- כהן גדול דן ודנין אותו (a Kohen Gadol who kills inadvertently goes to galus)
The second Perek begins: כהן גדול דן ודנין אותו – A Kohen Gadol may judge others, and be judged. He may testify, and be testified about. The Mishnah teaches the laws of a Kohen Gadol regarding חליצה, יבום, funerals of a relative, and mourning, and teaches these laws regarding a Jewish king.
The Gemara asks that it is obvious that a Kohen Gadol may judge others, and explains that the novelty is that he may also be judged (and we do not say it is degrading for him to appear before Beis Din). The Gemara asks that this, too, is obvious, because if he could not be judged, he would be disqualified from judging others, because the passuk says: התקוששו וקושו – search yourself and search others, which Reish Lakish explained: קשט עצמך ואחר כך קשט אחרים – correct yourself, and only then correct others!?
The Gemara answers that although this law is obvious, it was written to teach the contrasting law of a king. Alternatively, the Mishnah is teaching that he is even judged for galus if he killed inadvertently. Since, if he would go to galus, he could never leave (since there was no other Kohen Gadol then), one might have thought he is not subject to galus.
- When a Kohen Gadol testifies
The Mishnah taught: מעיד ומעידין אותו – [a Kohen Gadol] may testify and be testified about. The Gemara asks that a Baraisa darshens: "והתעלמת" – and you shall hide to teach: פעמים שאתה מתעלם – there are times when you may hide from returning a lost item. One example is זקן ואינה לפי כבודו – an elder for whom it is not befitting his honor to retrieve and return the item. If so, a Kohen Gadol should likewise be exempt from testifying for someone’s benefit!? Rav Yosef answers that he testifies for a king (which is not beneath his dignity), but the Gemara objects that a king is not judged. Rebbe Zeira answers that he testifies for a king’s son, but the Gemara asks that he is a commoner, and the Kohen Gadol would not testify about him. The Gemara answers: מעיד בפני המלך – the Kohen Gadol testifies in the king’s presence, which is not degrading to the Kohen Gadol. Since the king cannot serve on a Beis Din, the Gemara explains that משום יקרא דכהן גדול – because of the honor of the Kohen Gadol who is testifying about his son, the king comes and sits, and after he testifies, the king leaves and Beis Din examines the case.
- A king cannot serve on a Sanhedrin, and the king and Kohen Gadol cannot participate in עיבור שנה
A Baraisa teaches that a king cannot serve on a sanhedrin, because the passuk says: לא תענה על רב – you shall not respond to an argument, which is darshened as: לא תענה על רב – you shall not respond to a master (in disagreement). Since no judge could argue with the king, he cannot be a judge on a Sanhedrin. The Baraisa says that neither a king nor a Kohen Gadol may participate in עיבור שנה. The king cannot, משום אפסניא – because of the wages he pays to his army. Since they are paid yearly, the king may be inclined to extend the year, whereby he will save money. The Kohen Gadol cannot, משום צינה – because of the cold of the upcoming Yom Kippur. The Kohen Gadol immerses himself in a mikveh numerous times on Yom Kippur, and extending the year would result in Yom Kippur falling a month later, when it will be colder. Therefore, he might be inclined not to extend the year.