Sanhedrin Launched In Tiberias (Jewish Supreme Court Relaunched after
1600 years)


Arutz Sheva

28 Tishrei 5765 (October 13, 2004)



A unique ceremony - probably only the 2nd of its kind in the past
1,600 years - took place in Tiberias today: The launching of a
Sanhedrin, the highest Jewish-legal tribunal in the Land of Israel.

A unique ceremony - probably only the second of its kind in the past
1,600 years - is taking place in Tiberias today: The launching of a
Sanhedrin, the highest Jewish-legal tribunal in the Land of Israel.

The Sanhedrin, a religious assembly that convened in one of the Holy
Temple chambers in Jerusalem, comprised 71 sages and existed during
the Tannaitic period, from several decades before the Common Era until
roughly 425 C.E. Details of today's ceremony are still sketchy, but
the organizers' announced their intention to convene 71 rabbis who
have received special rabbinic ordination as specified by Maimonides.

An attempt to reconvene the Sanhedrin was made several centuries ago
in Tzfat. The body in fact ordained such greats as Rabbi Yosef Karo,
the author of the classic Jewish Law code Shulhan Arukh. However, the
opposition of other leading rabbis soon forced the end of the
endeavor.

One of the leaders of today's attempt to revive the Sanhedrin is Rabbi
Yeshai Ba'avad of Beit El. He said that the 71 rabbis "from across the
spectrum received the special ordination, in accordance with
Maimonides' rulings, over the past several months." Rabbi Ba'avad
explained that the membership of the new body is not permanent: "What
is much more crucial is the establishment of this body. Those who are
members of it today will not necessarily be its members tomorrow. But
the goal is to have one rabbinic body in Jerusalem that will convene
monthly and issue rulings on central issues. This is the need of the
generation and of the hour."

Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, who heads the Temple institute in Jerusalem, is
one of the participating rabbis. He told Arutz-7 today, "Whether this
will be the actual Sanhedrin that we await, is a question of time -
just like the establishment of the State; we rejoiced in it, but we
are still awaiting something much more ideal. It's a process. Today's
ceremony is really the continuation of the renewal of the Ordination
process in Israel, which we marked several months ago. Our Talmudic
Sages describe the ten stages of exile of the Sanhedrin from Jerusalem
to other locations, until it ended in Tiberias - and this is the place
where it was foretold that it would be renewed, and from here it will
be relocated to Jerusalem."

Rabbi Ariel said that the rabbis there included many from the entire
spectrum: "Hareidi, religious-Zionist, Sephardi, Ashkenazi, hassidi,
and many others - such as Rabbi Yoel Schwartz, Rabbi Adin Shteinzaltz,
and many others... We can't expect a great consensus; that's not how
things work here. But sometimes that's how the process goes, from the
bottom up."


http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-religion/1244104/posts





Please forward this letter to every G-d fearing Jew you know.

Dear friends and family,

I have the privilege of sharing with you what is in my opinion the
greatest
news in the history of the Jewish People since the downfall of Hitler.
As
we all know, 56 years ago, Jews from every corner of the globe came
together
under a secular political union, largely dominated by an elitist,
secular
Ashkenazi government. As much as it provided a physical haven for
Jews all
over the world, it became a black hole into which non-Ashkenazi and
Hareidi
Jews were assimilated and persecuted and many thousands of Middle
Eastern
Jews lost their religious identity altogether. Fifty-six years later,
the
rifts in our society have shifted, but are still deep and painful.
Until
now, we have remained a poorly united collection of groups and
ideologies
who only come together in times when war threatens our very existence.
Until
last week, that is... Last Tuesday, a courageous group of 71 Jewish
scholars of all streams--Hassidic, Misnaged, Sephardi-Hareidi,
Zionist,
National-Hareidi, Yemenite and New Age--joined together, reinstituting
the
Great Sanhedrin of Israel. In short, last week, the Jews--although
they may
not know it yet--became a single People, under a G-dfearing High
Court.
Through their vision and action, we--as a People--are finally
fulfilling the
positive Torah Commandment that obligates us as a nation to establish
the
Sanhedrin.

The current members of the Sanhedrin are an incredible example of
Jewish
unity. Despite their widely varying kipot, costumes, customs and
world
views, what unites them is great:

* their achievement in Torah,

* their reputations in their respective circles and communities,

* their great love for the entire Jewish nation,

* their belief in taking initiative to bring the Final Redemption
closer,

* their courage and willingness to sacrifice their careers and
reputations,
for no salary whatsoever.


The reinstatement ceremony was carried out in Tiberias, according to
the
teaching of the Rambam, that the Sanhedrin will one day be renewed in
Tiberias, just where it was last disbanded nearly 1600 years ago, in
about
425 C.E. I am acquainted with and know second-hand about a number of
special personalities on the Sanhedrin HaGadol. For those of us who
love
and live authentic Torah Judaism, it's an all-star team:


1) Ribbi Avraham Toledano is a great scholar of Rambam, as well as a
Breslover Hasid, and dear friend of my primary teacher Mori Shelomo.

2) Ribbi Adin Steinsaltz is the brilliant, renowned author of a
world-famous
commentary on the Babylonian Talmud, in modern Hebrew and English. He
is
certainly one of the foremost Talmudic scholars of our generation.

3) Ribbi Yoseph Maghory-Kohen is functionally the chief rabbi of
Kokhav
Ya'aqov, a growing settlement town, north of Jerusalem. His family is
one
of the only priestly families with an authentic, written pedigree,
proving
its direct patrilineal descent to Yehoyariv, a priestly clan expressly
mentioned in the Bible.

4) Ribbi Barukh Marzel is a brave and popular leader from Qiryath
Arba'
(Hebron). He is a Torah scholar, as well as a national figure and
symbol of
Jewish pride in the face of Arab terror. He is famous for his
courageous
run in the last elections, against a sea of opposition.

5) Ribbi Nahman Kahana (brother of the late, great rabbi): What an
honor to
Rav Meir's memory, HaShem yinqom damo, that his brother sits on the
Sanhedrin he never lived to see.

6) Ribbi Tzvi Shani-Dor is what we call a maqorist: an independent
Torah
scholar whose opinions are derived directly from a deep knowledge of
the
Talmudic sources. His great knowledge is joined with a liberal,
Hassidic
outlook. He is a consistent member of our local Rambam minyan, and a
personal friend.

7) Ribbi Yoseph Rotshtein is a progessive, Hassidic, maqorist rabbi
and a
poseq. He is a master of Talmud Yerushalmi, and an idealist who
refuses to
make a living from learning, as the Rambam teaches.

8) Ribbi Elimelech Leifer, is a bold maqorist. He is a Nadvorna
Hasid, and
grandson of the great Admo"r Mi-Nadvorna, the famous Nadvorna Rebbe of
blessed memory. An ardent truth seeker in a highly traditional
community in
which independent thinking is discouraged, Ribbi Leifer adopted
authentic
Yemenite pronunciation (lashon ha-qodash), and wears tephillin
throughout
the day.

9) Ribbi Yisrael Ariel is the head of Machon HaMiqdash (The Holy
Temple) and
considered to be the world's greatest expert on all matters relating
to the
Beith HaMiqdash. Under his guidance, many vessels were restored for
use in
the Third Temple, including the golden Menorah and ShulHan. His
famous
institute is presently involved with recreating the Breast Plate of
the High
Priest.

Ribbi Dov Shtein, secretary of the Great Sanhedrin, has been working
hard on
the renewing the Court for the last 20 years. As webmaster of
WWW.BEITH-DIN.COM, he illuminated readers with his insight. His faith
and
efforts have finally paid off.

11) Ribbi Yehudah 'Edri, the actual prime initiator of the
Reinstitution,
is an accomplished author and leader of the Movement for the
Rebuilding of
the Temple.

And finally...

12) His Honor the Nassi, Rabban Tzvi 'Idan, Rosh HaSanhedrin! He is
the
founder and long-time head of a kollel of Torah scholars, dedicated to
the
renewal of the Sanhedrin. He is the author of the "bible" on
Sanhedrin
renewal, Assoth Mishpat: Hiddush Ha-Semikhah Bizeman Hazzeh" ("To
Exercise
Law: Renewing True Rabbincal Ordination in This Era"), After 25 years
of
work, his dream has come to fruition, and HaShem has rewarded him with
the
Nesi'uth--the Presidency!

In truth, Rabban 'Idan is functioning as an interim Nassi until a
permanent
Nassi is elected. Currently, he acts as chairman of the organization.

Everyone must know with certainty that the new Sanedrin is absolutely
legitimate and serious. There is no aparrent reason why the rest of
the
Jewish nation should not accept their rule: Rav 'Ovadiah Yoseph was
filmed
expressing his hasqamah (validation) and giving his berakhah
(blessing). In
fact, both Rav 'Ovadiah and Rav Elyashiv personally ordained the rabbi
who
was to confer semikhah (ordination) upon Rabban Tzvi. Rav Kaminetsky
gave
his hasqamah and blessing as well. These facts have been verified;
they are
not rumors.

At present, the Sanhedrin is not entirely composed of those truly