THE JERUSALEM INSTITUTE OF JEWISH LAW
Rabbi Emanuel Quint, Dean

Lesson # 349 (part two) • The Beth Din System
False prophets
In addition to describing the Great Sanhedrin’s jurisdiction over cases of major transgressions, the Mishna enumerates the Great Sanhedrin’s jurisdiction over cases of major offenses by certain individuals. One such case is that of a person accused of being a false prophet. The Talmud, in describing the source of the law of the false prophet, derives it from a gezeira shava (a principle of interpretation deriving inferences from similar words or phrases occurring in two passages in the Torah) from the trial of the rebellious elder. The gezeira shava in this situation is the term hadavar (the word) which appears both in the Torah verse describing the trial of the false prophet and in the verse describing the rebellious elder. When the Torah speaks of the rebellious elder it says "and thou shall do according to the word (hadavar)", and when it speaks of the false prophet it says "the prophet that shall speak a word (davar)". Just as the rebellious elder is put to death only if he rebels against the teaching of the Great Sanhedrin, so the false prophet is to be judged only by the great Sanhedrin.

The Rebellious elder
In addition to the case of the false prophet, a second type of major transgression by an individual over which the Great Sanhedrin has jurisdiction is one in which there exists the possibility of a death sentence against a “rebellious elder”. Rambam describes the rebellious elder as follows: “He is one of the wise men of Israel who understands the halachik tradition; he judges and he teaches the words of the Torah in the same manner as all the wise men of Israel judge and teach. The rebellious elder, however, disagrees with the Great Sanhedrin on one of the laws, refuses to accept their ruling, continues to dispute them, and teaches people to follow him and not to follow the Great Sanhedrin.” If he is found guilty he is sentenced to death by the Great Sanhedrin. This is based on the verse “And all of the people shall hear and fear, and do no more act presumptuously.” (D'varim 17:13). In order to fulfill the instruction that all the people shall hear and fear, the Great Sanhedrin has to order the execution.

The suspected Adulteress
The last judicial function of the Great Sanhedrin in the area of major transgressions by an individual is unusual, and arises from its unique ability to instill fear in witness and thereby help the truth- seeking process. An example of such case is that of the suspected adulteress. Not only is the suspected adulteress facing a possible death penalty, but her case is of even great importance because of the moral repercussions it might have upon the basic cornerstone of Jewish life, the family. Since it is desirable to insure that the suspected adulteress tells the truth, the Great Sanhedrin is given jurisdiction to try to insure that her testimony will be truthful. The Mishna explains that the suspected adulteress is brought before the Great Sanhedrin in Jerusalem to instill in her a feeling of awe and thus increase the veracity of her testimony. One of the procedures that the Great Sanhedrin employs in this case is the administration of the "water of bitterness”, as described in the Torah, this refers to the situation where a husband suspects his wife of being unfaithful with a specific man, warns her (in front of witnesses) not to seclude herself with this man. If she then secludes herself with this man and the seclusion is witnessed, the wife undergoes the ordeal of drinking the water of bitterness prepared by the priest. If she is innocent, no injuries will result from this ordeal. If she is guilty certain physical afflictions will result, culminating in her death.

The High Priest
These five cases—majority of a tribe accused of idolatry, city accused of idolatry, false prophets, rebellious elder and the suspected adulteress—comprise the jurisdictional basis of the Great Sanhedrin in its judicial function regarding major transgressions by groups or individuals. The second area of the functions of the Great Sanhedrin shifts its focus from the seriousness of the conduct, and its possible repercussions to the nation, to the importance of the individuals who have committed the crime. The second area of the judicial function of the Great Sanhedrin deals with the disposition of capital cases involving high officials. The high priest is the chief functionary and administrator of the Holy Temple and thus one of the two highest officials in the nation. Because of the importance of the position, all cases wherein the high priest faces capital punishment are judged by the Great Sanhedrin. The Torah basis for the Great Sanhedrin having jurisdiction over capital cases involving the high priest is found in the dialogue between Moshe and his father-in-law Jethro. Jethro, seeing that Moshe was occupied the entire day in deciding lawsuits, advised Moshe to select judges to decide ordinary cases, thus leaving Moshe to judge cases of great import.

A Tribal President
Besides the high priest, another example of a major national official was a tribal president. According to one opinion in the Talmud, because of the significance of his position, if the leader is to be judged it must be before the Great Sanhedrin. According to Rashi this opinion applies only if he faces the death penalty.

Boundary Disputes
The third area wherein the Great Sanhedrin performs a judicial function does not focus on the seriousness of the crime or the importance of the person who committed it; instead it focuses on boundary disputes. The types of cases wherein boundary disputes could arise are numerous, but the Mishna and Talmud delineate two specific cases of importance wherein the Great Sanhedrin has jurisdiction. According to one opinion one of these is the case of a dispute between the tribes as to the ownership of the land. When the first boundaries between the tribes were established in Israel, the Great Sanhedrin participated in deciding conflicts; similarly any future dispute as to land must be decided by the Great Sanhedrin. There is an opinion that says a typical example is a boundary line running through a forest, which had not been surveyed. The Great Sanhedrin has jurisdiction over these types of boundary disputes because conflicts of this type could conceivably cause major disputes and divisions among the nation, thereby endangering nation unity.

The subject matter of this lesson is more fully discussed in volume 1 chapter 1 of Jewish Jurisprudence by Emanuel Quint & Neil hecht. Copies of both volumes can be purchased at local Judaica bookstores. Questions to quint@inter.net.il

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