Sanhedrin

The Sanhedrin was the supreme religious and legal council in ancient Judaism. The term derives from a Hebrew root meaning to sit together or an assembly. In its classic form, the Great Sanhedrin consisted of 71 members, including a nasi (president) and an av bet din (vice-president), along with the leading sages and judges of the time. Its members were known as the Chachamim or sages.

The body’s functions included interpreting and applying Torah law, resolving questions of ritual purity and Sabbath observance, and administering civil and criminal matters within the Jewish community. In capital cases, the death penalty could be administered by the Sanhedrin, typically requiring a standard of substantial judgment by a panel of judges (commonly described as 23 in certain judicial settings).

Historically, the Great Sanhedrin met in the Hall of Hewn Stone in Jerusalem while the Temple stood. After the Temple’s destruction in 70 CE, Rabbinic sources recount that the Sanhedrin continued in a reduced form and later relocated, functioning in places such as Yavne under Rabbinic leadership, with authority that gradually diminished over the centuries. By late antiquity, the Great Sanhedrin had largely ceased to function as a central governing body, though smaller Sanhedrins of 23 judges persisted in various communities for some time. The overall dissolution is commonly placed in the 4th or early 5th century, with differing accounts about the exact timeline.

In modern times, there have been attempts to reestablish a Sanhedrin of 71 judges, but such bodies have not achieved universal or wide legal recognition.