Choose wise and discerning and experienced men from your tribes, and I will appoint them as your heads.’ You answered me and said, ‘The thing which you have said to do is good.’ So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and experienced men, and appointed them heads over you, leaders of thousands and of hundreds, of fifties and of tens, and officers for your tribes. — Deuteronomy 1:13-15

“You shall appoint for yourself judges and officers in all your towns which the Lord your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. You shall not distort justice; you shall not be partial, and you shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous. Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue, that you may live and possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you. — Deuteronomy 16:18-20

And you shall come to the Levitical priests and to the judge who is in office in those days, and you shall consult them, and they shall declare to you the decision. Then you shall do according to what they declare to you from that place that YHWH will choose. And you shall be careful to do according to all that they direct you. According to the instructions that they give you, and according to the decision which they pronounce to you, you shall do. You shall not turn aside from the verdict that they declare to you, either to the right hand or to the left.— Deuteronomy 17:9-11

In ancient times our ancestors had something called Sanhedrins. A Sanhedrin was a gathering of about 23-71 Israelite spiritual teachers and leaders. There tended to be smaller ones within each city and these men were responsible for governing the Israelites in the cities where they dwelt.

As the Israelites of the diaspora are returning to the Torah of Yah, a challenge that has rose among us is the need for unity. Currently we have various different camps, groups, congregations of Israelites who for the most part are “doing there on thing”.

However, if we dedicated ourselves to organizing local sanhedrins in every city that consisted of different leaders from the various different Israelites groups then unity among us can be obtained. If we had local Sanhedrins to put their knowledge and wisdom together and decide things like:

What calendar should we use? How should we wear our fringes? Should our women wear pants? Should we practice polygyny, and if so, how will it be regulated in the diaspora? Should we bring back the bride price, and if so, how much?

The list can go on and on, but these are subjects that create disunity and even hatred toward one another. This type of set up would not only create a greater sense of unity within our communities despite the camp or group you belong to, but also allow for us to obtain greater independence from our enemies whose lands we are in.

Even for disciples of Yahusha, like myself, this falls directly in line with the teachings of our Messiah in Matthew 23:1-3 where it states:

“Then Yahusha spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them.” — Matthew 23:1-3

The scribes and the Pharisees were the religious leaders of that time that made up the Sanhedrins. Yeshua taught his disciples to do what they say, though not necessarily what they do due the hypocrisy of some of them. However, the point is that Yeshua was not against the idea of a Sanhedrin, even for his own disciples. 

This idea of local Sanhedrins should be something that is considered in order to build greater unity among the different Israelite gatherings. Again, I just ask that we as Israelites think about these things and work on putting it together.

It can be as simple as contacting and asking 1-2 elders/leaders from different Israelite groups in your city if they’re interested in participating. Afterwards, set up a monthly meeting, whether that be in person or online. Whatever decisions they come to in the meetings according to principles of Torah, they can communicate that to their respective camps and groups. It can also be a place where the concerns of the Israelite community can be heard in a formal manner and be resolved.

The purpose for these local judges is to determine how Hebrew Israelites carry out Torah practices in the city they are currently dwelling. I think our ancestors were very wise in this practice and I believe, if practiced today, it would be of great benefit to our community. Shalom.