Lesson # 348 (part one) •The Beth Din System Most of these lessons have focused on various aspects of what is called substantive law, that is, what is the law in this particular field. I thought that I would embark on some lessons on what is know in law as procedural law, that is what is the procedure in which rights are enforced in Beth Din. Some of these matters have been included in passing in prior lessons, but I think it would be worthwhile to familiarize the readers with the procedure in enforcing the rights of the parties in getting to an adjudication of rights. Also the readership of Torah Tidbits have expanded tremendously the last few years. I thought we can begin with a historical overview of the court system as envisioned in the Torah, both Oral and Written. The judicial system as set up in the Torah was three tiered. We shall begin with the Great Sanhedrin. In the first chapter of Tractate Sanhedrin, the Mishnayot describe the composition and jurisdiction of the highest Jewish court, known as the Great Sanhedrin. The court’s jurisdiction is broad and varied, serving numerous significant functions in the maintenance of the nation. There is general agreement that the number of individuals comprising the Great Sanhedrin is 71. However, there is a difference of opinion as to whether all 71 are judges or whether only 70 serve as judges and the 71st is the court’s presiding officer. These differing views appear in a Mishnaic text, in which the proponents of both view- points derive their views from an analysis of G-d’s command to Moshe to create a Great Sanhedrin “Gather unto Me seventy men” (Bamidbar 11:16). The opinion that all 71 are judges holds that Moshe was also to be included in the Great Sanhedrin, making a total of 71 judges. The other opinion holds that the 70 were to be appointed but that Moshe was not to be counted as a judge; rather he was to be considered a presiding officer. One of the commentaries that explains the latter view maintains that there are only 70 judges in total, with no presiding officer over them. The prevailing view is that the Great Sanhedrin is comprised of 71 judges and all of them are members of the court. The court sits in a semi-circle so that each judge can see the other judges. The Great Sanhedrin has a permanent meeting place in the city of Jerusalem, the meeting site is known as the Chamber of the Hewn Stone. In its construction, half of the Chamber was situated on holy ground in the Holy Temple, and half was located on unconsecrated ground. Thus the court fulfilled the commandment of the Torah to sit in the place where the Lord would choose, close to the altar and the Divine presence, the source of Justice. In addition, Yaakov’s blessing to Yehuda that a lawgiver would not depart from Yehuda was fulfilled by the chamber’s location in the geographic area belonging to the tribe of Yehuda. The exact area in the Chamber where the court sits is in the unconsecrated section, since only kings descended from the House of David are authorized to sit in the consecrated part. On Shabbat and Holy Days when no trials are permitted to be held, the Great Sanhedrin does not meet in the Chamber of Hewn Stone; otherwise it might appear that they were sitting in judgment. On those days the Great Sanhedrin meets in the study hall on the Temple Mount. The importance of the place where the Great Sanhedrin meets is that if the Great Sanhedrin does not meet in the Chamber of Hewn Stone, there may not be capital punishment meted out by any court in the judicial system. As a result, the Great Sanhedrin can by this procedural device, vary the imposition of such sentences. Thus in approximately 30 C.E., forty years before the destruction of the Second Holy Temple, the Great Sanhedrin left the Chamber of Hewn Stone and began to meet at Hanuth. The reason for this move was the judges of the Great Sanhedrin saw that the lawlessness attendant upon the extreme Roman oppression was both inevitable and prevelant, they did not wish to permit their courts to become instruments of capital punishment. Accordingly, they decided “Rather let us be exiled from place to place than pronounce them guilty of capital offenses.” After the Great Sanhedrin left the Chamber of Hewn Stone, it wandered to ten different places of banishment, the last being Tiberias, from which, according to Rabbi Yochanan, they are destined to be redeemed. As described in the Mishna, the court of 71 judges has a broad and varied jurisdictional base. Its jurisdiction may be conveniently divided into three general functional categories: judicial functions; nonjudicial functions; and administrative functions. In all three categories, the Great Sanhedrin deals with the most important and difficult cases. In the Mishna, the judicial functions of the great Sanhedrin are discussed first, beginning with the most serious of crimes, major transgressions by groups or individuals. The first such case mentioned in the Mishna is the case of a tribe which has sinned. The Talmud, in discussing the Mishna, tries to ascertain the specific violation of which the tribe is accused. After eliminating a number of possible transgressions, the Talmud concludes that the Mishna must be referring to a trial where a majority of the tribe is accused of idolatry, a capital offense. This sin of idolatry striking at the very essence and existence of the Jewish people, is so serious a national matter when it involves such a substantial group that it must be deal with by the highest court. The jurisdiction of the Great Sanhedrin in this area is an extension of the jurisdiction that court has over a city which is accused of being guilty of idolatry. If a majority of a city is accused of idolatry their trial is before the Great Sanhedrin, because of the seriousness of the breach and its possible repercussions to the nation. The Talmud finds support for these views based on Torah verses. Based on the foregoing it can be said that perhaps the most serious matter over which the Great Sanhedrin has jurisdiction is over a tribe or city accused of being guilty of idolatry. IYH next lesson continues the jurisdiction of the Great Sanhedrin. [The Parshat Nitzvavim-Vayeilech Homepage]
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