Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz Elected to Head Sanhedrin

Tefila

Tue, Jun 07 2005, 5:47 pm

Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz Elected to Head Sanhedrin
13:54 Jun 07, '05 / 29 Iyar 5765

As parades filled the streets of Jerusalem Monday - Jerusalem Day - the reestablished Sanhedrin convened in the city to elect a Nassi and representatives to lead it.

The current format of the Sanhedrin is an attempt to renew the historic Sanhedrin, Judaism's highest legal-religious tribunal during Holy Temple times. The 71-man assembly convened in one of the Holy Temple chambers, and existed from several decades before the Common Era until roughly 425 C.E. The renewed body was launched last year in Tiberias, now convenes in Jerusalem, and is still struggling to gain wide acceptance and legitimacy in the Torah world.

Since its launching last October in Tiberias, where it last convened 1,600 years ago, it has met in Jerusalem on a monthly basis. In addition, various committees have met more often to discuss issues such as determining the exact location of the Holy Temple, the establishment of courts of non-Jews who accept the Seven Laws of Noah, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to uproot the Jewish communities of Gaza and northern Samaria, and many more.

Semicha - original rabbinic ordination as handed down from Moses - was reintroduced by the Sanhedrin recently when hundreds of Israel's greatest rabbis agreed on the worthiness of a particular rabbi to receive it. The committee who oversaw the process made every effort to fulfill the Jewish legal requirements as outlined by Maimonides, as closely as possible.

Leading Sephardic and Ashkenazic spiritual leaders Rabbi Ovadia Yosef and Rabbi Shalom Elyashiv also agreed that this rabbi was "fitting to serve."

That rabbi eventually backed down from serving as Nassi of the Sanhedrin due to pressure from a leading Hassidic rabbi, but not before granting semicha to Rabbi Dov Levanoni. At the age of 83, he is above the age limit to head the Sanhedrin. He therefore accepted the semikha only in order to ordain one who is fitting to renew the Sanhedrin. It is he who ordained Rabbi Tzvi Idan, and Rabbi Idan, as its first temporary Nassi, ordained the members of the Sanhedrin in Tiberias on October 13, 2004.

Since the current Sanhedrin's launch, it has been in a transitional stage as it gathered support and sought to rebuild the institution in accordance with Jewish law. A temporary Nassi had been appointed, but the mandated period came to an end, and so it was decided at the court's last meeting that as the Sanhedrin moves into its next stage, it must become autonomous from the original founding committee and elect permanent officials. Rabbi Even-Israel Steinzaltz was chosen as Nassi.

Due to concerns that external pressure would be brought to bear upon individuals not to take part in the establishment of a Sanhedrin, the names of most participants have been withheld up to this point, upon the request of the Sanhedrin's spokesmen.

The court of 71 rabbis has now decided to select of a group of seven individuals within the Sanhedrin to represent the institution in dealings with the public and with Gedolei Yisrael - recognized spiritual leaders of Israel.

from Arutz sheva!

sarahd

Wed, Jun 08 2005, 12:51 am

Why did you post this?

Tefila

Wed, Jun 08 2005, 10:02 am

Well, considering what gets posted here in the News like:

Quote:

Taiwanese restaurant attract diners with bizarre toilet bowl

and

Quote:

'Runaway Bride'

I thought this one was by far something to talk about, or ponder atleast. 8)

chavamom

Wed, Jun 08 2005, 1:16 pm

You know, my husband saw this and had an interesting take on it. I thought he would be negative about it b/c the only names of rabbis listed weren't 'yeshiva types', but he was not. He actually had a positive outlook on it. He knows much more about the nature of the Sanhedrin than I do. He also said that Rav Elyashuv and Rabbi Ovadia Yosef approve, which is interesting in and of itself.

roza

Wed, Jun 08 2005, 1:28 pm

it's not so simple:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/S.....94630

it's not clear if there is a support of leading rabbies.

for lubies: I think the Rebbe was not in favor , so I heard...

so I, personaly, will wait for further development.

gryp

Thu, Jun 09 2005, 1:10 pm

im really confused about this topic. I also saw a letter from the Rebbe about not being in favor of this, but Rabbi Steinsaltz and another one are Lubavitchers.
whats going on here?

chavamom

Thu, Jun 09 2005, 3:39 pm

I saw quoted somewhere that the Lub. rebbe was opposed b/c one of the requirements to convene the sanhedrin is that there must be a majority of Jews living in Eretz Yisrael. That condition was not fulfilled during his lifetime, but apparently is now.

Rivka

Thu, Jun 09 2005, 4:30 pm

I don't know how you can have a sanhedrin now when there is no beis hamikdash. Plus not everyone will go according to them, so how can it work out???

1stimer

Sat, Jun 11 2005, 11:50 am

Quote:

the names of most participants have been withheld

That tells me enough!

Motek

Tue, Nov 08 2005, 9:01 am

I found this point interesting:

Quote:

The prevailing opinion of most of the senior members of the Sanhedrin is that the Sanhedrin has not yet achieved full halakhic (Jewish legal) status on par with its status before it was disbanded 1,600 years ago, but that its restoration is truly underway.

and what does withholding names tell you? Now more names are disclosed.

See:

http://www.israelnationalnews......92348

as far as the Rebbe - here is a copy of the letter that the Rebbe wrote about the Sanhedrin back in 1955

http://chabad.info/index.php?u.....=5895

the letter says that a similar idea was proposed in the previous generation and the gedolei Yisrael completely rejected it ... and if in that generation it was rejected then all the more so in our orphaned generation, and we see that even among the supporters of this idea, the less yiras shomayim the greater their enthusiasm for the idea of a Sanhedrin or a sort-of-Sanhedrin.