The Great Sanhedrin

Abstract

The religious legal system is a normative system based on the law revealed by God (Jewish, Christian, Islamic). The Holy Scriptures (Holy Bible, Koran) are the most important source of law, they are unchangeable and eternal, and every believer is obliged to observe them and live according to them. Therefore, societies based on religious law recognize the outstanding value of law, but perceive it differently than in the case of Western legal systems. Religious rules, as legislation, regulate not only the spiritual life of believers, but also their everyday life (eating, dressing, washing, etc.). In contrast to the secularized countries of Christian Europe, where church and state are separated, in several countries of the Islamic world Shari’a law is still applied, while religious law remains authoritative in the field of family law in Jewish communities. There are still rabbinic courts all over the world, to which believers bring their family matters.  In this study, we examine the Jewish justice system, especially the Supreme Court, the Great Sanhedrin (Synod, Gerousia) which for centuries performed the functions of law enforcement, legal interpretation, and legal analysis.