Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi made a grand claim in Berakhot 19a: "The tribunal excommunicates for the honor of a Rabbi in twenty-four cases," he said, "and every one of them is laid out in our Mishnah."
Rabbi Elazar heard this and was puzzled. "Where are these twenty-four?"
Rabbi Yehoshua waved him off. "Go and seek, and you shall find."
Elazar went. He hunted through the Mishnah. He came back with three.
One — the man who makes light of the washing of hands. Two — the man who whispers slander behind the bier of a disciple of the wise. Three — the man who behaves haughtily toward — and here the passage cuts off, leaving us to finish the catalog ourselves.
The sages loved round numbers. Twenty-four sounds complete; three is what the text actually holds up to the light. The pair of rabbis are not in conflict — they are showing us something honest about tradition. Memory rounds up. Scripture is specific. Both tell the truth, and each needs the other.
Ask for twenty-four. Come home with three. That is already more than most of us carry.