robison@eosp1.UUCP (Tobias D. Robison) (05/22/84)
References: It would be difficult to reform a meaningful Sanhedrin. The critical problem is whether a new Sanhedrin would represent all branches of Judaism. If all Orthodox groups are represented (there's still some bitter arguments to decide exactly what that means), then the Sanhedrin will not be affecting a large percentage of the world's Jews, who belong to conservative and reform movements. I believe that the authority of a Sanhedrin which refuses to represent so many Jews might be open to question. On the other hand, it is not easy to include these Jews in a Sanhedrin either. It is a basic tenet of Reform Judaism that each Jew may make, and interpret halacha for himself. [An aside -- starting from this point, the philosopher Rabbi Norbert Samuelson has attempted to prove that a person can simultaneously claim to be both a Christian and a reform Jew.] Conservative Jewry have vast differences with Orthodoxy and would be unlikely to submit to a forum at which their views would not prevail; the Orthodox Rabbinate is equally unlikely to submit to this confrontation if they cannot win it. In contrast, when the Sanhedrin was active previously, I doubt it ever faced a situation where a million or so Jews formally refused to accept the yoke of traditional Halacha. - Toby Robison (not Robinson!) allegra!eosp1!robison decvax!ittvax!eosp1!robison princeton!eosp1!robison