On October 13th of 2004, the Sanhedrin were re-established in Jerusalem after about 1600 years of non-existence. These 71 secretly selected rabbis reconstituted what historically was the highest Jewish legal-judicial tribunal in the Land of Israel.
Why were they re-established? Initially the purpose of the revival of the Sanhedrin was only vaguely addressed, but it was known from Talmudic tradition that Elijah the Prophet is to present himself before a duly-ordained Sanhedrin when he announces the coming of the Messiah. Indeed, the Sanhedrin have subsequently stated that one of their objectives is to re-institute the Davidic monarchy in Israel. In other words, they are preparing for their messiah's appearance and the crowning of a new king.
The newly established Sanhedrin are also becoming a political presence in Israel, recently being in conflict with the Israeli government's removal of settlers from Gaza. The Sanhedrin issued a statement saying, among other things, that "The Government of Israel and the Knesset, in their present form and power structure, do not constitute institutions that have any authority according to halacha to render decisions that contradict the Torah of Israel".
Recently, the Sanhedrin issued a statement calling for all those that are working on the Temple to begin preparing detailed architectural plans for the construction of the Holy Temple. This statement also called for the plans to be prepared so that prefabricated, disassembled components of the structure could be stored and ready to be rapidly assembled, as in the manner of King David.
The appearance of the Sanhedrin upon the scene in Israel after a long absence is noteworthy. We will be hearing more from them in the near future.
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