[Avodah] Machlokes in Mishnayos, why?

[Zev Sero via Avodah]

On 10/09/17 06:11, Marty Bluke via Avodah wrote:
>> By "in existence," the Rambam means when it functioned properly. R'
>> Yitzchak Isaac HaLevy in his work, Doros HaRishonim develops the sources
>> that there were periods of persecution during which the Beis Din Gadol
>> could not operate normally, including the time when Beis Shammai and
>> Beis Hillel were unable to unite.
> 
> The the second Beis Hamikdash lasted 420 years. Was there no time during
> those years that the Sanhedrin functioned normally? While there may have
> been disruptions there were certainly times when it did function and if so,
> why didn't they decide all of the machlokes that had arisen like the Rambam
> says?

Through most of those years there were no machlokos, or none except the 
one on smicha, which they may not have wanted to resolve, out of kavod 
to both sides.  (No, this would not violate lo saguru; they weren't 
afraid to cast their votes if it came to it, they just didn't want it to 
get to that point and would rather live with this one very minor machlokes.

-- 
Zev Sero                May 2017, with its *nine* days of Chanukah,
zev at sero.name           be a brilliant year for us all