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'Sanhedrin': Kill prisoners
if Shalit doesn't return

 

Rightist reestablished rabbinical body says agreement to free hundreds of terrorists for kidnapped soldier is treasonous. Their recommendation: Another war against Hamas, threat to kill prisoners if captive is not returned to Israel

 

"If Gilad Shalit, Heaven forbid, is executed or not returned in peace, prisoners will be executed immediately," ruled the court of the reestablished "Sandhedrin" organization, in a ruling published last week on the backdrop of the negotiations to release the captured Israeli soldier.

 

The rabbis even recommended that Israel capture senior Palestinian figures – "including ministers, prime ministers, and anyone associated with the enemy's leadership" – as part of the effort to bring Gilad home.

 

"In order to avoid collapse that would entail, Heaven forbid, another holocaust, the Shalit deal must be blocked even at the cost of his life, while, on the other hand, any effort must be taken to rescue him immediately through using the lives of murderous terrorists we have in our hands as hostages," explained the rabbis.

 

According to the "Sanhedrin," "These monstrous prisoner release deals, like the Tannenbaum deal and the Kuntar deal in which corpses were returned in exchange for the release of masses of murderers, are road signs on the way to surrender. The central figures promoting these moves are politicians, academics, members of the media, the Peace Now movement, and public relations representatives who receive massive funding from foreign enemy countries for despicable acts of treason."

 

Instead of continuing negotiations and moving towards carrying out the prisoner swap deal, the members of the "Sanhedrin" court recommended that the State wage another war in Gaza during this Hannuka in order "to exterminate Hamas from this world."

 

According to them, "In any case, the State of Israel will not be able to prevent a war unlike any other simultaneously with all its enemies - a result of the process called the 'peace' process that is nothing but a surrender process."

 

'Acts of treason'

 

The rabbinic council, associated with the Right, claimed that the two most significant decisions made recently by the government – the agreement to release hundreds of terrorists in exchange for one captured soldier and the 10-month settlement building moratorium – are acts of treason contrary to the very basis of the existence of a Jewish state in the land of Israel that undermine the physical existence of the Jewish people.

 

Because of this, the rabbis called upon the public "to make conclusions and ensure its fate" by recruiting building efforts through the West Bank, Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights without waiting for the decisions of the "surrender government" to be blocked.

 

"The 'Sanhedrin' intends to organize the Jewish people as a public entity in and of itself, separate from the feeble government. The 'Sanhedrin' ask volunteers to contact us in order to make this dream a reality," declared the rabbis.

 

"If the government were loyal to its people, it would be obligated to notify the population residing in the dense areas on the coastal plain to disperse throughout Judea and Samaria, Jerusalem and its vicinity, north of Ramallah and south of Bethlehem, in the Judean Desert, in the vicinity of the mount, along the Jordan Valley in order to prepare for the worst, Heaven forbid – an all-out attack, including an Iranian nuclear attack."

 

On the issue of the West Bank building moratorium, the rabbinical group said, "There were leaders that knew how to stand up to American pressure. Ben Gurion did not give in on the status of Jerusalem and the Negev. Eshkol started the Six-Day War. Begin bombed the Iraqi reactor. All of these examples despite US pressure and eventually resulted in the reinforcement of Israel's status. The world and the US Congress appreciate winners and strong partners, not necessarily spineless humanists."

 

"The government is helping the enemy expel Israel from its holy land," the ruling claimed. "To this end, it gives them many resources in land, weapons, water, propaganda, morale, and human resources in vilifying the Jewish people in world opinion. This is hostile, foreign, and treasonous policy against the Jewish people … This policy is aimed at preparing for ethnic cleansing by expelling 400,000 Jews from their land through a civil war and endangering th lives of our people in Israel and the world."

 

The 'Sanhedrin' judges concluded, "The State leadership must become religious and develop a perception of war and security fitting of justice and the goals of its people that stem from the uniqueness and special status of the people of Israel. To this end, it must consult with the learned of Israel so that they may show it the path to return, part of which is outlined in this document and other documents written by the 'Sanhedrin' leadership on the obligation of the government in times of war."

 

 

 

 

Sanhedrin to UN:

Goldstone Will Bring Judgment Upon You

by Hillel Fendel
Nov 2, 2009

(IsraelNN.com) The Sanhedrin has warned the UN General Assembly not to hold a plenum debate this Wednesday on the anti-Israel Goldstone Report.

In a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and the UN's member states, the Sanhedrin warns that continued consideration of what it calls the "hostile, fallacious, and malicious" Goldstone document will bring upon the world the catastrophic events described in the Bible's Book of Joel, Chapter 4.  

 

The Goldstone commission found Israel guilty of committing war crimes during its anti-terror Cast Lead offensive in Gaza early this year. Many in Israel feel that the commission's purpose was to categorize Israel's attempt to fight the same terrorist threat that threatens the entire world as "war crimes."

 

The Sanhedrin is an initiative of recent years to recreate the traditional supreme legal tribunal in Judaism.

 

The letter reminds the UN that when it was decided in Geneva two weeks ago to have its Security Council discuss and approve the Goldstone Report, "we sent you a copy of the injunction issued by the Sanhedrin’s Court that prohibits any of the UN institutions from deliberating on this matter."

The Sanhedrin then explained by what authority it issues injunctions to the United Nations: "The International Court of the Sanhedrin operates by the power of the Bible, the only Holy Writ whose essence was handed over to mankind at Mt. Sinai [the Torah], and of the

 

Prophets, sent to all nations of the world and universally held in respect by them. By virtue of this delegated authority, passed down from one generation to the next ever since the time of Moses our teacher, the master of all of prophets, and by virtue of the succession of authority in Jewish tradition, we appealed to you that you might not fail and thus fail the world, bringing upon it catastrophe."

 

The letter states that the Goldstone Report is an "attack on the State of Israel, and thus an attack on the Jewish People, in order to try to remove it from the stage of history by an unprecedented shedding of blood - tacitly encouraging Iran and those like it to continue to develop weapons of mass destruction while the rest of the world sits by and looks on... We are convinced that the continued discussion of this report, which is lacking all moral basis, will lead the nations of the world, and all of mankind, to the judgment that will take place in Jerusalem in the Valley of Jehoshafat, as written in the Prophets and Torah of Israel."

 

Joel 4 is then cited:

"I will gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshafat; and I will enter into judgment with them there for My people and for My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and divided My land... And the children of Judah and the children of Jerusalem you have sold to the children of the Jevanim, in order to distance them from their border.  Behold I will arouse them from the place where you sold them, and I will return your retribution upon your head. And I will sell your sons and daughters into the hands of the children of Judah... Announce this among the nations: Prepare war, arouse the mighty men... Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears... Gather and come, all you nations from around - and they shall gather; there the Lord shall break your mighty men... for their evil is great...

"And the Lord shall roar from Zion, and from Jerusalem He shall give forth His voice, and the heavens and earth shall quake, and the Lord is a shelter to His people and a stronghold for the children of Israel. And you shall know that I, the Lord your God, dwell in Zion, My holy mount, and Jerusalem shall be holy, and strangers shall no longer pass through there.... And Egypt shall become desolate, and Edom shall be a desert waste, because of the violence done to the children of Judah, because they shed innocent blood in their land. But Judah shall remain forever, and Jerusalem throughout all generations."  

 
The Sanhedrin suggests that instead of considering the one-sided report, "you should establish an investigative committee agreed upon by the Jewish people and the Government of Israel, to investigate the background to the outbreak of Operation Cast Lead and the UN’s contribution to its outbreak, together with additional factors... This could be your  blessed initiative, accepting uopn yourself and your organization the original spirit that formed its basis: to establish peace in the world acting for the King of the universe."

 

The Sanhedrin concludes by advising that the verse from the Prophet Isaiah - “Let them beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks and they shall not learn war anymore”-  that is engraved on the United Nations wall "will never be realized via the Goldstone Report and the traditional policy of the UN regarding the State of Israel. [Instead,] your welcome action [as advised above] is anxiously awaited by all mankind. You have the power to help contribute to the prevention of wars."

 

The letter is signed by Rabbi Dov Stein, Secretary of the Sanhedrin, and Rabbi Prof. Hillel Weiss, spokesman.

 

 

Sanhedrin
Calls to Reject ‘Messianic’ Sects

 

(IsraelNN.com) The Sanhedrin organization called Thursday to reject groups and individuals calling themselves Jewish who promote Christian belief as a part of Jewish identity.  Individuals professing a belief in Christian theology have left the Jewish faith and become apostates, even if they continue to identify as Jewish, the group said.

 

Such individuals should not be allowed to enlist in the IDF or participate in activities on behalf of the Jewish people or the Jewish state, they said, because their goal is usually to convince other Jews to accept the Christian faith.  Members of the Sanhedrin said non-Jews, including Christians who identify themselves as Christian and not Jewish, should be allowed to act on behalf of the Jews or the Jewish state if they so wish, because they are not falsely representing themselves or attempting to convert Jews away from their faith.

 

The ruling came as part of the controversy over this year’s annual Bible quiz.  One of the teens who participated in the competition belongs to a family of “Messianic Jews”—Jews who accept Christian beliefs but insist that such beliefs are actually Jewish.

 

 

 

4 Palestinians claim descent from Jews forced to convert

 

Four Palestinians from the Hebron Hills contacted a group of rabbis on Tuesday and claimed to be the descendents of Jews who were forced to convert to Islam.

The Palestinians were accompanied by Zvi Mesini, a researcher who wrote a book on the subject and assisted them in learning more about Judaism. According to the Palestinians, their families had removed mezuzahs from their doors in order to avoid harassment by their neighbors.

One of the Palestinians said he kept a tefillin he received from his father's uncle and another told the rabbis that his family had once secretly lit candles on the Sabbath and for Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights.

 

Mesini told the rabbis, members of a group called the New Sanhedrin, that he believes hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are descended from Jews.

"Such evidence renders the conflict redundant," Mesini said. "It proves that Judea and Samaria belongs to both the recognized Jews and the unrecognized Jews."

Mesini accused authorities of being indifferent to his findings.

 

The New Sanhedrin is known as a right-wing organization that claims to be the rightful successors of the supreme Jewish court of antiquity. Its goal is to create a state based upon Jewish law that will replace the current State of Israel.

 

 

 

Noahides Warmly Welcomed Along Unfamiliar Journey


by Hillel Fendel
(IsraelNN.com) Two non-Jews took vows in Jerusalem this week, and judges in the new court of Jewish law known as the "Sanhedrin" deemed them full-fledged Noahides.

 

The Seven Laws of Noah, often referred to as the Noahide Laws, are a set of seven moral imperatives that, according to the Talmud, were given by G-d to the biblical Noah as a binding set of laws for all mankind. According to Judaism, any non-Jew who lives according to these laws is regarded as a Righteous Gentile and is assured of a place in the world to come, the Jewish concept of heaven.

 

Adherents, after accepting upon themselves the Torah of Moses as truth, are often called "Bnei Noah" (Children of Noah) or "Noahides."

 

A delegation of rabbis from the nascent Sanhedrin, a Jewish legal court struggling for legitimacy in the Jewish world, heard and confirmed the vows, recited by a teenaged male and a young woman. It was made clear that this is not necessarily a step towards full conversion to Judaism, and that Judaism fully recognizes the role of non-Jews who are loyal to the Torah.

Rabbi Chaim Richman of the Temple Institute told the newly-declared Noahides, "This is a new beginning for you, because you have gone from being a generic 'son of Noah' to being a Righteous Gentile, with a place in the World to Come. You have chosen this path not because you simply believe it is moral or the right thing to do, but because it was revealed by G-d to Moses at Mt. Sinai."

 

Hear IsraelNationalRadio's Yishai Fleisher cover the Bnei Noah confirmation event by clicking below

Click here

 

Several "veteran" Noahides were on hand to offer moral support during the ceremony. One man praised the rabbis, saying, "Many of us left communities that we grew up in and were used to, to take a journey that was often lonely and hard, and we didn't know where we were going. These rabbis are giving us a completion of part of our journey, giving us a warm welcome along an unfamiliar route."

 

The ceremony was timely, in that the portion of Noah and the pre-Torah commandments he was given after the Flood will be read aloud this Sabbath in synagogues all around the world.

Though the Torah contains 613 positive and negative commandments (many of which do not apply when the Holy Temple is not extant), non-Jews are required to observe only seven: They must not murder, worship false gods, engage in sexual immorality, steal, eat limbs of live animals, or blaspheme, and they must institutionalize a system of courts and justice.

Present at the ceremony were several Arabs who say that up to 85% of Arabs in Israel are actually of Jewish ancestry, and who believe that they should return to Judaism.  They refused to be identified or photographed; "I don't want to be the first one to be killed [by my Moslem neighbors] for returning to Judaism," one said.

 

 

 

‘Sanhedrin’ against Beijing Olympics
Re-established Jewish Sanhedrin rules against participation in Chinese-hosted Olympic Games

 

 

Only three weeks are left before the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games open,
and the remonstration against holding the games is joined by the Sanhedrin
(Talmudical tractate) rabbis.

 

Following rallies, boycotts and attempts to sabotage the Olympic Torch Relay
worldwide, the court ruled Wednesday that the Chinese government’s murder and amputation of living people by using punishment, revenge and deterrence, therefore “participating in these Olympics will be deemed a danger to the well-being of humanity.”

 

In their ruling, the judges clarify that they are not intervening in or opposing the country’s authority to convict criminals violating The Seven Laws of Noah (also referred to as the Noahide Laws), but cannot be so cruel as to turn them into a “organ bank.”

 

The Sanhedrin’s judges, convening as an International Court of Law presided by Rabbi Adin Even-Yisrael (Shteinzaltz), discussed the claims of Israeli athletes training in Falun Dafa (also called Falun Gong), a high-level Buddhist cultivation practice believed to bring great improvements in health and fitness. According to the athletes, their Chinese counterparts, who advocate truthfulness, benevolence, and forbearance, are persecuted by the Chinese government, who believes the athletes are acting against it.

 

According to testimonies, the Chinese regime imprisons them in masses in detention camps and exercises an array of torturous punishment methods including murdering and amputating living people. The Israeli athletes further claimed that the Chinese government puts the victims’ organs on sale throughout the world.

 

As part of examining the case, the Sanhedrin sent emissaries to collect testimonials in Israel and abroad. The judges were also presented with documents by renowned international organizations supporting this harsh reality.

 

Plot brewed by libeling sources

 

The court also approached the Chinese embassy in Israel, asking them to present their government’s stance in the matter. The judges said they were approached by diplomatic sources in Israel in China to not discuss the case, fearing it would harm the countries’ relations, but “being sovereign, the Sanhedrin did not think it should agree to such requests.”

 

The embassy’s representatives ultimately met with the judges, claiming the case is a plot brewed by sources trying to libel the government, and that the Falun Gong athletes are a medical nuisance by trying to incite civilians against conventional medical treatments.

 

The rabbis wrote in their verdict that “the court has reached its conclusion based on the accumulated multiple circumstantial evidence that there is indeed a severe phenomenon of murdering innocent Falun Gong men, also motivated by financial calculations of commercially exploiting their organs.”

 

The court called upon the Chinese government to adopt and enforce the Noahide Laws prohibiting murder and theft, and added that “the Jewish nation has experienced the Holocaust under the heavy hand of the Germans during the Nazi regime, which massacred millions of Jews, and therefore must be especially sensitive to the outcry of the persecuted.”

 

On taking part in the Chinese-hosted Olympics, the Sanhedrim said: “The Chinese government is about to host the Olympics – an event which brings people of different nations closer together…disregarding the bloodshed of the innocent may seem as an encouragement similar to Hitler’s during his rule in Berlin.”

 

 

 

 

Re-starting the Jewish heart

 

The Sanhedrin is the name of the 71-member Jewish court that was alone empowered to rule on such nation-affecting matters as who is or is not a prophet, pass final judgments on capital cases and issue rulings that would affect the religious practice of all the world's Jews.

 

The first Sanhedrin was formed shortly after the giving of the Torah, when God told Moses to "assemble 70 of Israel's elders... the ones you know to be the people's elders and leaders.... I will cause some of the spirit that you possess to emanate, and I will grant it to them. You will then not have to bear the responsibility all alone" (Numbers 11:16).

 

The Lord then "caused the spirit that had been imparted on Moses to emanate, and He bestowed it upon the 70 elders. When the spirit descended on them, they gained the gift of prophecy and did not lose it." These 70, with Moses, comprised the first court.

 

The nation was then commanded to obey all (majority) Sanhedrin rulings, on pain of death: "If you are unable to reach a decision in a case involving capital punishment... where there is a dispute in your territorial courts, then you must set out and go up to the place that God your Lord shall choose. You must approach the Levitical priests, and the supreme court that exists at the time. When you make the inquiry, they will declare to you a legal decision... you must do as they tell you, carefully following their every decision. You must keep the Torah as they interpret it for you, and follow the laws that they legislate for you. Do not stray to the right or left from the word that they declare to you. If there is any man who rebels and refuses to listen to the priest or other judge who is in charge of serving God your Lord there, then that man must be put to death" (Deut. 16:8, Deut. 17).

 

Its mention in Chronicles, Josephus and of course the Talmud proves that this institution was fully functional at least until 70 CE, when the Second Temple was destroyed. Some of the later Sanhedrin members are said to have had divine inspiration, such as the prophets Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.

 

To become members of the Sanhedrin, initiates had not only to scale the pinnacle of a nationwide educational system, but experience ordination by a laying-on of hands.

 

Some believe that until at least one genuine bearer of the tradition comes forward to anoint the 70 other would-be Sanhedrin members, a modern body cannot be said to have divine approval. That "Judaism's Supreme Court" will in fact reconvene, however, is implicit in God's promise that "I will restore your judges as at the first" (Isaiah 1:26).

 

Of course, even with that authority, Sanhedrin members are merely mortal, and are nowhere described as infallible. The Torah and Talmud thus provided several legal (i.e. God-approved) means of redress in the event of Sanhedrin error.

 

In Jerusalem recently interviewed Rabbi Yeshayahu Hollander, a member of the nascent Sanhedrin responsible for relations with the gentile world and reestablishing the other functions performed by the Sanhedrin.

 

 

 

His answers were then vetted and affirmed by Rabbi Yoel Shwartz, head of the beit din (rabbinical court) of Bnei Noah and a teacher at the Dvar Yerushalayim Yeshiva, and Rabbi Yehiel Sitzman, who is active in helping guide gentiles who wish to follow the laws which Judaism teaches they are obligated to observe.

 

Of course, interacting with the gentile world was only one of the Sanhedrin's functions; the larger purpose of "Judaism's Supreme Court" was to act as a unifying influence on the Jewish world.

 

For example, a functioning Sanhedrin issuing authoritative rulings (something which can't happen until the court is situated on The Temple Mount and its rulings earn the approval of a majority of world Jewry) could end Judaism's current division into Reconstructionist, Reform, Conservative, Orthodox and haredi streams, update such things as the halachic position on electricity, Internet, organ transplants and bioengineering, and unify Shabbat observance and standards of conversion.

 

There have been earlier, unsuccessful attempts to revive the Sanhedrin. What makes this attempt different?

 

This is the first attempt to reestablish the Sanhedrin in the Land of Israel at a time when the people of Israel represent the majority of the inhabitants... Today Israel is the center of Jewish life. Thus it has now become a duty for the Jews in the Holy Land to try to establish a Sanhedrin.

 

But even this "new" Sanhedrin did not at first see itself as official. Is this still the case?

 

Yes. To be "official" the basic requirement from a practical standpoint is that the top level of talmidei hachamim [Talmud scholars] either be part of the Sanhedrin or recognize it.

 

Is a certain level of ruah hakodesh (divine inspiration) in at least one member necessary, as in the times of the original Sanhedrin?

 

Maimonides does not list ruah hakodesh as a definite prerequisite.

 

What relationship is envisioned between the Sanhedrin and the gentile world in general? With the Bnei Noah in particular?

 

It is our duty to strive to bring the Torah to all the nations. This is indicated in many places... The nations are already coming to learn, as we see by the developing Bnei Noah movement - those wonderful non-Jews who have taken upon themselves to observe the Seven Noahide Laws [sometimes called "The Noahide Covenant" or more figuratively "The Rainbow Covenant"]. Many Bnei Noah also take on additional commandments. There is a thirst for the word of the almighty, and it is our duty to meet this need. This Word was especially given at Sinai to Israel, whose role is to be "a kingdom of kohanim [priests] and a holy nation" [Exodus 19:6] which means, among other duties, that it is the duty of the Jews to teach the nations, just as it is one of the duties of the kohanim to teach the Jews, as Malachi says: "For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts" [Malachi 2:7]. Bnei Noah join the Jews in observing Psalm 105:1: "O give thanks unto the Lord, call upon His name; make known His doings among the peoples."

 

What changes would the Sanhedrin be looking to encourage in such things as Christian and Islamic belief and practice?

 

We would try to encourage the acceptance of the message the Almighty sent to mankind at Sinai through the Jewish people, and the understanding that the Almighty has never revoked this message.... [which has been] misunderstood or intentionally distorted by the spokesmen of Islam and Christianity. This misunderstanding must be rectified, the distortions recognized, the true message learned and heeded.

 

And would the Sanhedrin permit or encourage such people if they wanted to live in Israel?

 

There are many other conditions necessary for living in the Holy Land. If and when met, yes, it would be permissible for a non-Jew to settle.

 

What of the Hindu pantheon?

 

The common understanding is that the Hindu pantheon reflects a religion which is not monotheistic. As such, believers in this pantheon are not Bnei Noah.

 

What will be the eventual relationship between the Sanhedrin and such existing authorities as the United Nations, the World Court and the political leadership of the world's nations?

 

We are looking forward to a working relationship with these organizations. The motto of the UN is "they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." This motto is part of verse 4 in Isaiah chapter 2; it would be proper to consider the whole verse: "And it shall come to pass in the end of days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established at the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall stream unto it. And many nations shall come and say: 'O come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob;' and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide for many peoples, and they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." It is our firm belief that the vision of verse 4 will become a reality only after the world accepts and internalizes the message indicated in verse 3.

 

Clearly, selecting, training and empowering the worldwide courts and court officials envisioned by the Seven Noahide Laws will be a massive undertaking. What is this going to cost, and how long is it expected to take?

 

We have not put together an "executive summary." The answer depends on many factors. The first and foremost factor is understanding; people must understand that the world is in a very dangerous situation. There is a serious threat of nuclear war. There is a serious threat of moral disintegration. We are being taught that there is no absolute morality, no real "right" and "wrong," only subjective "narratives." When the gravity of the situation is finally recognized, the means will be found.

 

What would be the involvement of already-extant rabbinical courts in this process?

 

One of the Noahide commandments is to set up a social system with a legal framework, including courts. The function of the Jews is to teach and advise, to help the nations do this, mainly by themselves.

 

Would already Bible-believing, Israel-supporting Christian evangelical groups (and/or existing international legal-ethical bodies) be permitted, expected or encouraged to help bring this about?

 

Yes, when they have accepted the Noahide covenant.

 

Would actual Sanhedrin membership be strictly limited to Jews?

 

The Sanhedrin is a Jewish institution which mainly deals with Judaism, but it also has a function regarding non-Jews - to facilitate the spread of the Torah. In this regard we hope for the partnership of leaders from every nation. Each nation can decide how to handle its own affairs.

 

And regarding the Jewish world, once the Sanhedrin is officially recognized as the final authority regarding Jewish belief and practice, where will such things be "set" on the current Reform-to-haredi continuum? In other words, what will be done to establish guidelines that will gain the confidence and support of most of the planet's Jews?

 

When the nations understand the function of Israel and the role of the Torah, so will all the Jews understand their obligations to the whole world, and this will unite the people of Israel.

 

The prophecy is that the world's nations will one day look to Jerusalem (and the Sanhedrin) for guidance. Do you see forces at work today that will help bring such universal admiration?

 

Yes, we do: in the return to Torah by the Bnei Noah, which reflects a longing for the authentic call of the Almighty. This call has to be the basis of action. We are determined to do our part in this cosmic undertaking by preparing suitable people.

 

As you probably know, the very idea of reconstituting the Sanhedrin is being met with a mixture of hostility, ridicule and indifference by both Jews and gentiles. Is more than education required?

 

Certainly any means for bringing people closer to their covenant with the Almighty is of great importance. Education is the first and most important step. But education without action is not enough. Proper education brings action. We attempt to use any vehicle that will help bring people closer to truth.

 

 

 

Four Questions
 for Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz

 

 

 

Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah, the brilliant young sage from the generation following the Second Temple’s destruction, likened himself to “a man of 70” in the Passover Haggadah. If ben Azariah were alive today, his role model for wisdom might very well be Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz.

 

At 70, the indefatigable Steinsaltz — renowned Jerusalem scholar, philosopher, social critic, educator, author and Sanhedrin president — travels the world over, “trying to do something useful in every place.” Hailed by Time magazine as a “once-in-a-millennium scholar” for his innovative commentary and translation of the Talmud into Hebrew and other languages, Steinsaltz received the Israel Prize, the country’s highest honor, in the field of Jewish studies, in 1988. Today, he presides over a chain of schools in Israel and in the former Soviet Union.

 

“And there is always something else to do,” Steinsaltz told the Forward. “I have writing plans for about another 150 years.”

It’s that hectic season again, when Steinsaltz and Jews everywhere will busy themselves with Passover preparations. Nonetheless, he graciously agreed to speak with Simcha Prombaum for an interview of “four questions” in honor of Passover. His answers may serve as a stimulus for meaningful discussions around the Seder table.

 

Simcha Prombaum: In the Passover Haggadah, the Four Sons represent an archetype for the need to adapt Jewish educational efforts and methods to the needs of the students. In America, there are many different educational outreach initiatives: day schools, summer camps, Birthright, etc. Which of these initiatives have the best chance of producing the kinds of Jewish role models we will need for the future?

 

Adin Steinsaltz: An important question one has to ask about every educational experience and every educational experiment is “What do you remember?” The basic point is not “What should we do?” but “What is the outcome?” Which means you cannot rely on a one-time experience or a shorter experience. Any kind of stable educational system has better chances. The school system can be very effective if it is good. But there are problems attached to it. You can transmit some knowledge, but not too much knowledge, in school. And when you are staying in the school, especially in a Jewish one, it becomes a matter of enduring rather than enjoying. That’s a problem.

 

S.P.: In the Haggadah, we read: “And this same promise has stood by our fathers and ourselves. For not only one man has risen against us, but in every generation there are those who rise up against us to destroy us. But the Holy One, blessed be He, has delivered us out of their hands.” When you recite these words at your own Seder in Israel, is it an overt regional threat like [Iranian President] Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that comes to mind, or is it some less apparent but equally dangerous threat that is in your mind?

 

A.S.: Sometimes the dangers are obvious, sometimes there are other dangers. In some places there is a clear physical danger. In other cases, you will have life but nothing remains of it. Sometimes that is the biggest danger. Look at a family. In 50 years, how many will remain inside the family? Assimilation and intermarriage are now the dangers that face Jewry in America, more than most other dangers, and they are not completely novel ones. People think these problems are completely new. They are not. There were ages like this in the past. And we had to do something about it with whatever means we had.

 

S.P.: The Haggadah puts forth the following personal challenge: “In every generation, a person is supposed to see himself/herself as if he or she had personally gone forth from Egypt.” The Hebrew for Egypt, Mitzrayim, comes from a root suggesting “narrowness.” What is an example of a narrowness of thinking from which we need to break free?

 

A.S.: The Haggadah is basically optimistic, stressing a great amount of hope; it is not usually a recitation of our shortcomings and problems. It looks at the spiritual redemption [ge’ulah] and says that it won’t stop. But people can’t be just optimistic. I think that is one [narrowness]. We have to be aware that there are problems and do what we can to resolve them. There must be hope on the one hand and effort on the other. What do you do when you have a flat tire? You can stand there and hope it will heal itself. You hope that some people will help you. But you can’t just stand there and say, “Okay, an angel will come and take me away from it.”

 

S.P.: The Passover Seder ends with a wish: “Next year in the rebuilt Jerusalem.” As a native-born Jerusalemite who has seen the division and reunification of the city in his lifetime, do you believe Israel’s government will actually divide it once again as a concession for peace? What concessions should Israel be willing to make for peace?

 

A.S.: The Israeli government cannot do everything one-sided. I don’t know what will happen, but we don’t seem to get to a final agreement by conceding another piece of land. The major historical view of the Arab nations is that we are like the Crusader state: We came, we established some kind of a place, but eventually we are going to leave it. If we agree to it, we have to move and that’s the end of it. It’s a complete solution. If we want to stay, it means that we can concede points. The fact that there is or will be some kind of an Arab state in Eretz Yisrael is not a simple thing that everyone understands. It is a concession, and there are many others that we are doing all the time.

 


 

Passover Sacrifice
Slammed by Pro-Animal Group

 

by Gil Ronen

 

(IsraelNN.com) Animal rights group "Tnoo Lachayot Lichyot" ("Let the Animals Live") is threatening to take legal action to prevent the Jewish Temple movement from carrying out an educational demonstration of the Pesach (Passover) sacrifice next week. The group's chairman, Attorney Reuven Ladiansky, sent a letter to Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski and to Temple Institute Director Yehuda Glick, urging them to cancel the planned event or face legal action. The group sees the planned sacrifice as an act of illegal cruelty to an animal.

 

The demonstration of the Paschal sacrifice is part of a study day scheduled to take place on Sunday, the First of Nissan (April 6), at the Kotel Yeshiva in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City. The study day is a joint project of the Temple Institute, the Sanhedrin and the King David Museum. It was originally planned to take place one week later, but the organizers decided to dedicate it to the memory of the eight yeshiva boys murdered in Jerusalem recently, and to hold it on the 30th day after their death.

The study day is to include a public sacrifice which is being termed a "general rehearsal" for the actual Pesach sacrifice on the Temple Mount, a ritual prescribed by the Torah but currently forbidden by the Israel government and courts.

 

Public sacrifices are allowed

 

Glick told Ynet Monday that according to Jewish law, abstaining from performing the sacrifice is an extremely serious offense, comparable in its severity to avoiding a brit (circumcision ceremony) for one's newborn boy. He explained that although Jewish law forbids Jews in an impure state (which all Jews are in as long as the Temple rites are not renewed) from entering the Temple area, an exception is made for public sacrifices like the Pesach sacrifice.

 

The Temple movement recently sent a formal request to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Minister of Public Security Avi Dichter, to allow them to conduct the sacrifice on the Temple Mount. "Making the Paschal sacrifice is part of the religious freedom which is a basic human right and a cornerstone of democracy," they wrote.

 

Glick said, however, that the organizers "have no intention of trying to ascend to the Mount without permission from the police."

 

'A substitute should be used'

 

According to the chairman of "Tnoo Lachayot Lichyot," the "demonstration sacrifice" would violate the Israeli law which makes it illegal to torture animals or to kill them in a cruel way. Any use of animals for educational purposes requires prior approval by the Council for Experiments on Animals. "Carrying out a 'general rehearsal' in which a live animal is sacrificed for demonstrational purposes only, while a substitute – like a model of a sheep – can be used, is unjustified and unnecessary," he claimed.

 

Another animal rights activist, Etti Altman, said the sacrifice has no place in an "enlightened country" like Israel and quoted from the ancient Sifri biblical commentary which says: "As God is called 'compassionate,' so should you be compassionate."

 

The Temple movement has conducted several Paschal sacrifices in recent years. The ceremonies took place in front of the Temple Mount, on a hill which is called the Hill of Hananyah, and on the Mount of Olives. These sacrifices, however, bore a symbolic nature and were seen as memorials to the real Pesach sacrifice, because Biblical law stipulates that the Pesach sacrifice can only be performed on the Temple Mount.

 

Court cited 'Special feelings'

 

In Biblical times, pilgrims came to Jerusalem from all parts of the Land of Israel, each family bringing with it a lamb, which was sacrificed in the Temple. The family then took the lamb and roasted it according to the Bible's instructions, making sure it did not touch the oven or the ground during the roasting. Then each family sat together and ate the sacrifice.

 

In 2007, the Temple Mount Faithful and the Sanhedrin rabbis purchased a herd of sheep and petitioned the Supreme Court to allow a Pesach sacrifice to be offered on the Temple Mount. However, the government and legal advisors to the police asked the Supreme Court to reject the plea. The act of bringing a sacrifice could threaten the general public's safety, they said, citing the Muslim public's “special feelings” for the Temple Mount and the possibility of a violent outbreak.

 

Besides the planned Pesach sacrifice demonstration, next week's study day will include discussions regarding the possibility of using an electrical oven or a ceramic skewer for roasting the Pesach sacrifice.

 


Sanhedrin
demands expulsion of women from military

Kobi Nahshoni
Published: 03.28.08, 10:25 /
Israel Jewish Scene

The self-appointed Supreme Judicial Court of the Jewish People, also known as the Sanhedrin, passed down on Thursday a halachic ruling which calls to exempt women from army service and expel those who have already been recruited.

 

The ruling comes just two months after three religious soldiers belonging to a Yeshivat Hesder (program that combines advanced Talmudic studies with military service) were jailed for refusing to participate in a class given by women instructors.

 

According to the Sanhedrin rabbis, by integrating women into mixed army units the IDF is surrendering to "political and ideological demands".

 

The ruling stated that "rabbis and parents will not send their sons to an army that recruits women to mixed units. There is no place for any flexibility and compromise (in this matter).

 

 

'Failures in the battlefield'

Sanhedrin member Professor Hillel Weiss told Ynet that separating male and female soldiers would not due, and called to expel women from the army entirely.

 

"I remember when I would be called up for reserve duty and the IDF sent women instructors to show us how to operate a heavy machinegun; they couldn't even cock the large weapon," he said. "Today I meet women soldiers who say they are proud to be serving in the Armored or Artillery corps. It's a joke.

 

"However," Professor Weiss added, "there is room for technological and other units in which only women will serve, but this should be done outside the military framework.

 

"Just as there is the National Service for the State (alternative voluntary service for those that cannot or do not wish to serve in the IDF), there can also be National Service for the army" he said, "the women who would take part in this program would not even have to be in uniform.

 

The Sanhedrin's ruling also mentions the IDF's "failures in the battlefield", stating that the establishment of mixed units has resulted in a "disruption of the conscience".

 

"There seems to be a connection between the inability to make the distinction between the genders and the inability to make the distinction between friend and foe. Both of these characterize the post-Zionist army, which deems such distinctions racist," the ruling stated.

 


High Court redux?

Mishpatim
Exodus 21:1-24:18

 

 

If the entire congregation of Israel commits an inadvertent violation as a result of [a mistaken legal decision of the Highest Court]…and they thereby violate one of the prohibitory commandments of God, they shall incur guilt.” (Leviticus 4:13)

 

If the Jewish state could be revived virtually from the ashes of destruction after 2,000 years, then why hasn’t the Sanhedrin, the great Jewish court of the first and second commonwealths, been revived?

During the centuries of its existence, this august body, comprised of 71 sages, brought unity to the land because their decisions were binding on the entire nation.

 

On the surface, reviving the Sanhedrin seems impossible because its members must be recipients of the classic Jewish ordination that traces itself back to Moses himself — and even to the Almighty, as it were, who ordained Moses, who ordained Joshua, who ordained the elders, and so on. But this special ordination ended in the third century.

 

A verse in this week’s portion, however, raises alternate possibilities. In his commentary to the Mishna, Maimonides writes: “…if all the Jewish sages and their disciples would agree on the choice of one person among those who dwell in Israel as their head” — this must be done in the land of Israel — “and [that head] establishes a house of learning, he would be considered as having received the original ordination and he could then ordain anyone he desires.”

 

Maimonides adds that the Sanhedrin would return to its original function as written in Isaiah (1:26): “I will restore thy judges as at first and thy sages as in the beginning.” Such a selection would mean an election — but who does the choosing? The sages and their disciples, everyone with a relationship to Torah sages, to Jewish law. In an alternate source, however, Maimonides extends voting privileges to all adult residents of Israel!

 

This idea reappears in Maimonides’ Mishna Torah, Laws of Sanhedrin, except here he concludes with the phrase: “this matter requires decision.”

 

In 1563, an attempt was made by a sage, Rabbi Yaakov BeRab, to revive classic ordination using the Maimonidean formula, and in an election in Safed, he was declared officially ordained. He proceeded to ordain his most important student, Rabbi Yosef Karo, the author of the Shulhan Aruch, and other disciples.

 

But the rabbis in Jerusalem strongly opposed the Safed decision. When the question was put before the Ridbaz, Rabbi David Ben Zimra, chief rabbi of Egypt, he ruled in favor of the Jerusalem rabbis because not only had the election been restricted to one city, Safed, and not Jerusalem, but also because the closing phrase, “this matter requires decision” opened the possibility that Maimonides may have changed his mind and was, in effect, leaving the issue un-adjudicated.

Rabbi Yaakov BeRab, on the other hand, understood that the phrase “requires decision” referred to whether one sage was sufficient to ordain others, or three sages were required. He was convinced Maimonides had no doubt about the method and inevitability of reviving classic ordination.

 

Three centuries later, Rabbi Yehuda Leib Maimon, the first minister of religion in the new Jewish state, tried to convince the political and religious establishments that there should also be a creation of a Sanhedrin. In his work The Renewal of the Sanhedrin in Our Renewed State, he cites the existence of a copy of Maimonides’ commentary to the Mishna published along with emendations written by Maimonides himself, where he writes that ordination and the Sanhedrin will be renewed before the coming of the Messiah, which implies that it must be achieved through human efforts. (A photocopy of these words, in Maimonides’ own handwriting, is provided in The Renewal of the Sanhedrin.)

 

I believe the basis for his democratic suggestion stems from the verse quoted above dealing with the issue of the sins of the entire congregation. Commentators ask how an “entire congregation” can sin. Rashi identifies the “congregation of Israel” with the Sanhedrin. So when it says “…if the entire congregation of Israel errs…” it really means “if the Sanhedrin errs.”

 

The Jewish people are a nation defined by commandments, precepts, and laws. The institution that protects and defines the law is at the heart of the nation’s existence.

 

So it should come as no surprise that Maimonides wanted to revive the ordination and found an utterly democratic method to do so.

 

For Maimonides, it is the population living in the land of Israel who represent the historical congregation of Israel. (B.T. Horayot 3b) Apparently Maimonides is saying that before the next stage of Jewish history unfolds, the nation will have to decide who shall be given the authority to recreate the ordination, who will be commander-in-chief of the rabbis. Will it happen in our lifetime?

 

 

Shlomo Riskin is the chief rabbi of the city of Efrat and dean of Ohr Torah Institutes in Israel.

 


 

 

Israeli Court Refers Case
of Jailed Teen to Sanhedrin Court

 

(IsraelNN.com) Tzviya Sariel of Elon Moreh, who has been held in jail since December for refusing to recognize the authority of the secular court system, was allowed to testify before a Torah court set up by the nascent Sanhedrin Friday. The Sanhedrin Court for Matters of People and State ordered her immediate release.

 

The court, headed by Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, heard Sariel’s testimony after a judge from Netanya’s Magistrates Court ordered that she be allowed to attend the hearing on the limits of the youth’s struggle against the Israeli judicial system. It is presumed that Netanya Magistrates Court Judge Smadar Kolander-Abramovitch hoped the Sanhedrin court would instruct Sariel to put and end to her struggle and recognize the civil courts.

 

The Court For Matters of People and State also heard testimony from the girl’s mother, as well as Shmuel Medad of the Honenu legal assistance organization. The court concluded that Sariel’s right to refuse to recognize Israel’s current justice system is justified and ruled that the only limitation to the struggle is the ability of each individual to withstand the difficulties of prison. The court also ordered that Sariel be released immediately, without any limitations. "Every day and every hour that Tzvia Sariel spends behind bars is a wrongdoing to this girl," Rabbi Ariel ruled. "Justice demands to release her immediately. It is a serious stain on the judiciary system in Israel. According to the Torah law of Israel, we are demanding her immediate release without conditions and to erase the indictment."

 

The hearing was marked by uncertainty over legal procedure, according to IsraelJustice.com. "Attorneys did not understand what role was given to the rabbinical court in a criminal case and whether the rabbis were granted any authority over the civil court judge who approved the procedure. Usually, Rabbinical courts are only authorized to hear cases that concern marriage and divorce. "There is a question of authorities," Honenu's Meidad explained.

 

Sariel was arrested in December and has been held for three months for allegedly pushing an Arab who entered her town to pick olives.  Judges decided to keep her in prison without formal charges after she refused to cooperate with the secular justice system.  Sariel, 18, remains in prison even after two Arab men, witnesses called by the prosecution, testified that she was not involved in the alleged physical assault.

 

Jabber Mahmoud Hussein, called to the stand by the Prosecution, said: "I managed to come to court twice, despite the fact that the accused didn't hit me or do anything bad to us at all...we are prepared to close this case because all we want is to harvest olives in peace."

 

Precedent: State of Israel Recognizes Sanhedrin
 

The Sanhedrin court called for the establishment of a committee to act as bridge between the state's law and Torah law, in light of the legal precedent set by the Israeli court’s recognition of the court and its findings.

 

“It is no coincidence that the hearing took place on the anniversary of the passing of Moses our teacher, the father of Hebrew law, and close to the days of Purim, when it is said that the Jews reaccepted and affirmed their commitment to the law of the Torah,” a statement from the court said.

 

After the verdict was read, the court's rabbis, wrapped in prayer shawls, stood and recited the special prayers accepting the justice of the Almighty, according to IsraelJustice.com: "Everyone in the courtroom followed in a loud chant to say the words, 'Hear O' Israel, the L-rd is our G-d, the L-rd is One,' despite an attempt by prison guards to prevent supporters, including Ruth Sariel, Tzvia's mother, from entering the hearing."

 

Following the hearing, the officials present from the Prisons Authority affirmed their commitment to carry out the verdict of the Sanhedrin court. Prisons' Authority warden Hila Furis reportedly told those present: “The Prisons' Authority recognizes the authority of the [Sanhedrin] court and will act to implement the verdict.” They removed Sariel's leg restraints and claimed she was being brought to the Ramle Magistrates court, where she would be released before the Sabbath.

 

Sariel was returned to Neve Tirza Prison, however, where she spent the Sabbath. Her parents say she has been placed in solitary confinement. Rabbi Ariel said the court would continue to follow the case and work for Sariel’s release, in accordance with the directives of the Netanya court.

 

The nascent Sanhedrin, headed by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz, was established in 2004, with the renewal of Semikha (ordination) in order to create the infrastructure necessary to fulfill the Torah obligation of reestablishing the supreme Jewish legal body of 71 Torah scholars. The Court for People and State has been one of the most active projects of the nascent Sanhedrin.

 

 

 


The Sanhedrin forms in Tiberias

Sanhedrin
Launched In Tiberias

(IsraelNN.com) 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."

 


 


The Sanhedrin Speaks out Against China selling Human Organs

 


The Sanhedrin Administers the First Noachide Oath,
Monday, January 6th, 2006
 

 

 

 
 


The Sanhedrin Administers the Second Noachide Oath,
Following Sukkot, Monday, October 16th, 2006

 


 

Rick's Oath Document    -    Susan's Oath Document

 


 

The Sanhedrin Administers the Third Noachide Oath,
Following Sukkot,  Sunday, October 7, 2007
 

 


 

 

A Letter from The Sanhedrin to President George Bush About Dividing the Land of Israel
Click Here to see a Copy of the Parchment (being signed above)

 

Former chief Rabbi to Bush:
Don't act against God’s will

In a letter handed to US president, Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu warns him not to take action that would harm Jewish people. ‘The Jewish nation forever remembers those that inflict harm upon it’

Kobi Nahshoni

Published:  01.10.08, 08:54 / Israel Jewish Scene
 

In a letter handed to US President George Bush Thursday, former Sephardic Chief Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu admonished the US president to avoid any course of action that would harm the Jewish nation.

 

“The Jewish nation is eternal, and forever remembers those that have aided it throughout history, as well as those that have done it harm. Please let your name go down in history as a president who aided the Jewish nation, who worked alongside God and not against him,” wrote the rabbi.

 

The Rabbi furthermore urged Bush in his letter to utilize his visit to strengthen and bolster the State of Israel.

 

“You were granted the privilege of serving as US president. Make the best of the duties given you, and we will fulfill our task of remembering you as good and noble throughout the ages,” said the Rabbi.

 

Rabbi Eliyahu began his letter with greetings for President Bush and praise for his efforts to bring peace to the region. With that, he then told the American president that “his agenda for peace goes against the will of God”.

 

Granting the site of the Holy Temple to murderers of women and children who blaspheme God, wrote Rabbi Eliyahu, is an act against the Jewish people as well as God.

 

“Ever since the Jews of Gush Katif were expelled from their homes, Sdeort was bombarded with hundreds of Qassam rockets by Hamas as well as other Palestinian organizations….Hundreds of thousands of additional people will live in similar danger if we were to abide by your peace plan, and then where would we end up?” asked the Rabbi.

 

'God promised land of Israel to Jewish people alone'

The Rabbi stressed that “he prays for peace, as does any individual who believes in God,” but that “anyone who accepts the bible as the word of God must keep in mind that God had promised the land of Israel to the Jewish people alone. The Ishmaelites have no part of this divine guarantee.”

 

Noting that God’s promise to return the Jewish people to their homeland has been coming to full fruition during the last century, the rabbi then urged President Bush to act as a vessel carrying out the divine plan. “God’s pledge to the Jewish people is carried out through people who were created in God’s image, and it their duty to carry out the divine will.”

 

In addition to Rabbi Eliyahu’s letter, various rabbis and right-wing activists composed an additional letter to President Bush, urging him to free Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard, to support “Jewish settlement in Israel entire”, and to encourage Israeli Jews to make aliyah to Israel en masse.

 

Written on parchment much like a Torah scroll, the aforementioned letter will be handed to the US president by a “very prominent figure” who is scheduled to meet him. Rabbi Adin Steinzaltz, Sanhedrin President, wrote the letter, which was then translated by Rabbi Chaim Richman.

 

The letter was signed by members of the News Jewish Congress, the Sanhedrin, and the Temple Mount Faithful Movement, the “loyal representatives of the Jewish nation in God’s name”.

 


 

 

Newly discovered ruins of the Sanhedrin at Tiberias

 

The re-established Jewish Sanhedrin website would like to inform its viewers that Israel Antiquities Authority excavations in Tiberias in 2005 may have uncovered the site of a structure used by the Sanhedrin, researchers believe. The site could have also be used for writing the Jerusalem Talmud. The excavations began in March in the central part of the city and in recent days have moved eastward toward route 90. The main finding in the new excavation area is a basilica structure.
For hundreds of years after the destruction of the Temple, the Sanhedrin assembled in various cities.  In 270 C.E. it moved to Tiberias.  In 358 C.E. Roman Emperor Theodosius disbanded the Sanhedrin and confiscated their property, as a reaction to previous emperor Julian's pro-Jewish stance. The modern Jewish Calendar was adopted at clandestine, and maybe last meeting, in the caves of Mount Berenice overlooking the city. The Sanhedrin complex is believed to have been converted into a Christian structure shortly after that.

 

Further revelations of the beauty of the ancient city of Tiberias and of its uniqueness as a Jewish center were revealed in this season's excavations there. The excavations, funded by the Tiberias municipality, are turning the site into a significant archaeological park, according to dig director Prof. Yizhar Hirschfeld of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Israel Antiquities Authority, and Prof. Katharina Galor of Brown University, Providence, RI.

Excavations at ancient Tiberias, showing the "Galilee Street," and the basilica complex, with the Sea of Galilee in the background.

 

Ancient Tiberias' location, just south of the modern city of Tiberias along route 90, was highly attractive in Roman times: on one side open to the Sea of Galilee (Lake Kinneret) and on the other bounded by Mount Berenice. Two main north-south streets dominated the city plan. One was the cardo, the main commercial thoroughfare of the town. The other was the promenade, which was open on one side to the lake and over which route 90 was built.

Excavations this year focused on the city's basilica complex, which was first discovered several years ago and is identified with the seat of the Sanhedrin, the ancient supreme Jewish religious authority. The eastern wall of the structure was preserved to a height of two meters and was bounded by the promenade.
The structure itself was built in the 4th century C.E. as a gigantic complex of at least 2,000 square meters. It has some 25 rooms with three main components: a colonnaded courtyard, which served as a gathering place for the townspeople, a passageway, and a reception hall with a semi-circular apse. Under the courtyard, excavators found a water cistern, supported by arches, that has survived the centuries unscathed
Beneath the apse hall, remains of an impressive, first-century, marble floor were found.

 

There is no natural marble in Israel, and therefore, this floor must have been part of a grand structure belonging to an individual of extraordinary wealth. The excavators believe it was one of the palaces belonging to Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great, who founded Tiberias in 20 C.E. A marble floor of this type from the Second Temple period has been found previously in Israel only at the Herodian palaces of Masada, Jericho, and Herodion.

The finds in the remains of the complex's ancient shops this season were extremely rich: complete oil lamps, bronze coins, including more rare coins from the 11th century, (discovered in earlier excavations there), glass and stone vessels, jewelry and frescoes. On the western facade of the basilica complex, a row of shops was discovered along with a 50-meter section of street paved with basalt stones, which the archaeological team named "Galilee Street."

 

Haaretz (Hebrew) reported that in excavations this week (March 9th) at Tiberias, archaeologists discovered a mosaic containing a picture of a lion or dog, a flying dove, and grapevine branches with grape clusters. The mosaic, dating to the 4th century CE, was uncovered in a semicircular niche in the basilica structure, where scholars believe the Sanhedrin was operating, after it had moved to Tiberias in the 3rd century CE. The archaeologists say that this shows how beautiful the basilica must have been. Unfortunately, a wall built later divides the mosaic. An inscription that may have originally been written in the mosaic has been destroyed and all that is left is a corner of the frame inside of which an inscription was possibly present.