Q&A: Appointment of the Sanhedrin
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Appointment of the Sanhedrin
Question
According to Maimonides, does the appointment of judges to the Sanhedrin have to be carried out by the Great Court?
If there were a state governed by Jewish law, would the judges appoint the judges?
Do you think that, inspired by Hebrew law, it is correct for judges to have veto power over the selection of judges to the Supreme Court?
Best regards, Noam
Answer
There is no connection at all. First, even if Jewish law contains an improper procedure, that is not a reason to implement it outside the framework of Jewish law. Second, the role and status of the court in our system is completely different from that of the Sanhedrin (which to a large extent also served as the legislative authority).