Sanhedrin 89A

דקשר העליון דאורייתא, גרוע ועומד.

that the upper knot is mandated by Torah law, then fulfillment of the mitzva is already compromised from the outset when the additional string is tied together with the other threads.

אי הכי, תפילין נמי? אי עבד ארבעה בתי, ואייתי אחרינא ואנח גבייהו ⁠– האי לחודיה קאי והאי לחודיה קאי. ואי עבד חמשה בתי ⁠– גרוע ועומד הוא! האמר רבי זירא: בית חיצון שאינו רואה את האויר ⁠– פסול.

The Talmud challenges: If so, the status of tefillin is also the same. If one crafts tefillin of the head with 4 compartments, and he then brings another compartment and places it alongside them, these compartments with which he fulfills the mitzva stand alone and that additional compartment stands alone and does not compromise the fulfillment of the mitzva. And if one crafts tefillin of the head with 5 compartments, the fulfillment of the mitzva is already compromised from the outset. The Talmud answers: But doesn’t R' Zeira say: If there is an obstruction which creates an outer compartment of the tefillin of the head that is not exposed to the air, the tefillin of the head are unfit for use in the fulfillment of the mitzva? Therefore, adding a fifth compartment to the 4 compartments of the tefillin of the head always compromises the fulfillment of the mitzva.

מתני׳ אין ממיתין אותו לא בבית דין שבעירו, ולא בבית דין שביבנה, אלא מעלין אותו לבית דין הגדול שבירושלים. ומשמרין אותו עד הרגל, וממיתין אותו ברגל, שנאמר: ״וכל העם ישמעו ויראו ולא יזידון עוד״. דברי רבי עקיבא. רבי יהודה אומר: אין מענין את דינו של זה, אלא ממיתין אותו מיד, וכותבין ושולחין שלוחין בכל המקומות: ״איש פלוני מתחייב מיתה בבית דין״.

Mishnah: One does not execute the rebellious elder, neither in the court that is in his city, nor in the court that is in Yavne, although that was the seat of the Sanhedrin after the destruction of the Second Temple. Rather, one takes him up to the High Court in Jerusalem. And they guard him in incarceration until the pilgrimage Festival, and the court executes him during the pilgrimage Festival, as it is stated: “And all the nation should hear, and fear, and no longer sin intentionally” (Deuteronomy 17:13); this is the statement of R' Akiva. R' Yehuda says: One does not delay administering justice to this individual. Rather, the court executes him immediately, and the judges write reports and dispatch agents to all the places, informing them: So-and-so is liable to be punished with the court-imposed death penalty for disobeying the court.