Last update - 12:07 03/11/2005            
Now that there's a Sanhedrin, who needs the Supreme Court?
By Nadav Shragai

When the "new Sanhedrin" was established in Tiberias a year ago,
hardly anyone took it seriously. The 71 rabbis who came to the
northern city 1,660 years after the original Sanhedrin (the assembly
of 71 ordained scholars that was both supreme court and legislature in
Talmudic times) held its last meeting there, were welcomed by many in
the Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox sectors with smiles tinged with
derision.

The declaration of the Sanhedrin's reestablishment was perceived as
both a curiosity on the margins of the right and as a rebellion
against halakhic conventions; as a perhaps daring step, but one that
was also a warning; far-reaching, but to a large extent provocative.

The fact that the leading Torah scholars of this generation, or those
who are identified as such, took no part in this pretentious venture
posed many questions about the new Sanhedrin's source of power and
authority. The founding rabbis, most of them fairly anonymous, did
agree in writing to vacate their places in favor of rabbis who are
greater Torah scholars, as soon as some are found willing to serve.

[...]

A year after its establishment, it is impossible to see the new
Sanhedrin as the domain of the extreme right wing alone: at a large
gathering in Jerusalem's Har Nof neighborhood Tuesday, Rabbi Adin Even
Israel Steinsaltz, a well-known Talmud scholar who is much esteemed in
Torah circles, both in the ultra-Orthodox world and in the national-
religious sector, came forward as the president of the Sanhedrin.

Steinsaltz avoided delving into politics and spoke about gradually
building up the ancient institution, which would take several
generations, he said. The very fact that he is leading the new
Sanhedrin can be considered a dramatic event, given the numerous
efforts in the last few years to strengthen the Jewish character of
the state, integrate into it elements of Hebrew law and to combat the
idea of a state for all its citizens. The fact that the new Sanhedrin
also includes many rabbis affiliated with the ultra-Orthodox stream,
added to the fact that they are not among the best known and leading
rabbis in that sector, endows the effort with another unusual
dimension that distances it from being another "extreme right-wing"
venture.

In its first year, the new Sanhedrin initiated a dialogue with the
Ministry of Education over the Bible and Scriptures curriculum; set up
a "High Council for the Sons of Noah," whose task it is to establish
contact with non-Jewish communities seeking to observe the Noahide
laws - the seven commandments given to the sons of Noah, or all
mankind, which non-Jews are obligated to uphold according to halakha.

[... ...]

Full article at "Haaretz"
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/641039.html


Cheers, Steve..

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