the Elders appointed to the court had to be of fit lineage and free of blemish, like Moses.
And from where do the Rabbis derive that halakha? They derive it from what was stated with regard to the appointment of the ministers of thousands and the ministers of hundreds: “And they should make it easier for you, and bear the burden with you” (Exodus 18:22), understanding the term “with you” to mean: Similar to you. And the halakha of the judges of the Great Sanhedrin of 70 is derived from the halakha of the judges of the lesser Sanhedrin, i.e., those ministers, that Moses appointed.