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106-540: There were two classes of Rabbinite courts called sanhedrins: Greater and Lesser. A lesser Sanhedrin of 23 judges was appointed to sit as a tribunal in each city. There was only one Great Sanhedrin of 70 judges, which, among other roles, acted as a supreme court , taking appeals from cases that lesser courts decided. In general usage, the Sanhedrin without qualifier usually refers to the Great Sanhedrin, which

212-616: A Procurator at Caesarea and a Jewish Patriarch. A former leading Pharisee, Yohanan ben Zakkai , was appointed the first Patriarch (the Hebrew word, Nasi , also means prince , or president ), and he reestablished the Sanhedrin at Javneh under Pharisee control. Instead of giving tithes to the priests and sacrificing offerings at the Temple, the rabbis instructed Jews to give money to charities and study in local synagogues , as well as to pay

318-651: A messiah . Up until this time, a number of Christians were still part of the Jewish community. However, they did not support or take part in the revolt. Whether because they had no wish to fight, or because they could not support a second messiah in addition to Jesus, or because of their harsh treatment by Bar Kokhba during his brief reign, these Christians also left the Jewish community around this time. This revolt ended in 135 when Bar Kokhba and his army were defeated. The Romans then barred Jews from Jerusalem, until Constantine allowed Jews to enter for one day each year, during

424-401: A synhedrion was placed; Jerusalem was the seat of one of these. Later, Josephus describes Herod (at the time governor of Galilee) as being summoned before the synhedrion , led by High Priest Hyrcanus II , due to having executed alleged criminals without permission from the synhedrion . Eventually, though, Herod would go on to kill many members of this synhedrion . The Mishnah describes

530-474: A Great Sanhedrin ( בית דין הגדול ) and a Lesser Sanhedrin ( בית דין הקטן ). Each city could have its own lesser Sanhedrin of 23 judges, but there could be only one greater Sanhedrin of 71, which among other roles acted as the Supreme Court, taking appeals from cases decided by lesser courts. The uneven numbers of judges were predicated on eliminating the possibility of a tie, and the last to cast his vote

636-472: A display of Moses' appointing elders as judges to govern with him and judge disputes, imparting to them details and guidance of how to interpret the laws of God while carrying out their duties. The Oral Torah includes rules intended to prevent violations of the laws of the Torah and Talmud, sometimes referred to as "a fence around the Torah" . For example, the written Torah prohibits certain types of travelling on

742-463: A legate. In 65 BC Pompey gave him command of a part of his army and sent him into Northern Mesopotamia to pressure the Parthian king, Phraates III into a treaty with Pompey. From Northern Mesopotamia Gabinius marched into Syria to help rid the region of pirates and brigands. Aristobulus , brother of the high priest and king of Judea Hyrcanus II , bribed him to support his [Aristobulus] claim to

848-520: A pair ( zugot ) which led the Sanhedrin . The Hasmonean Kingdom ended in 37 BCE but it is believed that the "two-man rule of the Sanhedrin" lasted until the early part of the 1st century CE during the period of the Roman province of Judea . The last pair, Hillel and Shammai, was the most influential of the Sanhedrin zugot . Both were Pharisees , but the Sadducees were actually the dominant party while

954-569: A political contrivance. When in the war against Prussia (1806–07) the emperor invaded Poland and the Jews rendered great services to his army, he remarked, laughing, "The sanhedrin is at least useful to me." David Friedländer and his friends in Berlin described it as a spectacle that Napoleon offered to the Parisians . [REDACTED]   This article incorporates text from a publication now in

1060-512: A radical repudiation of certain elements of Pharisaism, elements that were basic to Second Temple Judaism . The Pharisees had been partisan. Members of different sects argued with one another over the correctness of their respective interpretations. After the destruction of the Second Temple, these sectarian divisions ended. The term Pharisee was no longer used, perhaps because it was a term more often used by non-Pharisees, but also because

1166-404: A rationalist solution for achieving the goal of re-establishing semikhah and the Sanhedrin. There have been several attempts to implement Maimonides' recommendations by Rabbi Jacob Berab in 1538, Rabbi Yisroel Shklover in 1830, Rabbi Aharon Mendel haCohen in 1901, Rabbi Zvi Kovsker in 1940, Rabbi Yehuda Leib Maimon in 1949, and a group of Israeli rabbis in 2004 . The "Grand Sanhedrin"

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1272-522: A setback with its being explicitly outlawed in the 80s CE by Domitian as a "Jewish superstition ", while Judaism retained its privileges as long as members paid the Fiscus Judaicus . However, from a historical perspective, persecution of Christians seemed only to increase the number of Christian converts, leading eventually to the adoption of Christianity by the Roman emperor Constantine . On

1378-457: A son of Judah ha-Nasi, where it became more of a consistory, but still retained, under the presidency of Judah II (230–270), the power of excommunication. During the presidency of Gamaliel IV (270–290), due to Roman persecution, it dropped the name Sanhedrin; and its authoritative decisions were subsequently issued under the name of Beth HaMidrash . In the year 363, the emperor Julian (r. 355–363 CE), an apostate from Christianity, ordered

1484-628: A verdict of capital punishment to would-be offenders, and the greater Sanhedrin of 71 judges was solely authorized to send forth the people to a battle waged of free choice . Before 191 BCE the High Priest acted as the ex officio head of the Sanhedrin, but in 191 BCE, when the Sanhedrin lost confidence in the High Priest, the office of Nasi was created. After the time of Hillel the Elder (late 1st century BCE and early 1st century CE),

1590-626: Is a summary of the powers and responsibilities of the Patriarchate from the onset of the third century, based on rabbinic sources as understood by L.I. Levine: Up to the middle of the fourth century, the Patriarchate retained the prerogative of determining the Hebrew calendar and guarded the intricacies of the needed calculations, in an effort to constrain interference by the Babylonian community. Christian persecution obliged Hillel II to fix

1696-585: Is attributed to Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai , the founder of the Yeshiva (religious school) in Yavne . Yavneh replaced Jerusalem as the new seat of a reconstituted Sanhedrin, which reestablished its authority and became a means of reuniting Jewry. The destruction of the Second Temple brought about a dramatic change in Judaism. Rabbinic Judaism built upon Jewish tradition while adjusting to new realities. Temple ritual

1802-602: Is called the Jerusalem Talmud . It was compiled sometime during the 4th century in Palestine. Judaism at this time was divided into antagonistic factions. The main camps were the Pharisees , Saducees , and Zealots , but also included other less influential sects. This led to further unrest, and the 1st century BCE and 1st century CE saw a number of charismatic religious leaders, contributing to what would become

1908-576: Is during this period that rabbinic discourse began to be recorded in writing. The theory that the destruction of the Temple and subsequent upheaval led to the committing of Oral Law into writing was first explained in the Epistle of Sherira Gaon and often repeated. The Oral Law was subsequently codified in the Mishnah and Gemarah , and is interpreted in rabbinic literature detailing subsequent rabbinic decisions and writings. Rabbinic Jewish literature

2014-539: Is not clear, though Gamaliel VI, the last holder of the office who had been for a time elevated by the emperor to the rank of prefect , may have fallen out with the imperial authorities. Thereafter, Jews were gradually excluded from holding public office. A law dated to 429, however, refers to the existence of a Sanhedrin in each of the Eastern Roman provinces of Palestine . The Talmud tractate Sanhedrin identifies two classes of rabbinical courts called Sanhedrin,

2120-863: Is obscure. It may be that it was marginalized by, absorbed into or became Early Christianity (see the Gospel according to the Hebrews ). The Acts of the Apostles at least report how Paul the Apostle preferredly evangelized communities of proselytes and Godfearers , or circles sympathetic to Judaism : the Apostolic Decree allowing converts to forgo circumcision made Christianity a more attractive option for interested pagans than Judaism . See also Circumcision controversy in early Christianity . The attractiveness of Christianity may, however, have suffered

2226-637: Is predicated on the belief that the Written Law cannot be properly understood without recourse to the Oral Law (the Mishnah ). Much rabbinic Jewish literature concerns specifying what behavior is sanctioned by the law; this body of interpretations is called halakha ( the way ). The Talmud contains discussions and opinions regarding details of many oral laws believed to have originally been transmitted to Moses. Some see Exodus 18 and Numbers 11 as

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2332-523: Is required (12 vs. 10). Finally, a court should have an odd number of judges to prevent deadlocks; thus 23 rather than 22. The first historic mention of a Synedrion ( Greek : Συνέδριον ) occurs in the Psalms of Solomon (17:49), a Jewish religious book translated into Greek. The Hasmonean court in Judea , presided over by Alexander Jannaeus , until 76 BCE, followed by his wife, Queen Salome Alexandra ,

2438-592: Is sanctioned by the law; this body of interpretations is called halakha ( the way ). Originally, Jewish scholarship was oral. Rabbis expounded and debated the law (the written law expressed in the Hebrew Bible) and discussed the Tanakh without the benefit of written works (other than the biblical books themselves), though some may have made private notes ( megillot setarim ), for example of court decisions. This situation changed drastically, however, mainly as

2544-446: Is that the present Mishnah was based on an earlier collection by Rabbi Meir. There are also references to the "Mishnah of Rabbi Akiva", although this may simply mean his teachings in general. It is possible that Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Meir established the divisions and order of subjects in the Mishnah, but this would make them the authors of a school curriculum rather than of a book. Authorities are divided on whether Judah haNasi recorded

2650-414: Is the view of Rabbi Meir" represent cases where the author intended to present Rabbi Meir's view as a "minority opinion" not representing the accepted law. Judah haNasi is credited with publishing the Mishnah, although there have been a few edits since his time (for example, those passages that cite him or his grandson, Rabbi Yehuda Nesi'ah ; in addition, the Mishnah at the end of Tractate Sotah refers to

2756-475: The makshan (questioner) and tartzan (answerer). Another important function of Gemara is to identify the correct biblical basis for a given law presented in the Mishnah and the logical process connecting one with the other: this activity was known as talmud long before the existence of the Talmud as a text. Orthodox Judaism does not accept the scholarly view that Rabbinic Judaism came into being in

2862-529: The Fiscus Iudaicus . In 132, the Emperor Hadrian threatened to rebuild Jerusalem as a pagan city dedicated to Jupiter , called Aelia Capitolina . Some of the leading sages of the Sanhedrin supported a rebellion (and, for a short time, an independent state) led by Simon bar Kozeba (also called Simon bar Kokhba , or "son of a star"); some, such as Rabbi Akiva , believed Bar Kokhba to be

2968-583: The Hebrew Bible , Moses and the Israelites were commanded by God to establish courts of judges. They were also commanded to establish a "supreme court" located at the central sanctuary (after arriving in the Land of Israel ), to handle cases too difficult for local courts. When Moses declared that the task of leading the people was too difficult for him, God had him appoint 70 elders ( zekenim ) to share

3074-576: The High Priest acted as the ex officio head of the Sanhedrin, but in 191 BCE, when the Sanhedrin lost confidence in the High Priest, the chair passed to the new office of the Nasi . The Sanhedrin was headed by the chief scholars of the great Talmudic Academies in the Land of Israel , and with the decline of the Sanhedrin, their spiritual and legal authority was generally accepted, the institution itself being supported by voluntary contributions by Jews throughout

3180-431: The Mishnah of Rabbinic Judaism, including Yochanan ben Zakai and Hanina Ben Dosa . Following the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE and the expulsion of the Jews from the Roman province of Judea , Jewish worship stopped being centrally organized around the Temple, prayer took the place of sacrifice, and worship was rebuilt around rabbis who acted as teachers and leaders of individual communities. The destruction of

3286-521: The New Testament . Of all the major Second Temple sects, only the Pharisees remained. Their vision of Jewish law as a means by which ordinary people could engage with the sacred in their daily lives, provided them with a position from which to respond to all four challenges, in a way meaningful to the vast majority of Jews. Following the destruction of the Temple, Rome governed Judea through

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3392-680: The apocalyptic literature of the 2nd to 1st centuries BCE, promising a future "anointed" leader or Messiah to resurrect the Israelite " Kingdom of God ", in place of the foreign rulers of the time. This corresponded with the Maccabean Revolt directed against the Seleucids . Following the fall of the Hasmonean kingdom, it was directed against the Roman administration of Iudaea Province , which, according to Josephus , began with

3498-525: The consulships for 58 and managed to get himself elected, although not without the suspicion of bribery . He was elected consul alongside Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus , Caesar's father-in-law. During his term of office he aided Publius Clodius Pulcher in bringing about the exile of Marcus Tullius Cicero . Gabinius also managed to secure Syria as his proconsular province. In 57 BC Gabinius started his term as governor of Syria. Shortly after his arrival he marched his army south into Judaea , defeated

3604-524: The era of the Judges , and the prophets (most of whom are seen as the "rabbis" of their time), through the sages of the late Second Temple period, and continuing until today. Aulus Gabinius Aulus Gabinius ( before 101 BC – 48 or 47 BC) was a politician and general of the Roman Republic . He had an important career, culminating with a consulship in 58 BC, mainly thanks to

3710-465: The midrashic form, in which halakhic discussion is structured as exegetical commentary on the Pentateuch (Torah). But an alternative form, organized by subject matter instead of by biblical verse, became dominant about the year 200 CE, when Rabbi Judah haNasi redacted the Mishnah ( משנה ). The Oral Law was far from monolithic; rather, it varied among various schools. The most famous two were

3816-552: The public domain :  Abrahams, Israel (1911). " Jews ". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 487–410, see page 403. III.—From the Dispersion to Modern Times Rabbinic Judaism Rabbinic Judaism ( Hebrew : יהדות רבנית ‎ , romanized :  Yahadut Rabanit ), also called Rabbinism , Rabbinicism , or Rabbanite Judaism , has been an orthodox form of Judaism since

3922-427: The rabbis were required to face a new reality, that of Judaism without a Temple (to serve as the location for sacrifice and study) and Judea without autonomy, there was a flurry of legal discourse, and the old system of oral scholarship could not be maintained. It is during this period that rabbinic discourse began to be recorded in writing. The theory that the destruction of the Temple and subsequent upheaval led to

4028-613: The sabbath day ( Shabbat ). After the destruction of the Second Temple and the failure of the Bar Kokhba revolt , the Great Sanhedrin moved to Galilee, which became part of the Roman province of Syria Palaestina . In this period, the Sanhedrin was sometimes called the Galilean Patriarchate or Patriarchate of Palaestina , the governing legal body of Galilean Jewry. In the late 200s CE, to avoid persecution,

4134-665: The 3rd century BCE, notably among the Jewish diaspora in Alexandria , culminating in a Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible known as the Septuagint . An important advocate of the symbiosis of Jewish theology and Hellenistic thought is Philo . Hellenistic culture had a profound impact on the customs and practices of Jews, both in Judea and in the diaspora. These inroads into Judaism gave rise to Hellenistic Judaism in

4240-709: The 6th century CE , after the codification of the Babylonian Talmud . Rabbinic Judaism has its roots in the Pharisaic school of Second Temple Judaism and is based on the belief that Moses at Mount Sinai received both the Written Torah ( Torah she-be-Khetav ) and the Oral Torah ( Torah she-be-al Peh ) from God. The Oral Torah, transmitted orally, explains the Written Torah. At first, it

4346-601: The Egyptian throne reached him. In 55 BC Pompey convinced Gabinius to march to Egypt to restore Ptolemy XII to his throne. Gabinius did so without the consent of the Senate. He succeeded after a short successful campaign, in which he was supported by the young cavalry officer Mark Antony . He left some of his troops, the so-called Gabiniani , in Egypt to protect Ptolemy XII. These Gabiniani fought against rebellious subjects of

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4452-527: The Gospels in relation to the trial of Jesus , and in the Acts of the Apostles , which mentions a "Great Synhedrion " in chapter 5 where rabbi Gamaliel appeared, and also in chapter 7 in relation to the stoning death of Saint Stephen . This body is described as a court led by the High Priest or leading priests, as well as the "elders" and/or Pharisees . After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE,

4558-524: The Jewish diaspora which sought to establish a Hebraic-Jewish religious tradition within the culture and language of Hellenism . There was a general deterioration in relations between Hellenized Jews and other Jews, leading the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes to ban certain Jewish religious rites and traditions . Consequently, the Jews who rejected Hellenism revolted against the Greek ruler leading to

4664-640: The Jews increased and the details were in danger of being forgotten, these oral laws were recorded by rabbi Judah ha-Nasi ("Judah the Prince") in the Mishnah , redacted c.  200 CE . The Talmud was a compilation of both the Mishnah and the Gemara , rabbinic commentaries redacted over the next three centuries. The Gemara originated in two major centers of Jewish scholarship, Palestine and Babylonia . Correspondingly, two bodies of analysis developed, and two works of Talmud were created. The older compilation

4770-597: The Judean throne. When Pompey arrived in Antioch in Syria, Aristobulus sent an official deputation, fearing the fortune he had spent to persuade Pompey's legates might be wasted, he accused Gabinius and Scaurus of accepting bribes. It is unknown if Pompey did anything with these accusations. In 61 BC, as praetor , tried to win public favour by providing games on a scale of unusual splendour. In 59 BC, Gabinius ran for one of

4876-453: The Mishnah in writing or established it as an oral text for memorisation. The most important early account of its composition, the Iggeret of Rabbi Sherira Gaon of Sherira Gaon, is ambiguous on the point, although the "Spanish" recension leans to the theory that the Mishnah was written. The Gemara is the part of the Talmud that contains rabbinical commentaries and analysis of the Mishnah. In

4982-400: The Mishnah was assembled spanned about 130 years, and five generations. Most of the Mishnah is related without attribution ( stam ). This usually indicates that many sages taught so, or that Judah haNasi who redacted the Mishnah together with his academy/court ruled so. The halakhic ruling usually follows that view. Sometimes, however, it appears to be the opinion of a single sage, and

5088-660: The Nasi was almost invariably a descendant of Hillel. The second highest-ranking member of the Sanhedrin was called the Av Beit Din , or 'Head of the Court' (literally, Av Beit Din means 'father of the house of judgment'), who presided over the Sanhedrin when it sat as a criminal court. During the Second Temple period, the Sanhedrin met in a building known as the Hall of Hewn Stones ( Lishkat ha-Gazit ), which has been placed by

5194-591: The Oral Torah. It states that many commandments and stipulations contained in the Written Torah would be difficult, if not impossible, to keep without the Oral Torah to define them. For example, the prohibition to do any "creative work" ( melakha ) on the Sabbath, which is given no definition in the Torah, is given a practical meaning in the Oral Torah, which provides definition of what constitutes melakha . Numerous examples exist of this general prohibitive language in

5300-546: The Romans, and had little credibility (the last Zealots died at Masada in 73). The Sadducees, whose teachings were so closely connected to the Temple cult , disappeared. The Essenes also vanished (or developed into Christians), perhaps because their teachings so diverged from the issues of the times that the destruction of the Second Temple was of no consequence to them; precisely for this reason, they were of little consequence to

5406-410: The Sabbath; consequently, the Oral Torah prohibits walking great distances on the Sabbath to ensure that one does not accidentally engage in a type of travelling prohibited by the written Torah. Similarly, the written Torah prohibits plowing on the Sabbath; the Oral Torah prohibits carrying a stick on the Sabbath to ensure that one does not drag the stick and accidentally engage in prohibited plowing. As

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5512-469: The Sanhedrin before the Roman government. The seat of the Patriarchate moved to Usha under the presidency of Gamaliel II in 80 CE. In 116 it moved back to Yavneh, and then again back to Usha. Rabbinic texts indicate that following the Bar Kokhba revolt , southern Galilee became the seat of rabbinic learning in the Land of Israel . This region was the location of the court of the Patriarch which

5618-540: The Sanhedrin in this period further. The Great Sanhedrin met in the Hall of Hewn Stones in the Temple in Jerusalem . It convened every day except festivals and Shabbat . Its members included priests , Levites , and ordinary Jews whose families had a pure lineage such that their daughters were allowed to marry priests. A Synhedrion is mentioned 22 times in the Greek New Testament , including in

5724-523: The Sanhedrin was re-established in Yavneh , with reduced authority, by agreement between Yochanan ben Zakai and Roman Emperor Vespasian . Vespasian agreed in part due to the perception that the Pharisees had not participated in the first revolt to the extent that other groups had. Thus the Sanhedrin in Yavneh was comprised almost exclusively of pharisaic scholars. The imperial Roman government recognized

5830-415: The Sanhedrin, to convene on 20 October. This proclamation, written in Hebrew, French, German, and Italian, speaks in extravagant terms of the importance of this revived institution and of the greatness of its imperial protector. While the action of Napoleon aroused in many Jews of Germany the hope that, influenced by it, their governments also would grant them the rights of citizenship, others looked upon it as

5936-483: The Sanhedrin. They regarded the head of the Sanhedrin as their own paid government official with the status of a prefect . Roman legislation severely reduced the scope of its authority, but confirmed the body's ultimate authority in religious matters. In an attempt to quash revolutionary elements, Rome in effect declared one form of Judaism to be the only recognized form of religion. This led to persecution of sectarian groups, and attempts by these groups to find fault with

6042-411: The School of Shammai and the School of Hillel . In general, all valid opinions, even the non-normative ones, were recorded in the Talmud. The Talmud has two components: the Mishnah (c. 200 CE ), the first written compendium of Judaism's Oral Law; and the Gemara (c. 500 CE), a discussion of the Mishnah and related Tannaitic writings that often ventures onto other subjects and expounds broadly on

6148-403: The Second Temple was a profoundly traumatic experience for the Jews, who were now confronted with difficult and far-reaching questions: How people answered these questions depended largely on their position prior to the revolt. But the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans not only put an end to the revolt, it marked the end of an era. Revolutionaries like the Zealots had been crushed by

6254-402: The Talmud and many scholars as built into the northern wall of the Temple Mount , half inside the sanctuary and half outside, with doors providing access variously to the Temple and to the outside. The name presumably arises to distinguish it from the buildings in the Temple complex used for ritual purposes, which could not be constructed of stones hewn by any iron implement. In some cases, it

6360-443: The Tanakh. The rabbis of the Mishnah are known as Tannaim (sing. Tanna תנא). The rabbis of the Gemara are referred to as Amoraim (sing. Amora אמורא). The Mishnah does not claim to be the development of new laws, but merely the collection of existing oral laws, traditions and traditional wisdom. The rabbis who contributed to the Mishnah are known as the Tannaim , of whom approximately 120 are known. The period during which

6466-465: The Temple rebuilt. The project's failure has been ascribed to the Galilee earthquake of 363 , and to the Jews ' ambivalence about the project. Sabotage is a possibility, as is an accidental fire. Divine intervention was the common view among Christian historians of the time. As a reaction against Julian's pro-Jewish stance, the later emperor Theodosius I (r. 379–395 CE) forbade the Sanhedrin to assemble and declared ordination illegal. Capital punishment

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6572-415: The Temple stood. Since the Sadducees did not survive the First Jewish–Roman War , their version of events has perished. In addition, Hillel's views have been seen as superior to Shammai's by Rabbinic Judaism. The development of an oral tradition of teaching called the tanna would be the means by which the faith of Judaism would sustain the fall of the Second Temple . Jewish messianism has its root in

6678-480: The Torah (such as, "don't steal", without defining what is considered theft, or ownership and property laws), requiring—according to rabbinic thought—a subsequent definition through the Oral Torah. Thus Rabbinic Judaism claims that almost all directives, both positive and negative, in the Torah are non-specific in nature and require the existence of either an Oral Torah or some other method to explain them. Much rabbinic Jewish literature concerns specifying what behavior

6784-409: The ancient world. Being a member of the house of Hillel and thus a descendant of King David , the Nasi (prince), who was the chairman of the assembly, enjoyed almost royal authority. His functions were political rather than religious, though the office’s influence was not limited to the secular realm. The Patriarchate attained its zenith under Judah ha-Nasi , who compiled the Mishnah . Since

6890-417: The army of Alexander , Hyrcanus II 's nephew, in a battle near Jeruzalem, and reinstated Hyrcanus II as high-priest of Jerusalem , He suppressed revolts, introduced important changes in the government of Judaea and rebuilt several towns. He also supported Mithridates IV in his struggle against his brother Orodes but abandoned Mithridates when the more lucrative offer of restoring Ptolemy XII Auletes to

6996-500: The binding force of halakha (Jewish religious law ) and the willingness to challenge preceding interpretations, all identify themselves as coming from the tradition of the Oral Law and the rabbinic method of analysis. In 332 BCE, the Persians were defeated by Alexander the Great . After his demise, and the division of Alexander's empire among his generals, the Seleucid Kingdom was formed. During this time currents of Judaism were influenced by Hellenistic philosophy developed from

7102-422: The burden of leadership with him. According to the Mishnah , these 70 elders plus Moses himself are the source for the 71 judges of the "Great Sanhedrin". These elders are described as "the elders of the people and its officers", according to a midrash , they were the same officers who were beaten in Egyptian slavery for failing to meet Pharaoh's quota of bricks, and after the Exodus were rewarded with membership on

7208-428: The calendar in permanent form in 359 CE. This institution symbolized the passing of authority from the Patriarchate to the Babylonian Talmudic academies . In 2004, excavations in Tiberias conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority uncovered a structure dating to the 3rd century CE that may have been the seat of the Sanhedrin when it convened in that city. At the time it was called Beit Hava'ad . Before 191 BCE

7314-407: The committing of Oral Torah into writing was first explained in the Epistle of Sherira Gaon and often repeated. The Oral Torah was subsequently codified in the Mishnah and Gemara , and is interpreted in rabbinic literature detailing subsequent rabbinic decisions and writings. Rabbinic Jewish literature is predicated on the belief that the Torah cannot be properly understood without recourse to

7420-416: The consent of the Senate and in defiance of the Sibylline Books , Gabinius was acquitted. It was said that the judges were bribed, and even Cicero, an enemy of Gabinius, was persuaded by Pompey to say as little as he could. On the second charge, that of repetundae (extortion during the administration of his province), with special reference to the 10,000 talents paid by Ptolemy XII for his restoration, he

7526-409: The consulship), was consequently dropped. Gabinius went into exile and his property was confiscated. After the outbreak of Civil War in 49 BC, Gabinius was recalled by Gaius Julius Caesar and entered his service, but took no active part against his old patron, Pompey. After the Battle of Pharsalus , he was commissioned to transport some recently levied troops to Illyricum . On his way overland, he

7632-587: The cultural issues remained unresolved. The main issue separating the Hellenistic and other Jews was the application of biblical laws in a Hellenistic ( melting pot ) culture. Hellenistic Judaism spread to Ptolemaic Egypt from the 3rd century BCE, and became a notable religio licita throughout the Roman Empire , until its decline in the 3rd century concurrent with the rise of Gnosticism and Early Christianity . The decline of Hellenistic Judaism

7738-514: The details and interpretation of the Torah (Written Law), which are called the Oral Torah or Oral Law, were originally an unwritten tradition based upon the Law given to Moses on Mount Sinai . All the laws in the Written Torah are recorded only as part of a narrative describing God imparting these laws to Moses and commanding him to transmit them to the Jewish nation. However, as the persecutions of

7844-640: The dissolution of the Sanhedrin in or around 358 CE, there have been several attempts to re-establish it. There are records of what may have been attempts to reform the Sanhedrin in Arabia, in Jerusalem under the Caliph Umar , and in Babylon (Iraq), but none of these attempts were given attention by later rabbinic authorities and little information is available about them. Maimonides (1135–1204) proposed

7950-411: The first Sanhedrin. The 23 judges of the "Lesser Sanhedrin" are derived from the following exegesis : it must be possible for a " community " to vote for both conviction and exoneration ( Numbers 35:24–5 ). The minimum size of a "community" is 10 men, thus 10 vs 10. One more is required to achieve a majority (11 vs. 10), but a simple majority cannot convict ( Exodus 23:2 ), and so an additional judge

8056-401: The formation of an independent Jewish kingdom, known as the Hasmonean dynasty , which lasted from 165 BCE to 63 BCE. The Hasmonean dynasty eventually disintegrated in a civil war. The people, who did not want to continue to be governed by a Hellenized dynasty, appealed to Rome for intervention, leading to a total Roman conquest and annexation of the country, see Iudaea province . Nevertheless,

8162-600: The formation of the Zealots during the Census of Quirinius of 6 CE, although full scale open revolt did not occur until the First Jewish–Roman War in 66 CE. Historian H. H. Ben-Sasson has proposed that the "Crisis under Caligula " (37–41) was the "first open break" between Rome and the Jews even though tension already existed during the census in 6 CE and under Sejanus (before 31 CE). Rabbinic tradition holds that

8268-421: The holiday of Tisha B'Av . After the suppression of the revolt the vast majority of Jews were sent into exile; shortly thereafter (around 200), Judah haNasi edited together judgments and traditions into an authoritative code, the Mishnah . This marks the transformation of Pharisaic Judaism into Rabbinic Judaism. Although the rabbis traced their origins to the Pharisees, Rabbinic Judaism nevertheless involved

8374-462: The king and later, after the king's death, against Gaius Julius Caesar . During Gabinius's time in Egypt, Syria had been devastated by robbers, and Alexander, son of Aristobulus , had again taken up arms with the object of depriving Hyrcanus II of the high-priesthood. Gabinius marched into Judea and defeated Alexander near Mount Tabor killing 10,000 of Alexander's men. With some difficulty Gabinius restored order in Syria, and in 54 BC handed over

8480-404: The last universal decision made by the Great Sanhedrin. Gamaliel VI (400–425) was the Sanhedrin's last president. With his death in 425, Theodosius II outlawed the title of Nasi , the last remains of the ancient Sanhedrin. An imperial decree of 426 diverted the patriarchs' tax ( post excessum patriarchorum ) into the imperial treasury. The exact reason for the abrogation of the patriarchate

8586-584: The name Sanhedrin was dropped and its decisions were issued under the name of Beit HaMidrash (house of learning). The last universally binding decision of the Great Sanhedrin appeared in 358 when the Hebrew calendar was established. The Great Sanhedrin was finally disbanded in 425. Over the centuries, attempts have been made to revive the institution, such as the Grand Sanhedrin convened by Napoleon Bonaparte and modern attempts in Israel . In

8692-642: The opinions of the Tannaim. The rabbis of the Gemara are known as Amoraim (sing. Amora אמורא ). Much of the Gemara consists of legal analysis. The starting point for the analysis is usually a legal statement found in a Mishnah. The statement is then analyzed and compared with other statements used in different approaches to biblical exegesis in rabbinic Judaism (or—simpler— interpretation of text in Torah study ) exchanges between two (frequently anonymous and sometimes metaphorical) disputants, termed

8798-616: The other hand, mainstream Judaism began to reject Hellenistic currents, outlawing use of the Septuagint (see also the Council of Jamnia ). Remaining currents of Hellenistic Judaism may have merged into Gnostic movements in the early centuries CE. In the later part of the Second Temple period (2nd century BCE), the Second Commonwealth of Judea ( Hasmonean Kingdom ) was established and religious matters were determined by

8904-521: The patronage of Pompey . His name is mostly associated with the lex Gabinia , a law he passed as tribune of the plebs in 67 BC that granted Pompey an extraordinary command in the Mediterranean Sea to fight the pirates. In 67 BC, as a tribune of the plebs , Gabinius brought forward the law ( Lex Gabinia ) which gave Pompey the command in the war against Mediterranean pirates , with extensive powers that gave him absolute control over

9010-544: The period after Judah haNasi's death, which could not have been written by Judah haNasi himself). According to the Iggeret of Sherira Gaon , after the tremendous upheaval caused by the destruction of the Temple and the Bar Kokhba revolt, the Oral Torah was in danger of being forgotten. It was for this reason that Judah haNasi chose to redact the Mishnah. In addition to redacting the Mishnah, Judah haNasi and his court also ruled on which opinions should be followed, although

9116-525: The post-Second Temple era. Rather, it sees the Judaism of this period as continuing organically from the religious and cultural heritage of the Israelites, stemming from the Law given to Moses at Sinai onwards. According to this view, while the title rabbi was not used earlier, Moses was the first rabbi (and is commonly referred to by Orthodox Jews as "Moses our Rabbi"), with the knowledge and laws received at Sinai being passed down from teachers to students through

9222-466: The province to his successor, Marcus Licinius Crassus . The Roman equites (knights), who as tax collectors had suffered heavy losses during the disturbances in Syria, were greatly embittered against Gabinius, and, when he appeared in the Senate to give an account of his governorship, he was brought to trial on three counts, all involving a capital offence. On the charge of maiestas ( high treason ) incurred by having left his province for Egypt without

9328-528: The result of the destruction of the Jewish commonwealth in the year 70 CE and the consequent upheaval of Jewish social and legal norms. As the rabbis were required to face a new reality—mainly Judaism without a Temple (to serve as the center of teaching and study) and Judea without autonomy—there was a flurry of legal discourse and the old system of oral scholarship could not be maintained. It is during this period that rabbinic discourse began to be recorded in writing. The earliest recorded oral law may have been of

9434-645: The rulings do not always appear in the text. As he went through the tractates, the Mishnah was set forth, but throughout his life some parts were updated as new information came to light. Because of the proliferation of earlier versions, it was deemed too hard to retract anything already released, and therefore a second version of certain laws were released. The Talmud refers to these differing versions as Mishnah Rishonah ("First Mishnah") and Mishnah Acharonah ("Last Mishnah"). David Zvi Hoffmann suggests that Mishnah Rishonah actually refers to texts from earlier sages upon which Judah haNasi based his Mishnah. One theory

9540-643: The sea and the coasts for 50 miles inland. Through Gabinius' two other measures, loans of money to foreign ambassadors in Rome were made actionable (as a check on the corruption of the Senate) and the Senate was ordered to give audiences to foreign envoys on certain fixed days (February 1 – March 1) each year. From 66–62 BC, during the final phases of the Third Mithridatic War , Gabinius served Pompey as

9646-631: The term was explicitly sectarian. The rabbis claimed leadership over all Jews, and added to the Amidah the birkat haMinim , a prayer which in part exclaims, "Praised are You O Lord, who breaks enemies and defeats the arrogant," and which is understood as a rejection of sectarians and sectarianism. This shift by no means resolved conflicts over the interpretation of the Torah; rather, it relocated debates between sects to debates within Rabbinic Judaism. The survival of Pharisaic or Rabbinic Judaism

9752-468: The three centuries following the redaction of the Mishnah by Judah ha-Nasi (c. 200 CE), rabbis throughout Palestine and Babylonia analyzed, debated and discussed that work. These discussions form the Gemara ( גמרא ). Gemara means "completion" (from the Hebrew gamar גמר : "to complete") or "learning" (from the Aramaic : "to study"). The Gemara mainly focuses on elucidating and elaborating

9858-490: The vast majority of Jews. Two organized groups remained: the Early Christians , and Pharisees . Some scholars, such as Daniel Boyarin and Paula Fredricksen, suggest that it was at this time, when Christians and Pharisees were competing for leadership of the Jewish people, that accounts of debates between Jesus and the apostles, debates with Pharisees, and anti-Pharisaic passages, were written and incorporated into

9964-405: The view of the sages collectively ( Hebrew : חכמים , hachamim ) is given separately. The Talmud records a tradition that unattributed statements of the law represent the views of Rabbi Meir (Sanhedrin 86a), which supports the theory (recorded by Rav Sherira Gaon in his famous Iggeret ) that he was the author of an earlier collection. For this reason, the few passages that actually say "this

10070-525: Was a Jewish high court convened by Napoleon I to give legal sanction to the principles expressed by the Assembly of Notables in answer to the twelve questions submitted to it by the government. It did not follow the halakhic procedures of the traditional Sanhedrin. On 6 October 1806, the Assembly of Notables issued a proclamation to all the Jewish communities of Europe, inviting them to send delegates to

10176-591: Was attacked by the Dalmatians and with difficulty made his way to Salona . There Gabinius defended himself against the attacks of the Pompeian commander, Marcus Octavius, but a few months later died of illness (48 BC or the beginning of 47 BC). Gabinius married a Roman noblewoman called Lollia from the Lollia gens , perhaps a daughter of Marcus Lollius Palicanus , tribune of the plebs in 71 BC. Lollia bore him

10282-434: Was called Synhedrion or Sanhedrin. The exact nature of this early Sanhedrin is not clear. It may have been a body of sages or priests, or a political, legislative and judicial institution. The first historical record of the body was during the administration of Aulus Gabinius , who, according to Josephus, organized five synedra in 57 BCE as Roman administration was not concerned with religious affairs unless sedition

10388-585: Was forbidden to write down the Oral Torah, but after the destruction of the Second Temple , it was decided to write it down in the form of the Talmud and other rabbinic texts for the sake of preservation. Rabbinic Judaism contrasts with the Sadducees , Karaite Judaism , and Samaritanism , which do not recognize the Oral Torah as a divine authority nor the rabbinic procedures used to interpret Jewish scripture. Although there are now profound differences among Jewish denominations of Rabbinic Judaism with respect to

10494-458: Was found guilty, in spite of evidence offered on his behalf by Pompey and witnesses from Alexandria and the eloquence of Cicero, who had been induced to plead his cause. Nothing but Cicero's wish to do a favour to Pompey could have induced him to take on the task. Commentators hint that the half-heartedness of Cicero's defence contributed to Gabinius's condemnation. The third charge, that of ambitus (illegalities committed during his canvassing for

10600-514: Was necessary only for a 23-member panel (functioning as a Lesser Sanhedrin) to convene. In general, the full panel of 71 judges was convened only on matters of national significance ( e.g. , a declaration of war) or when the 23-member panel failed to reach a conclusive verdict. By the end of the Second Temple period, the Sanhedrin reached its pinnacle of importance, legislating all aspects of Jewish religious and political life within parameters laid down by Biblical and Rabbinic tradition. The following

10706-404: Was prescribed for any Rabbi who received ordination, as well as complete destruction of the town where the ordination occurred. However, since the Hebrew calendar was based on witnesses' testimony, which had become far too dangerous to collect, rabbi Hillel II recommended change to a mathematically based calendar that was adopted at a clandestine, and maybe final, meeting in 358 CE. This marked

10812-469: Was presided over by the Nasi , who functioned as its head or representing president, and was a member of the court; the Av Beit Din or the chief of the court, who was second to the nasi ; and 69 general members. In the Second Temple period , the Great Sanhedrin met in the Temple in Jerusalem , in a building called the Hall of Hewn Stones . The Great Sanhedrin convened every day except festivals and

10918-407: Was replaced with prayer service in synagogues which built upon practices of Jews in the diaspora dating back to the Babylonian exile. As the rabbis were required to face two shattering new realities, Judaism without a Temple (to serve as the center of teaching and study) and Judea without autonomy, there was a flurry of legal discourse and the old system of oral scholarship could not be maintained. It

11024-401: Was situated first at Usha , then at Bet Shearim , later at Sepphoris and finally at Tiberias . The Great Sanhedrin moved in 140 to Shefaram under the presidency of Shimon ben Gamliel II , and subsequently to Beit She'arim and later to Sepphoris , under the presidency of Judah ha-Nasi (165–220). Finally, it moved to Tiberias in 220, under the presidency of Gamaliel III (220–230),

11130-408: Was suspected. Only after the destruction of the Second Temple was the Sanhedrin made up only of sages. Josephus describes a synhedrion for the first time in connection with the decree of the Roman governor of Syria, Aulus Gabinius (57 BCE), who abolished the constitution and the then existing form of government of Palestine and divided the country into five provinces, at the head of each of which

11236-485: Was the head of the court. The Sanhedrin as a body claimed powers that lesser Jewish courts did not have. As such, they were the only ones who could try the king, extend the boundaries of the Temple and Jerusalem, and were the ones to whom all questions of law were finally put. Moreover, the lesser Sanhedrin of 23 judges was the only juridical body in Israel having the statutory and constitutional authority and power to render

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