Semicha

:See related article about rabbis (who may or may not have formal semicha ("ordination").)

Attempts to revive classical semicha

Maimonides, in his Mishneh Torah, rules that "if all the Palestinian sages would unanimously agree to appoint and ordain judges, then these new ordinants would possess the full authority of the original ordained judges" (Hilchoth Sanhedrin 4:11). His code of law was accepted as normative by the majority of Jewish scholars since that time, though this section was mainly viewed as theoretical, especially because he concludes that "the matter needs deciding".

Related Topics:
Maimonides - Mishneh Torah

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Rabbi Jacob Berab's attempt to revive semicha

In 1538 Rabbi Jacob Berab of Safed, Israel, attempted to restore the traditional form of Semicha. His goal was to unify the scattered Jewish communities through the re-establishment of a new Sanhedrin. At his prompting, 25 rabbis from the Land of Israel convened; they ordained Jacob Berab as their "Chief rabbi". Berab then conferred semicha through a laying on of he hands to four rabbis, including Joseph Caro, who was later to become the author of the Shulkhan Arukh, widely viewed as the most important code of Jewish law from the 1600s onwards. Joseph Caro in turn ordained Moses Alshekh; Alshekh in turn ordained Hayyim Vital.

Related Topics:
Jacob Berab - Sanhedrin - Land of Israel - Chief rabbi - Joseph Caro - Shulkhan Arukh - Moses Alshekh - Hayyim Vital

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Berab made an error by not first obtaining the approval of the chief rabbis in Jerusalem; when Berab later asked them to accept his authority, they rejected his request and protested his attempt to re-start traditional semicha. Levi ibn Habib, the chief rabbi in Jerusalem, wrote a treatise refuting the legality of Berab?s actions (Kunteres ha-Semikhah). Rabbi David ibn Zimra (Radvaz) of Egypt was consulted, but when Berab died in 1542 the renewed form of semicha gradually ground to a halt.

Related Topics:
Jerusalem - David ibn Zimra - Egypt

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The rebirth of the modern State of Israel

In 1948, with the establishment of the modern State of Israel, the idea of restoring the traditional form of semicha and reestablishing a new "Sanhedrin" became popular among some within the religious Zionist community. Rabbi Judah Leib Maimon, Israel's first minister of religious affairs, promoted this idea. A small number of religious Zionist rabbis of Modern Orthodox Judaism's Rabbinical Council of America voiced support for this idea; some rabbis within Conservative Judaism entertained the idea as a potentially positive development. However, most secular Jews, most Haredim, and most non-Orthodox Jews did not approve of this goal. Israel's Chief Ashkenazi rabbi at the time, Isaac Herzog, was hesitant to support this goal, and the idea eventually died away.

Related Topics:
1948 - State of Israel - Sanhedrin - Religious Zionist - Judah Leib Maimon - Modern Orthodox Judaism - Rabbinical Council of America - Conservative Judaism - Haredi - Isaac Herzog

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

2004 development in Israel

On October 13, 2004, a group of mostly Israeli-born rabbis of various sects met in Jerusalem's Old City and proclaimed itself the new "Sanhedrin", citing Maimonides' writings (see above) as "justification" for their actions. In a January 2005 broadcast on the Israeli radio channel Arutz Sheva, member Rabbi Chaim Richman said of the decision that: "Not only are we commanded to establish the Sanhedrin, 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." Presently it remains unlikely that this body will gain acceptance within the Jewish community.

Related Topics:
October - 2004 - Old City - January - 2005 - Arutz Sheva - Chaim Richman

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~