tablet 55: the row that was a label — the Sanhedrin's example request crashed its own gate

Verified live 2026-10-19: Tamid's own example for POST /chatzer/sanhedrin
(a case with `sides`) answered 500. The router passed the sides LIST as
the case context; halt_monitor:check_avodah_zarah/1 reads a map, maps:get
raised, and the halt monitor and escalation gen_servers died with the
caller's input (supervisor restarted them; health stayed 8/8). The router
then matched {:ok, decision} on the error and made a 500 of its own.

- sanhedrin/src/halt_monitor.erl: do_check_case refuses a non-map
  context as {halt, malformed_case, _} and stays standing. EUnit 49/0
  with the new halt_malformed_context_test.
- router.ex process_sanhedrin: sides validated at the kiyor (422 on a bad
  shape), carried as context %{sides: sides}; a Sanhedrin refusal answers
  422 SANHEDRIN_HALTED, a failure 503 SANHEDRIN_UNAVAILABLE. Two new
  router tests, one asserting the gate processes survive the example.
  Elixir 624/0.
- specs/broken_tablets/README.md: tablet 55, including what is NOT fixed
  — a panel of one accepting on zero references under a grounded-
  sounding sentence, the ignored complexity hint, no panel manna spent,
  no L3 record. The row in Tamid is still larger than the thing behind it.

Doorpost pin unchanged (no @spec_files touched; scripts/doorpost_check.py
passes).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5.1 <noreply@anthropic.com>

KOHEN.md

@@ -566,6 +566,26 @@ is (Day 4). `scripts/upstream-key-set` stores a caller's model key for
 the gate scenario without echoing it (`~/.config/bikoret/upstream_keys`,
 0600) — run it from a real terminal, not through a non-interactive runner.
 
+**Before the image is built — the Doorpost read on the workbench.**
+`VavPipeline.Doorpost` bakes a hash over the category-grade spec files
+(`@spec_files` in `vav_pipeline/lib/vav_pipeline/doorpost.ex`); a pod
+whose files do not match logs `DOORPOST_DRIFT_AT_STARTUP`, answers 503
+on readiness, and takes the gate dark (tablet 54: two spec edits shipped
+without the pin). `scripts/build_and_push.sh` now runs
+`scripts/doorpost_check.py` first and refuses to build on drift, naming
+the files that changed since `origin/main`. Hand builds should do the
+same:
+
+```bash
+python3 -I scripts/doorpost_check.py            # the working tree, as the image is built from
+python3 -I scripts/doorpost_check.py --rev HEAD # a commit
+python3 -I scripts/doorpost_check.py --print    # the hash the pin should be
+```
+
+A spec change and its pin move belong in ONE commit, with
+`mix test test/doorpost_test.exs` run on it. `DOORPOST_SKIP=1` exists
+for a deliberate, written-down exception; it is never the way to ship.
+
 ### Standing at the gate — *Bishe'arecha*
 
 A caller can put Bikoret between themselves and a model instead of
@@ -620,6 +640,56 @@ Each upstream call spends one `api_calls_external` of the day's manna
 the bedikah by hand still runs. Streaming is refused (422). A non-200
 from the model passes through as it came. Tamid §1.1 has the contract.
 
+**Fallback — when the gate is down, Claude Code here is down with it.**
+Every request of a session behind the gate goes to bikoret.ch; if the pod
+is not ready (503: stale manna at the day boundary, a Doorpost drift, a
+hung rollout) the session cannot reach Anthropic at all. Note that an
+`env` entry in `~/.claude/settings.json` OVERRIDES the shell environment
+(verified 2026-10-15): `env -u ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL … claude` does nothing
+while the gate is armed there. Three tools, all in `scripts/` (install to
+`~/.local/bin`), none of which holds a key:
+
+```bash
+claude-direct             # start Claude Code straight to Anthropic, whatever
+                          # settings.json says (a --settings JSON on the command
+                          # line outranks every settings file); OAuth as usual
+claude-key                # the same, on the Anthropic API KEY from
+                          # ~/.config/shorashim/upstream_keys instead of the
+                          # subscription's OAuth token: no browser, no /login.
+                          # Billed to the API console account, not the Max plan.
+claude-bikoret            # start behind the gate; probes the gate first and, if
+                          # it does not answer, says so and starts claude-direct.
+                          # BIKORET_STRICT=1 claude-bikoret refuses instead.
+bikoret-settings on|off|status
+                          # arm / disarm the gate for EVERY launcher (desktop,
+                          # background jobs, plain `claude`) via settings.json.
+                          # `on` writes the courtyard key there — the kohen runs
+                          # it, not the builder; `off` is the recovery.
+```
+
+Order of recovery: `claude-direct` (always works while the OAuth token
+is good), then `bikoret-settings off` if background sessions must also
+recover, then fix the pod (`curl -s https://bikoret.ch/kodesh/health`
+names the failed check), then `bikoret-settings on` and `claude-bikoret`
+again.
+
+**When it is the login, not the gate.** Every session on the VM shares
+one OAuth credential (`~/.claude/.credentials.json`); the access token
+lives eight hours and the daemon refreshes it ahead of time. On
+2026-10-15 21:08Z that refresh failed with no incident at Anthropic
+(most likely two processes racing on the single-use refresh token), the
+credential was dropped, and every session said "Login expired · Please
+run /login" for 2 h 43 min. The browser flow from a remote shell is
+fragile ("Login interrupted" twice before it took). Recovery:
+
+```bash
+claude-key                # work NOW on the API key; nothing to log in to
+claude auth login         # from the shell, not inside a session: prints the
+                          # URL, paste the code it gives back; `--console`
+                          # signs in to the API account instead of the plan
+claude auth status --text # says which credential a launch would use
+```
+
 ### The second scroll — *Mishneh haTorah*
 
 `/kodesh/health` carries `mesorah_hash` beside `l1_hash`: the mesorah

deploy/k8s/configmap.yaml

@@ -60,3 +60,11 @@ data:
 
   # Pipeline latency budget (ms) — Construction spec §2.5
   PIPELINE_LATENCY_BUDGET_MS: "5000"
+
+  # Ecto pool size for vav-pipeline (runtime.exs default 20). The DBaaS
+  # is an Aiven hobbyist-2 shared with Gitea and Aiven's own monitor;
+  # a pool of 20 fills its connection ceiling by itself (2026-10-15:
+  # refusals "remaining connection slots are reserved" for 24 h, one
+  # pool worker looping, Aiven's monitor refused). Ten is ample for a
+  # single replica.
+  POOL_SIZE: "10"

sanhedrin/src/halt_monitor.erl

@@ -145,13 +145,29 @@ handle_info(_Info, State) ->
 %% Internal — gate-keeper checks
 %%====================================================================
 
-do_check_case(Case) ->
+%% The context is a map (authority_source, action, ...). Anything else is
-    Context = Case#sanhedrin_case.context,
+%% a malformed case, refused here — never reasoned about, never a crash.
+%% Tablet 55 (2026-10-19): the Tamid's own example request carried a
+%% LIST as context; maps:get raised, and this gen_server and escalation
+%% died with the caller's input. A gate that can be felled by what it is
+%% handed is not a gate. Fail closed, stay standing.
+do_check_case(#sanhedrin_case{context = Context}) when is_map(Context) ->
     with_chain([
         fun() -> check_avodah_zarah(Context) end,
         fun() -> check_shfichut_damim(Context) end,
         fun() -> check_gilui_arayot(Context) end
-    ]).
+    ]);
+do_check_case(#sanhedrin_case{context = Other}) ->
+    {halt, malformed_case,
+     iolist_to_binary([<<"case context must be a map, got ">>,
+                       atom_to_binary(type_name(Other), utf8)])}.
+
+type_name(T) when is_list(T)   -> list;
+type_name(T) when is_binary(T) -> binary;
+type_name(T) when is_atom(T)   -> atom;
+type_name(T) when is_tuple(T)  -> tuple;
+type_name(T) when is_number(T) -> number;
+type_name(_)                   -> other.
 
 do_check_vote(_Vote) ->
     %% Vote-level halt detection is the responsibility of the upstream

sanhedrin/test/sanhedrin_SUITE.erl

@@ -58,6 +58,16 @@ halt_clear_test() ->
     ?assertEqual(clear, halt_monitor:check_case(Case)),
     cleanup(ok).
 
+%% Tablet 55: a non-map context is refused, and the monitor survives it.
+halt_malformed_context_test() ->
+    {ok, _} = application:ensure_all_started(sanhedrin),
+    Sides = [#{<<"position">> => <<"a">>, <<"evidence">> => [<<"x">>]}],
+    Case = make_case_with_context(simple, <<"question">>, Sides),
+    ?assertMatch({halt, malformed_case, _}, halt_monitor:check_case(Case)),
+    %% still standing, and still judging
+    ?assertEqual(clear, halt_monitor:check_case(make_case(simple, <<"q">>))),
+    ok.
+
 halt_avodah_zarah_test() ->
     setup(),
     Case = make_case_with_context(simple, <<"question">>,

scripts/bikoret-settings

@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+# Arm or disarm the gate in Claude Code's settings.json (the `env` block is
+# applied to EVERY launcher — desktop, background jobs, the plain `claude`).
+#
+#   bikoret-settings on      put ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL + ANTHROPIC_CUSTOM_HEADERS in
+#   bikoret-settings off     remove them (the fallback when the gate is down)
+#   bikoret-settings status  say which
+#
+# `on` writes the courtyard key into a config file, so the transmitter runs it:
+# the builder is not allowed to write a credential there. `off` writes none.
+import json, os, sys
+p = os.path.expanduser("~/.claude/settings.json")
+KEYS = ("ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL", "ANTHROPIC_CUSTOM_HEADERS")
+mode = sys.argv[1] if len(sys.argv) > 1 else "status"
+d = json.load(open(p))
+env = d.get("env", {})
+if mode == "on":
+    k = [l.split()[1] for l in open(os.path.expanduser("~/.config/shorashim/api_keys")) if l.startswith("courtyard")][0]
+    env.update({"ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL": "https://bikoret.ch/gate/anthropic",
+                "ANTHROPIC_CUSTOM_HEADERS": "X-Bikoret-Key: " + k})
+    d["env"] = env
+elif mode == "off":
+    for key in KEYS:
+        env.pop(key, None)
+    if env: d["env"] = env
+    else: d.pop("env", None)
+elif mode != "status":
+    sys.exit("usage: bikoret-settings on|off|status")
+if mode in ("on", "off"):
+    json.dump(d, open(p, "w"), indent=2)
+    os.chmod(p, 0o600)
+armed = all(k in d.get("env", {}) for k in KEYS)
+print("gate in settings.json:", "ARMED (every launcher goes through bikoret.ch)" if armed else "off (direct to Anthropic)")

scripts/build_and_push.sh

@@ -53,6 +53,16 @@ if [[ ! -d "deploy/docker" || ! -d "l1/torah" ]]; then
 fi
 
 # Sanity: docker buildx
+# The Doorpost, read before the build: the spec files the image will carry
+# must hash to the pin baked into VavPipeline.Doorpost, or the pod drifts
+# at startup, readiness answers 503, and the gate goes dark (tablet 54,
+# 2026-10-15). scripts/doorpost_check.py computes the same hash the same
+# way and names the drifted files. DOORPOST_SKIP=1 only for a deliberate,
+# documented exception — never to ship a drift.
+if [[ "${DOORPOST_SKIP:-0}" != "1" ]]; then
+  python3 -I scripts/doorpost_check.py || exit 1
+fi
+
 if ! docker buildx version >/dev/null 2>&1; then
   echo "ERROR: docker buildx not available — install Docker Desktop or buildx plugin" >&2
   exit 1

scripts/claude-bikoret

@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Start Claude Code behind the gate (KOHEN "Claude Code behind the gate").
+# The courtyard key is read from the keys file at launch and never written anywhere else.
+#
+# Fallback (2026-10-15): before launching, probe the gate. If bikoret.ch or
+# the pod is down, say so and start DIRECT to Anthropic instead
+# (claude-direct), unless BIKORET_STRICT=1 — then refuse, so a session that
+# must be examined is never silently unexamined.
+GATE="https://bikoret.ch/gate/anthropic"
+code=$(curl -sS -m 6 -o /dev/null -w '%{http_code}' -X POST "$GATE/v1/messages" \
+       -H 'content-type: application/json' -d '{}' 2>/dev/null)
+case "$code" in
+  401|400|422) ;;   # the gate answered: it is up (it refuses an unkeyed/empty request)
+  *)
+    echo "bikoret gate not answering (HTTP ${code:-000}) — see: curl -s https://bikoret.ch/kodesh/health" >&2
+    if [ "${BIKORET_STRICT:-0}" = "1" ]; then
+      echo "BIKORET_STRICT=1: refusing to start unexamined" >&2; exit 1
+    fi
+    echo "starting DIRECT to Anthropic (claude-direct); re-run claude-bikoret when the gate is back" >&2
+    exec "$HOME/.local/bin/claude-direct" "$@"
+    ;;
+esac
+KEY=$(awk '$1=="courtyard"{print $2}' "$HOME/.config/shorashim/api_keys")
+[ -n "$KEY" ] || { echo "no courtyard key in ~/.config/shorashim/api_keys" >&2; exit 1; }
+export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="$GATE"
+export ANTHROPIC_CUSTOM_HEADERS="X-Bikoret-Key: $KEY"
+exec claude "$@"

scripts/claude-direct

@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Start Claude Code DIRECT to Anthropic, bypassing the Bikoret gate — the
+# fallback for when bikoret.ch / the pod is down (KOHEN "Claude Code behind
+# the gate — fallback").
+#
+# Why --settings and not `env -u`: an `env` entry in ~/.claude/settings.json
+# overrides the shell environment (verified 2026-10-15), so unsetting the
+# variables in the shell does nothing while the gate is armed there. A
+# `--settings` JSON on the command line outranks every settings file, so it
+# wins without touching settings.json. OAuth login is used as normal.
+unset ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL ANTHROPIC_CUSTOM_HEADERS
+exec claude --settings '{"env":{"ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL":"https://api.anthropic.com","ANTHROPIC_CUSTOM_HEADERS":""}}' "$@"

scripts/claude-key

@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Start Claude Code on the Anthropic API KEY instead of the subscription's
+# OAuth token — the second leg of the fallback (KOHEN "Claude Code behind
+# the gate — fallback"). For when /login fails or the OAuth refresh died
+# (2026-10-15 21:08Z: the daemon's proactive refresh failed, every session
+# on the VM showed "Login expired", and the browser flow took three tries
+# from a remote shell).
+#
+# Billing: the API console account (pay per token), not the Max plan.
+# The key is read from the upstream keys file at launch and never written
+# anywhere. Direct to Anthropic, whatever settings.json says.
+KEY=$(awk '$1=="anthropic"{print $2}' "$HOME/.config/shorashim/upstream_keys")
+[ -n "$KEY" ] || { echo "no 'anthropic <key>' line in ~/.config/shorashim/upstream_keys" >&2; exit 1; }
+export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="$KEY"
+unset ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL ANTHROPIC_CUSTOM_HEADERS
+exec claude --settings '{"env":{"ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL":"https://api.anthropic.com","ANTHROPIC_CUSTOM_HEADERS":""}}' "$@"

scripts/doorpost_check.py

@@ -0,0 +1,106 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""doorpost_check.py — the Doorpost read BEFORE the image is built.
+
+VavPipeline.Doorpost bakes @expected_hash over the category-grade spec
+files (@spec_files in vav_pipeline/lib/vav_pipeline/doorpost.ex). An
+image whose spec files do not hash to its pin logs
+DOORPOST_DRIFT_AT_STARTUP, answers 503 on readiness, and takes the gate
+dark with it — tablet 54, 2026-10-15: two spec edits shipped without a
+pin move and every Claude Code session behind the gate was cut off.
+
+This script computes the same hash the same way, with no Elixir:
+  for each path in @spec_files, in listed order: sha256(contents)
+  join "path\\thash" with "\\n"; sha256 of that.
+and compares it with the pin. Exit 0 on a match, 1 on drift (the
+message names each drifted file against a base revision), 2 on a
+missing file or an unreadable module.
+
+  scripts/doorpost_check.py                 # the working tree, as the image is built from
+  scripts/doorpost_check.py --rev <rev>     # a git revision instead of the working tree
+  scripts/doorpost_check.py --base <rev>    # on drift, diff the manifest against <rev> (default origin/main)
+  scripts/doorpost_check.py --print         # print the hash only (what the pin should be)
+
+Devarim 4:2 — nothing added, nothing taken: the pin moves by a commit
+that moves it, never by a build that ignores it.
+"""
+import argparse, hashlib, os, re, subprocess, sys
+
+ROOT = os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)))
+MODULE = "vav_pipeline/lib/vav_pipeline/doorpost.ex"
+
+
+def read(rev, path):
+    """Bytes of `path` at `rev`, or from the working tree when rev is None. None if missing."""
+    if rev is None:
+        full = os.path.join(ROOT, path)
+        try:
+            with open(full, "rb") as f:
+                return f.read()
+        except FileNotFoundError:
+            return None
+    r = subprocess.run(["git", "-C", ROOT, "show", f"{rev}:{path}"], capture_output=True)
+    return r.stdout if r.returncode == 0 else None
+
+
+def spec_files_and_pin(rev):
+    src = read(rev, MODULE)
+    if src is None:
+        sys.exit(f"doorpost_check: cannot read {MODULE}" + (f" at {rev}" if rev else ""))
+    src = src.decode()
+    block = src.split("@spec_files [", 1)[1].split("]", 1)[0]
+    files = re.findall(r'"([^"]+)"', block)
+    pin = re.search(r'@expected_hash\s+"([0-9a-f]{64})"', src)
+    if not files or not pin:
+        sys.exit(f"doorpost_check: could not parse @spec_files/@expected_hash from {MODULE}")
+    return files, pin.group(1)
+
+
+def manifest(rev, files):
+    out = {}
+    for p in files:
+        data = read(rev, p)
+        out[p] = None if data is None else hashlib.sha256(data).hexdigest()
+    return out
+
+
+def identity(man):
+    return hashlib.sha256("\n".join(f"{p}\t{h}" for p, h in man.items()).encode()).hexdigest()
+
+
+def main():
+    ap = argparse.ArgumentParser()
+    ap.add_argument("--rev", help="git revision to check instead of the working tree")
+    ap.add_argument("--base", default="origin/main", help="revision to name drifted files against")
+    ap.add_argument("--print", action="store_true", help="print the computed hash only")
+    a = ap.parse_args()
+
+    files, pin = spec_files_and_pin(a.rev)
+    man = manifest(a.rev, files)
+    missing = [p for p, h in man.items() if h is None]
+    if missing:
+        print("doorpost_check: MISSING spec file(s): " + ", ".join(missing), file=sys.stderr)
+        sys.exit(2)
+    computed = identity(man)
+    if a.print:
+        print(computed)
+        return
+    where = a.rev or "working tree"
+    if computed == pin:
+        print(f"doorpost: {where} hashes to its pin {pin[:8]}… ({len(files)} files) — the Doorpost will verify")
+        return
+    print(f"doorpost: DRIFT in {where} — computed {computed}, pinned {pin}", file=sys.stderr)
+    base_files, _ = spec_files_and_pin(a.base)
+    base_man = manifest(a.base, base_files)
+    for p in files:
+        if base_man.get(p) != man[p]:
+            print(f"  changed since {a.base}: {p}", file=sys.stderr)
+    for p in files:
+        if p not in base_man:
+            print(f"  added to @spec_files since {a.base}: {p}", file=sys.stderr)
+    print(f"  Move @expected_hash in {MODULE} to {computed} in the same commit as the spec change,", file=sys.stderr)
+    print(f"  then run: mix test test/doorpost_test.exs. Refusing to build an image that would drift at startup.", file=sys.stderr)
+    sys.exit(1)
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()

specs/broken_tablets/README.md

@@ -132,3 +132,49 @@ make. The fence held throughout — each forgery was stripped and named by
 a verdict the builder did not write — which is the design proving itself
 on its builder: the check has to stand outside the model, because the
 model's own intention is subject to the same pull it is meant to catch.
+
+## Tablet 55 — the row that was a label (2026-10-19)
+
+Tamid promises `POST /chatzer/sanhedrin`: a case, optional sides, a
+panel of three, a majority of two and a minority of one with their
+sources. The row had stood since the endpoint was written. The build
+state carried a line beside it — "never verified on prod" — for months.
+On 2026-10-19 the builder sent the spec's own example request to the
+live system, as the roadmap's rule asks: a spec row is a claim to test,
+not a label.
+
+The first request answered 500. The router had handed the `sides` list
+to the Sanhedrin as the case's *context*, where the halt monitor reads a
+map of `authority_source` and `action`; `maps:get` raised, and the halt
+monitor and the escalation server died with the caller's input. The
+supervisor restarted them; health stayed 8/8 the whole time. A gate that
+can be felled by what it is handed is not a gate, and a health check
+that cannot see the gate fall is not watching it. The router then
+pattern-matched `{:ok, decision}` on an error and turned the refusal
+into a 500 of its own.
+
+The second request, without sides, answered 200 — and the answer was
+hollow. A panel of one, not three. Field names the spec does not use.
+An outcome of "accepted" on zero roots and zero references examined,
+under the sentence "Torah references ground this interpretation". That
+is the shape the bedikah names golden_calf when a model says it: a
+confident claim standing on nothing. Here the system said it in its own
+voice, through its own inner court. The complexity hint was ignored, no
+panel manna was spent, and nothing was engraved in L3.
+
+Fixed in this tablet: the halt monitor refuses a non-map context as
+`malformed_case` and stays standing; the router carries the sides inside
+the context map, checks their shape at the kiyor (422), and answers a
+Sanhedrin refusal (422 SANHEDRIN_HALTED) or failure (503
+SANHEDRIN_UNAVAILABLE) instead of crashing. The spec's own example now
+deliberates, and the test asserts that the gate is still there
+afterwards.
+
+Not fixed, and recorded here so it is not mistaken for fixed: the
+panel of one, the empty references under a grounded-sounding sentence,
+the ignored hint, the unspent manna, the unrecorded case. The row in
+Tamid is still larger than the thing behind it. The lesson is tablet
+37's again — a spec row is a claim to test — with one thing added: the
+system's own inner court is held to the same check as a model at the
+gate. When the Sanhedrin accepts on nothing, it is the calf, whoever
+cast it.

vav_pipeline/lib/vav_pipeline/bigdei_kodesh/router.ex

@@ -1084,32 +1084,83 @@ defmodule VavPipeline.BigdeiKodesh.Router do
         resubmit: true
       })
     else
-      case_ref = generate_id()
+      # Tablet 55: the sides are the caller's arguments, not the halt
+      # gate's context. The gate reads a MAP (authority_source, action);
+      # handing it the sides list crashed the halt monitor and escalation
+      # with the Tamid's own example request. The sides ride inside the
+      # map, their shape checked at the door; and a refusal from the
+      # Sanhedrin is answered, not matched into a 500.
+      with {:ok, sides} <- sanhedrin_sides(params["sides"]) do
+        case_ref = generate_id()
 
-      {:ok, decision} =
+        case VavPipeline.SanhedrinClient.submit_case(%{
-        VavPipeline.SanhedrinClient.submit_case(%{
+               case_ref: case_ref,
-          case_ref: case_ref,
+               complexity: :simple,
-          complexity: :simple,
+               question: case_text,
-          question: case_text,
+               context: %{sides: sides},
-          context: params["sides"] || %{},
+               requested_by: "chatzer"
-          requested_by: "chatzer"
+             }) do
-        })
+          {:ok, decision} ->
+            send_json(conn, 200, %{
+              case_ref: decision.case_ref,
+              deliberation: %{
+                panel_size: decision.panel_size,
+                majority: decision.majority,
+                minority: decision.minority,
+                outcome: decision.outcome,
+                processing_time_ms: decision.deliberation_time_ms
+              },
+              note: "This is the system's reasoning, not a binding ruling. A human beit din may reach a different conclusion.",
+              disclosure: disclosure()
+            })
 
-      send_json(conn, 200, %{
+          {:error, "Halted" <> _ = reason} ->
-        case_ref: decision.case_ref,
+            send_error(conn, 422, "SANHEDRIN_HALTED", %{
-        deliberation: %{
+              issue: reason,
-          panel_size: decision.panel_size,
+              correction: "The case was refused at the gate before deliberation. Amend it and resubmit.",
-          majority: decision.majority,
+              resubmit: true
-          minority: decision.minority,
+            })
-          outcome: decision.outcome,
+
-          processing_time_ms: decision.deliberation_time_ms
+          {:error, reason} ->
-        },
+            send_error(conn, 503, "SANHEDRIN_UNAVAILABLE", %{
-        note: "This is the system's reasoning, not a binding ruling. A human beit din may reach a different conclusion.",
+              issue: reason,
-        disclosure: disclosure()
+              correction: "The Sanhedrin did not deliberate. Retry; if it recurs, the kohanim will find it in the log.",
-      })
+              resubmit: true
+            })
+        end
+      else
+        {:error, issue} ->
+          send_error(conn, 422, "KIYOR_VALIDATION_FAILED", %{
+            issue: issue,
+            correction: "'sides' is an optional list of {\"position\": string, \"evidence\": [string]}",
+            resubmit: true
+          })
+      end
     end
   end
 
+  # The optional sides: absent → []; a list of maps each with a string
+  # "position" and an optional list of string "evidence" → kept as given;
+  # anything else → refused at the kiyor.
+  defp sanhedrin_sides(nil), do: {:ok, []}
+
+  defp sanhedrin_sides(sides) when is_list(sides) do
+    if Enum.all?(sides, &side_ok?/1),
+      do: {:ok, sides},
+      else: {:error, "'sides' must be a list of {position, evidence[]} objects"}
+  end
+
+  defp sanhedrin_sides(_), do: {:error, "'sides' must be a list"}
+
+  defp side_ok?(%{"position" => p} = side) when is_binary(p) do
+    case Map.get(side, "evidence", []) do
+      ev when is_list(ev) -> Enum.all?(ev, &is_binary/1)
+      _ -> false
+    end
+  end
+
+  defp side_ok?(_), do: false
+
   # ============================================================
   # Internal — Health and Status
   # ============================================================

vav_pipeline/lib/vav_pipeline/doorpost.ex

@@ -180,7 +180,7 @@ defmodule VavPipeline.Doorpost do
   # changes; the update is a deliberate operator commit. A bare
   # hash-update commit (without a corresponding spec change in the
   # same commit) is itself a drift signal.
-  @expected_hash "581133126c483eea33d3eb79379cf2f0c54e221d8ae705d9e67da987086ed52a"
+  @expected_hash "66aa7874fae4875793791ce6ca7bbe55302109d5e4444bcb36d578dfe6e98a0d"
 
   @doc "Return the list of files that constitute the category-grade specification."
   @spec files() :: [String.t()]

vav_pipeline/test/bigdei_kodesh_test.exs

@@ -317,6 +317,43 @@ defmodule VavPipeline.BigdeiKodeshTest do
       assert body["deliberation"]["outcome"] in ["accepted", "rejected", "teiku"]
       assert body["note"] =~ "not a binding ruling"
     end
+
+    # Tablet 55: the Tamid's own example — a case WITH sides — returned
+    # 500 and took the halt monitor and escalation down with it.
+    test "POST /chatzer/sanhedrin with sides (the Tamid's example) deliberates" do
+      conn =
+        conn(:post, "/chatzer/sanhedrin", Jason.encode!(%{
+          case: "A borrower repaid before one witness; the lender denies receipt. Who bears the burden?",
+          sides: [
+            %{position: "the borrower is believed", evidence: ["the money was handed over before a witness"]},
+            %{position: "the lender is believed", evidence: ["one witness does not establish payment"]}
+          ],
+          complexity_hint: "monetary"
+        }))
+        |> put_req_header("content-type", "application/json")
+        |> put_req_header("authorization", "Bearer chatzer-test-token")
+        |> Router.call(@opts)
+
+      assert conn.status == 200
+      body = Jason.decode!(conn.resp_body)
+      assert body["deliberation"]["outcome"] in ["accepted", "rejected", "teiku"]
+      # and the gate is still standing afterwards
+      assert Process.whereis(:halt_monitor) != nil
+      assert Process.whereis(:escalation) != nil
+    end
+
+    test "POST /chatzer/sanhedrin with malformed sides returns 422, not 500" do
+      for bad <- ["not a list", [%{"no_position" => 1}], [%{"position" => "p", "evidence" => "not a list"}]] do
+        conn =
+          conn(:post, "/chatzer/sanhedrin", Jason.encode!(%{case: "x", sides: bad}))
+          |> put_req_header("content-type", "application/json")
+          |> put_req_header("authorization", "Bearer chatzer-test-token")
+          |> Router.call(@opts)
+
+        assert conn.status == 422, "expected 422 for sides=#{inspect(bad)}, got #{conn.status}"
+        assert Jason.decode!(conn.resp_body)["error"]["code"] == "KIYOR_VALIDATION_FAILED"
+      end
+    end
   end
 
   # ============================================================