THE GREAT SANHEDRIN

THE GREAT SANHEDRIM

Andre Widodo

© ORI

Bamidbar (Numbers) 11:16-17

16 וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהוָ֜ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֗ה אֶסְפָה־לִּ֞י שִׁבְעִ֣ים אִישׁ֮ מִזִּקְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵל֒ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יָדַ֔עְתָּ כִּי־הֵ֛ם זִקְנֵ֥י הָעָ֖ם וְשֹׁטְרָ֑יו וְלָקַחְתָּ֤ אֹתָם֙ אֶל־אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֔ד וְהִֽתְיַצְּב֥וּ שָׁ֖ם עִמָּֽךְ׃

17 וְיָרַדְתִּ֗י וְדִבַּרְתִּ֣י עִמְּךָ֮ שָׁם֒ וְאָצַלְתִּ֗י מִן־הָר֛וּחַ אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָלֶ֖יךָ וְשַׂמְתִּ֣י עֲלֵיהֶ֑ם וְנָשְׂא֤וּ אִתְּךָ֙ בְּמַשָּׂ֣א הָעָ֔ם וְלֹא־תִשָּׂ֥א אַתָּ֖ה לְבַדֶּֽךָ׃

16 HaShem said to Moshe, “Bring me 70 of the leaders of Isra’el, people you recognize as leaders of the people and officers of theirs. Bring them to the tent of meeting, and have them stand there with you.

17 I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the Spirit which rests on you and put it on them. Then they will carry the burden of the people along with you, so that you won’t carry it yourself alone.

The Great Sanhedrin was comprised of 70 elders who helped Moshe judge the people of Israel. Notice that in Num 11:17, G-d put the Spirit on 70 elders.

The Great Sanhedrin is the "Supreme Court" of Israel. The head of Sanhedrin is called "HaNasi הנשיא" which means "the prince; the president" who served the role of Moshe. And the vice president is called "Av Beit Din אב בית דין" which means "father of the court."

Pirkei Avot 1:1 says,

"Moshe received the Torah from Sinai and gave it over to Yehoshua. Yehoshua gave it over to the 70 Elders, the 70 Elders to the Prophets, and the Prophets gave it over to the Men of the Great Assembly. The Men of the Great Assembly would always say these three things: Be cautious in judgement. Establish many pupils. And make a safety fence around the Torah."

The last Jewish prophets were Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, and they put the Spirit of Authority in Num 11:17 to the Men of the Great Assembly. Ezra was the one who build the Men of Great Assembly.

The Great Sanhedrin was the continuation of the function of the Men of Great Assembly. During the Second Temple period, the Great Sanhedrin was regarded as the final authority on Jewish Law.

Yeshua acknowledged it.

Mattityahu (Matthew) 23:2-3

2 “The Torah-teachers and the P’rushim,” he said, “sit in the seat of Moshe.

3 So whatever they tell you, take care to do it. But don’t do what they do, because they talk but don’t act!

After the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD, a Sanhedrin in Yavneh took over many of its functions under the authority of Rabban Gamliel. The Rabbis in the Sanhedrin served as judges and establish discipleship to learn the Oral Traditions and the Pharisaic scriptural interpretation.

From Yavneh, the Sanhedrin moved to several cities in Galilee, and ended up in Tiberias.

Today, the Rabbinical Institution is the continuation of the Great Sanhedrin, and the chain of authority is kept from the time of Moshe in Num 11:17, until now.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=num+11%3A16-17&version=CJB

PARASHAT KI TISA - 2 TABLETS OF STONE (SAPPHIRE STONE)

PARASHAT KI TISA - 2 TABLETS OF STONE (SAPPHIRE STONE)
Andre Widodo
© ORI

Shalom,

Next Shabbat on Parashat KI TISA

Shemot (Exodus) 31:18
And He gave unto Moshe, when He had made an end of speaking with him upon Mt. Sinai, two Luchot HaEdut (Tablets of the Testimony), Luchot Even (Tablets of Stone), written with the Etzba Elohim (Finger of G-d).

LUCHOT EVEN (TABLETS OF STONE) - THE MATERIAL
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Rashi said that 2 TABLETS OF STONE were made of blue sapphire stone as a symbol of the heavens and G-d's throne, written by the finger of G-d.

http://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/9895/jewish/Chapter-34.htm#showrashi=true&v=1

LUCHOT EVEN (TABLETS OF STONE) - THE WRITING
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The most common understanding tradition of Rabbi Chanina ben Gamliel, Jerusalem Talmud, Shekalim 6:1, is that the first five commandments were written on one tablet, and the other five commandments were on the second.

The Torah describes the writing as “written on both their sides; on one side and on the other were they written.”

Shemot (Exodus) 32:15
And Moshe turned, and went down from HaHar, and the two Luchot HaEdut were in his yad; the Luchot were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written.

This means that the inscription was engraved through and through. As such, the words were clearly legible on one side and written in mirror writing on the other.

Others teach that the writing was miraculously legible on each side—in other words, although the letters were engraved all the way through, they could nevertheless be read from right to left on both sides. Rabbeinu Bechayei explains that this is because the Torah can be understood on two levels, one revealed and one hidden.

LUCHOT EVEN (TABLET STONE) - THE DIMENSION
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Tradition in Talmud Bava Batra 14a tells us that they were thick square blocks of stone, six handbreadths tall, six handbreadths wide, and three handbreadths deep. In modern measurements, that is about 18″ × 18″ × 9″. The sages of the Talmud demonstrate how tablets of this size—along with a few other relics—fit neatly into the Ark of the Covenant that Moses made as described in Exodus.

http://www.come-and-hear.com/bababathra/bababathra_14.html

Take a note that nowhere is there any mention of them having the rounded tops that are so common in the popular drawings of Moses and the tablets. This design appears to be the invention of non-Jewish artists.

KEMATIAN YESHUA ADALAH KORBAN MANUSIA? - MENJAWAB PENDAPAT ANTI-MISIONARI

KEMATIAN YESHUA ADALAH KORBAN MANUSIA? - MENJAWAB PENDAPAT ANTI-MISIONARI Andre Widodo © ORI Shalom, Sudah sering kali kita mendengar gerakan anti-misionari yang berpendapat bahwa Yeshua adalah bukan Mesias, dan Yeshua tidak mengajarkan Torah, karena Torah melarang KORBAN MANUSIA. Argumen yang sering mereka pakai adalah dikutip dari Devarim (Ulangan) 24:16. Devarim (Ulangan) 24:16 לֹֽא־יוּמְת֤וּ אָבוֹת֙ עַל־בָּנִ֔ים וּבָנִ֖ים לֹא־יוּמְת֣וּ עַל־אָב֑וֹת אִ֥ישׁ בְּחֶטְא֖וֹ יוּמָֽתוּ׃ ס Janganlah ayah dihukum mati karena anaknya, janganlah juga anak dihukum mati karena ayahnya; setiap orang harus dihukum mati karena dosanya sendiri. Kalimat "אִ֥ישׁ בְּחֶטְא֖וֹ יוּמָֽתוּ... ...ish b'chet.o yu.ma.tu ...setiap orang harus dihukum karena dosanya sendiri. Kalimat di atas sering dipakai oleh kelompok anti-misionari untuk menyatakan bahwa kematian Yeshua di kayu salib adalah sebuah KORBAN MANUSIA. Dan Torah melarang KORBAN MANUSIA. Berdasarkan Torah, setiap manusia harus dihukum berdasarkan dosanya sendiri. Sehingga kematian Yeshua untuk menebus dosa manusia adalah suatu hal yang dianggap melanggar Torah oleh kelompok anti-misionari. Bagaimana kita merespond argumen dari kelompok anti-misionari ini? Pertama-tama kita perlu mengetahui bahwa di dalam Torah terdapat mitzvah (perintah) tentang "עין תחת עין שן תחת שן [ayin tachat ayin shen tachat shen]", yaitu "mata ganti mata, gigi ganti gigi." Vayikra (Imamat) 24:20 שֶׁ֚בֶר תַּ֣חַת שֶׁ֔בֶר עַ֚יִן תַּ֣חַת עַ֔יִן שֵׁ֖ן תַּ֣חַת שֵׁ֑ן כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר יִתֵּ֥ן מוּם֙ בָּֽאָדָ֔ם כֵּ֖ן יִנָּ֥תֶן בּֽוֹ׃ patah ganti patah, mata ganti mata, gigi ganti gigi; seperti dibuatnya orang lain bercacat, begitulah harus dibuat kepadanya. Kemudian Torah juga menjelaskan: Vayikra (Imamat) 17:11 כִּ֣י נֶ֣פֶשׁ הַבָּשָׂר֮ בַּדָּ֣ם הִוא֒ וַאֲנִ֞י נְתַתִּ֤יו לָכֶם֙ עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חַ לְכַפֵּ֖ר עַל־נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶ֑ם כִּֽי־הַדָּ֥ם ה֖וּא בַּנֶּ֥פֶשׁ יְכַפֵּֽר׃ Karena nyawa makhluk ada di dalam darahnya dan Aku telah memberikan darah itu kepadamu di atas mezbah untuk mengadakan pendamaian bagi nyawamu, karena darah mengadakan pendamaian dengan perantaraan nyawa. כי-נפש הבשר בדם... ki-ne.fesh ha.ba.sar ba.dam... Karena nyawa mahluk ada di dalam darahnya... Nyawa seeker binatang, ada di dalam darah binatang itu sendiri. Demikian juga, nyawa seorang manusia, ada di dalam darah manusia sendiri. Problematika terbesar seluruh umat manusia adalah, dosa manusia yang dilakukan oleh Adam dan Chava. Akibat dari dosa, maka manusia harus mati. Sesuai mitzvah Torah "עין תחת עין שן תחת שן [ayin tachat ayin shen tachat shen]", yaitu "mata ganti mata, gigi ganti gigi", maka kerusakan / kematian nyawa yang diakibatkan oleh dosa Adam - Chava harus digantikan juga dengan nyawa seorang manusia yang tidak berdosa. Talmud Baba Kamma 83b mengatakan: Baba Kamma 83b MISHNAH. ONE WHO INJURES A FELLOW MAN BECOMES LIABLE TO HIM FOR FIVE ITEMS: FOR DEPRECIATION, FOR PAIN, FOR HEALING, FOR LOSS OF TIME AND FOR DEGRADATION. HOW IS IT WITH 'DEPRECIATION'? IF HE PUT OUT HIS EYE, CUT OFF HIS ARM OR BROKE HIS LEG, THE INJURED PERSON IS CONSIDERED AS IF HE WERE A SLAVE BEING SOLD IN THE MARKET PLACE, AND A VALUATION IS MADE AS TO HOW MUCH HE WAS WORTH [PREVIOUSLY]. AND HOW MUCH HE IS WORTH [NOW]. 'PAIN' — IF HE BURNT HIM EITHER WITH A SPIT OR WITH A NAIL, EVEN THOUGH ON HIS [FINGER] NAIL WHICH IS A PLACE WHERE NO BRUISE COULD BE MADE, IT HAS TO BE CALCULATED HOW MUCH A MAN OF EQUAL STANDING WOULD REQUIRE TO BE PAID TO UNDERGO SUCH PAIN. 'HEALING' — IF HE HAS STRUCK HIM, HE IS UNDER OBLIGATION TO PAY MEDICAL EXPENSES. SHOULD ULCERS [MEANWHILE] ARISE ON HIS BODY, IF AS A RESULT OF THE WOUND, THE OFFENDER WOULD BE LIABLE, BUT IF NOT AS A RESULT OF THE WOUND, HE WOULD BE EXEMPT. WHERE THE WOUND WAS HEALED BUT REOPENED, HEALED AGAIN BUT REOPENED, HE WOULD STILL BE UNDER OBLIGATION TO HEAL HIM. IF, HOWEVER, IT HAD COMPLETELY HEALED [BUT HAD SUBSEQUENTLY REOPENED] HE WOULD NO MORE BE UNDER OBLIGATION TO HEAL HIM. 'LOSS OF TIME' — THE INJURED PERSON IS CONSIDERED AS IF HE WERE A WATCHMAN OF CUCUMBER BEDS [SO THAT THE LOSS OF SUCH WAGES SUSTAINED BY HIM DURING THE PERIOD OF ILLNESS MAY BE REIMBURSED TO HIM]. FOR THERE HAS ALREADY BEEN PAID TO HIM THE VALUE OF HIS HAND OR THE VALUE OF HIS LEG [THROUGH WHICH DEPRIVATION HE WOULD NO MORE BE ABLE TO CARRY ON HIS PREVIOUS EMPLOYMENT]. 'DEGRADATION' — ALL TO BE ESTIMATED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE STATUS OF THE OFFENDER AND THE OFFENDED. GEMARA It was taught: R. Dosthai b. Judah says: Eye for eye means pecuniary compensation. You say pecuniary compensation, but perhaps it is not so, but actual retaliation [by putting out an eye] is meant? What then will you say where the eye of one was big and the eye of the other little, for how can I in this case apply the principle of eye for eye? If, however, you say that in such a case pecuniary compensation will have to be taken, did not the Torah state, Ye shall have one manner of law, implying that the manner of law should be the same in all cases? I might rejoin: What is the difficulty even in that case? Why not perhaps say that for eyesight taken away the Divine Law ordered eyesight to be taken away from the offender? For if you will not say this, how could capital punishment be applied in the case of a dwarf killing a giant or a giant killing a dwarf, seeing that the Torah says, Ye shall have one manner of law, implying that the manner of law should be the same in all cases, unless you say that for a life taken away the Divine Law ordered the life of the murderer to be taken away? Why then not similarly say here too that for eyesight taken away the Divine Law ordered eyesight to be taken away from the offender? Abbaye said: [The principle of pecuniary compensation] could be derived from the teaching of the School of Hezekiah. For the School of Hesekiah taught: Eye for eye, life for life, but not 'life and eye for eye'. Now if you assume that actual retaliation is meant, it could sometimes happen that eye and life would be taken for eye, as while the offender is being blinded, his soul might depart from him. But what difficulty is this? perhaps what it means is that we have to form an estimate, and only if the offender will be able to stand it will retaliation be adopted, but if he will not be able to stand it, retaliation will not be adopted? And if after we estimate that he would be able to stand it and execute retaliation it so happens that his spirit departs from him, [there is nobody to blame,] as if he dies, let him die. For have we not learnt regarding lashes: 'Where according to estimation he should be able to stand them, but it happened that he died under the hand of the officer of the court, there is exemption [from any blame of manslaughter]'. Devarim (Ulangan) 19:21 וְלֹ֥א תָח֖וֹס עֵינֶ֑ךָ נֶ֣פֶשׁ בְּנֶ֗פֶשׁ עַ֤יִן בְּעַ֙יִן֙ שֵׁ֣ן בְּשֵׁ֔ן יָ֥ד בְּיָ֖ד רֶ֥גֶל בְּרָֽגֶל׃ ס Janganlah engkau merasa sayang kepadanya, sebab berlaku: nyawa ganti nyawa, mata ganti mata, gigi ganti gigi, tangan ganti tangan, kaki ganti kaki." נפש בנפש עין בעין שן בשן... ne.fesh b'ne.fesh a.yin b'a.yin shen b'shin... nyawa ganti nyawa, mata ganti mata, gigi ganti gigi... Nyawa umat manusia yang hilang akibat dosa Adam - Chava, sesuai dengan aturan עין תחת עין ayin tachat ayin, harus digantikan dengan nyawa manusia juga. Tidak bisa digantikan dengan nyawa binatang. Dan seperti halnya dibutuhkan nyawa binatang yang tidak bercacat yang harus dikorbankan, maka demikian juga halnya dengan nyawa manusia yang tidak berdosa dibutuhkan untuk menggantikan, untuk memberikan retribusi terhadap kerusakan yang disebabkan oleh Adam - Chava. Yeshua, sebagai manusia tidak berdosa, adalah bukan KORBAN MANUSIA seperti yang dituduhkan oleh anti-misionari. Tetapi sebenarnya adalah perwujudan dari Torah mengenai aturan עין תחת עין ayin tachat ayin. KORBAN MANUSIA memang dilarang di dalam Torah. Tetapi perlu diingat bahwa Judaisme mengenal prinsip tikkun olam תיקון עולם yaitu "memperbaiki / menggantikan kerusakan yang sudah terjadi dengan kebaikan." Dan kematian Yeshua di kayu salib adalah sebuah tikkun olam תיקון עולם terhadap kerusakan yang sudah dibuat oleh Adam - Chava. Aturan עין תחת עין ayin tachat ayin, mata ganti mata, נפש בנפש nefesh b'nefesh, nyawa ganti nyawa adalah salah satu mitzvah di dalam Torah. Kematian Yeshua adalah sebuah wujud נפש בנפש nefesh b'nefesh, nyawa ganti nyawa untuk memperbaiki kerusakan yang disebabkan oleh Adam - Chava.