A WORD TO THE READER.

MANY books have been written by scientists of the last century, and many lengthy articles have appeared in various periodicals concerning the Jewish high court and this tract, which, if collected, would make a bulky volume in itself. However, we deem it best to inform the reader where this information can be found. The period during which the Sanhedrin was established is the main topic of their discussions. Zunz, for instance, dates it from the time of King Simeon of the Maccabees. Jost states that it began during the period of Hyrcanus. An anonymous writer in the Israelitische Annalen, Vol. I., pp. 108–134, maintains that they were established at an even earlier date, and that the Greek name “Sanhedrin” was adopted during the time of the Second Temple. In any case, Schürer, in his Jüdische Geschichte (Jewish History), wrote a lengthy article on this subject in Vol. II, pp. 188–240 (where a bibliography of the subject can be found), concluding with his opinion that the high court began at an earlier time. Z. Frankel, too, in his article Der gerichtliche Beweis (Judicial Evidence), Berlin, 1848, claims that the establishment of the jury system in the civilized world was derived from the Sanhedrin. All this was written in Germany. An English book by Rabbi Mendelsohn also treats this topic. We, too, will have something to say concerning this in our forthcoming History of the Talmud. We are inclined, in many respects, however, to accept the opinion of Reifmann, given in his Hebrew book Sanhedrin, Warsaw, 1888. He states that courts were established as early as the days of Noah, with judges including Shem, Abraham, Isaac, and Amram, continuing until Moses. Moses, in turn, established a court of seventy judges, and from that time the Supreme High Court consisted of that number (seventy-one, including Moses). Thereafter, supreme courts of twenty-three and courts of three were established at all times and wherever the Jews resided; the sages of the Second Temple named these courts "great" and "small" Sanhedrin. Reifmann’s reasons are gathered from post-biblical literature and are based upon the Bible. According to him, the three judges were to decide civil cases only, and the twenty-three [were to decide capital cases].