* The Sanhedrin is "seeking to re-establish Jewish legal tradition after 2,000 years of exile."
As I said in a previous post, the reconvening of the Sanhedrin is just as important a "sign" of the times as was the re-establishment of the State of Israel after almost 2,000 years. We often want everything to come together at once.....yet after Israel was (re)born in 1948, it took another 19 years of "growing" before she came of age and reunified Jerusalem. I believe, as others do, that 1967 was the key that opened the understanding of what Jesus said about "the generation which would not pass till all things be fulfilled."
The re-establishment of the Sanhedrin is yet another prophetic mile-marker in these last days before the Second Coming of Yeshua HaMashiach. Just as certain things must be established as a foundation for things to come, the rebirth of Israel and the re-establishement of the Sanhedrin all have to be "in place" before He comes again.
The most asked question I received was, "Where in Scripture does it SAY the Sanhedrin would -or must- be in existence before the Second Coming?"
God says in Isaiah 1:18, "Come now, and let us reason together, saith
the Lord......" We must begin by reasoning from
God's Word. We, here at the Doves, for the past 6-7 years or so,
have been trying to chart our way through these end times. Yet, most
will agree, there are some things that we have not even considered - one
of them being the reformation of the Sanhedrin....especially as a sign
post along the way. It has hardly ever been mentioned and never developed
as a topic of relevance. That's because it has been obscure to us
- until now.
It's
re-establishment should cause us to consider it's relevance.....and "why
now?" So....let us reason together......
In Matthew 21, we see "a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees and strawed them in the way. And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest."
Multitudes accepted Him as the son of David at His prophetic Triumphal Entry on Palm Sunday 4 days before He was crucified.......and the Scriptures clearly show us WHO the "blind guides, fools, & outwardly righteous hypocrites (who had rejected Him) were....the leaders, the Sanhedrin, only TWO DAYS BEFORE He went to the cross!
In Matt. 23:1 He begins by speaking to the multitude who had accepted Him and to His disciples, describing those leaders who sit in the seat of Moses (The Sanhedrin).....then by verse 13, He turns to speaking directly TO those very leaders, saying "woe unto YOU, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!" And He goes on calling them such over and over.
Then we come to the verses in which He speaks of what will come upon "this generation" and He seems to agonize over all of Jerusalem herself......saying, "Behold your house is left unto you desolate." And He is indeed saying this to "Jerusalem"....why?.....because as we read in verse 3, "All therefore whatsoever THEY (those who sit in Moses seat) bid you observe, that observe and do; but DO NOT YE AFTER THEIR WORKS: FOR THEY SAY, AND DO NOT." And thus He goes on to describe their proud, arrogant, hypocritical attitude and acts. In other words, even though multitudes believed Him, they would still end up following their hypocritical leaders as they had always done.
What we see in Matthew 23 is Yeshua exposing the leaders, (those who sit in Moses seat).....and then His addressing them DIRECTLY......and then His lament that Jerusalem follows in the footsteps of those very leaders.....and then, most crucial of all, the very last statement He makes in this chapter > "YOU shall not see me again UNTIL YOU shall SAY, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord."
So, REASON it out........grammatically speaking, Yeshua is saying this TO the leaders, the scribes and Pharisees, THE SANHEDRIN!!!! Doesn't REASON tell you, then, that those very leaders WILL be present when He returns?
The second statement that stood out to me in the article below was, "Not
only are we commanded to establish the Sanhedrin," Rabbi Richman told Arutz-7's
Yosef Meiri, "but this seems to be the perfect time to do so - a time of
Divine will."
A
time of Divine will. I believe God is in control of His Divine
will in His own Divine time and this happens to be it! And
thus, my previous statement > "How close can the Second Coming BE
?"
In the third statement that stood out, the word generation caught my eye...."the Sanhedrin is carefully moving ahead, strictly adhering to the guidelines set out by Maimonides, who classified the obligation to reestablish the Sanhedrin as one that is incumbent upon every generation." However, it just so happens that THIS is the generation that has done so! The identity of "which generation" Yeshua was speaking of (that would not pass till all things be fulfilled) is that second generation of the NATION of Israel which came of age 19 years after her birth.... the one which was "born in a day" and "grew leaves" and thus began the countdown for THIS GENERATION.
I realize there are different lengths of time which can describe a "generation;" however, it was God who described that FIRST GENERATION of Israel as being a NATION.....and the only other time it has ever BEEN a Nation began in 1948. And according to the parable of the fig tree, that generation must "grow leaves" before it came of age.....came of age to do what? >>>> to reunify Jerusalem for the first time in 2,000 years! Yes, it just so happens that THIS IS THE GENERATION which re-established, re-formed, and resurrected THE SANHEDRIN!....whom Yeshua said would acknowledge His coming as blessed!
The fourth statement, "...71 rabbis actually convened and officially reinstated the Sanhedrin. We believe these achievements are irreversible.” in my opinion, demonstrates an emphasis on the importance of what has taken place.....as well as the next statement, "Sanhedrin organizers insist that the reinstatement ceremony was neither just a show nor a one-time phenomenon, but is rather Halakhically-sound and a true beginning."
They may think it's a "true beginning" but I believe it to be another sign post along the way, pointing to the soon return of the son of David, Yeshua the King!
The last statement which stood out to me in the article was,
"...the
Sanhedrin is alive, and has begun the long road towards its chief goal
of restoring the crown of Torah to its former glory."
I
don't think they would understand the significance of that almost prophetic
statement, but WE should.....after all, the Torah is the Word of God......and
Yeshua is the Living Word of God! They certainly WILL crown the embodiment
of the Torah, Yeshua HaMashiach, the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, the
son of David, the son of man, the SON OF GOD!....just as Yeshua said they
would in Matthew 23! (Arutz article below)
Shalom, Sherry Vance
Sanhedrin
Rabbis Discuss Sublime, Procedural Issues
Jewish
World
ing
Edge Newsletter Noticeing Edge Newsletter Notice The 71 rabbis seeking
to fulfill the Biblical commandment of renewing the Sanhedrin continue
to meet regularly, solidifying their organizational structure and establishing
an agenda of topics.
Their most recent meeting was this week, in which they discussed technical and procedural issues, topics for their agenda, and the Halakhic [Jewish legal] and other ramifications of renewing the Passover sacrifice.
The rabbis held a festive ceremony this past October 13th, the 28th day of the Jewish month of Tishrei, inaugurating the Sanhedrin as Judaism's supreme legal body. They stress that by doing so, they are merely fulfilling a Biblical mitzvah (obligation). “It is a special mitzvah , based on our presence in Israel, to establish a Sanhedrin,” Rabbi Meir HaLevi, one of the 71 members of the new Sanhedrin, has explained. “The Rambam [12th-century Torah scholar Maimonides] describes the process exactly in the Mishnah Torah [his seminal work codifying Jewish Law]. When he wrote it, there was no Sanhedrin, and he therefore outlines the steps necessary to establish one."
A religious-legal assembly of 71 Sages that convened in the Holy Temple and for several centuries after its destruction, the Sanhedrin was the highest Jewish judicial tribunal in the Land of Israel. Organizers of the current edition stress that they are still in a transitional phase, and that though today's members are all Torah scholars and experts in many secular and scientific fields, every one of them has agreed to step aside the moment a more deserving candidate should step forward.
Meeting in Jerusalem’s Old City, the Sanhedrin consists of representatives of all stripes of religious Jewish society. Hareidi-religious, Hassidic, national-religious, Ashkenazi, Sephardic, modern Orthodox and university professors sit side by side in a semi-circle, seeking to re-establish Jewish legal tradition after 2,000 years of exile.
"We can make a real difference," said one member, Rabbi Chaim Richman of Jerusalem. "Many cardinal issues are on the public agenda, and our body – which is totally based on Torah, even down to its rules and regulations – is naturally geared to deal with them. Issues such as agunot (estranged women whose husbands refuse to give them a divorce), abortions, traffic safety, economic issues, education, and so much more."
"Not only are we commanded to establish the Sanhedrin," Rabbi Richman told Arutz-7's Yosef Meiri, "but this seems to be the perfect time to do so - a time of Divine will. On the one hand, there is a spiritual void in the 'establishment,' and on the other hand, there is a real thirst among the public for spirituality and guidance."
The Sanhedrin's takanon, document of regulations, is still undergoing final adjustments prior to its official adoption. A permanent Nassi, President, and Av Beit HaDin, literally, Court Father, still must be elected. The continuing role of the Vaad HaMechonen , the founding committee that has led the Sanhedrin thus far, also needs to be determined. But the Sanhedrin is carefully moving ahead, strictly adhering to the guidelines set out by Maimonides, who classified the obligation to reestablish the Sanhedrin as one that is incumbent upon every generation.
“The Sanhedrin is past its greatest initial hurdles,” a spokesman told IsraelNN's Ezra HaLevi, “namely, the return of genuine semikha [authentic rabbinical ordination] to Israel, and the historic meeting in Tiberias in Tishrei, at which 71 rabbis actually convened and officially reinstated the Sanhedrin. We believe these achievements are irreversible.”
Contrary to the expected criticism, Sanhedrin organizers insist that the reinstatement ceremony was neither just a show nor a one-time phenomenon, but is rather Halakhically-sound and a true beginning.
The
rabbis were asked to prepare topics they thought the Sanhedrin should deal
with, and a fascinating array of topics was produced. In addition to those
mentioned above by Rabbi Richman, the list included such issues as:
*
uniform kashrut certification
*
the precise length of the biblical cubit (with ramifications on many issues,
including the location of the altar on the Temple Mount)
*
unemployment
*
assisting Anousim from Spain and Portugal and others whose ancestors were
forced to convert
*
lost Jewish tribes from other parts of the world
*
unifying Sephardic and Ashkenazi practices on issues such as prayer liturgy,
kitniyot (legumes) on Passover, and glass utensils
*
the Sanhedrin's decision-making procedures
*
foreign workers
*
unifying the religious parties
*
restoring the Davidic monarchy
*
an ethical code for Israel's army (as opposed to the present one, which
is based largely on secular sources)
*
the establishment of regional "small Sanhedrins"
*
the long-missing "t'chelet" blue color
*
sending delegations around the country to hear people's concerns,
and
much more.
Though a lecture on renewing the Paschal offering was delivered at the last meeting, not all of the 71 are yet convinced that the time is ripe for it. Various opinions were put forth, including by those opposed to the renewal of the Passover offering until the exact location of the Temple altar is determined through prophecy.
"The real achievement of the meeting was that rabbis from such diverse backgrounds could sit together to discuss such an issue," said Rabbi Michael S. Bar-Ron, an associate of the Sanhedrin from Beit Shemesh. " It demonstrated that the Sanhedrin is alive, and has begun the long road towards its chief goal of restoring the crown of Torah to its former glory."
As expected, the issue of the disengagement came up, but the acting Nassi refused to allow the discussion until at least one rabbi supporting the plan could be found to present a sincere argument supporting it. No one could be found, and the topic was dropped.
"The
Sanhedrin aims to inspire the Jewish people," Rabbi Richman said, "not
coerce them. Via 'ways of pleasantness,' we will achieve a renewal of unified
Jewish observance and practice."
~~~~~