Sanhedrin II - The Steinsaltz Talmud T30 (color), Biblieurope editions

The Talmud Steinsaltz T30

Sanhedrin II

Translated paragraph by paragraph
Commentary by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz

Drahi Edition - Color

Biblieurope Editions

The new edition of the Steinsaltz Talmud in French aims, like the previous one, to give everyone, regardless of their level, access to the Talmudic text – originally written without punctuation or vowels, in a concise style, in a mixture of Hebrew and Aramaic, a language little known to most readers.

In the second half of the ^20th century, Rabbi Steinsaltz, of blessed memory, pioneered the work of publishing a punctuated and vocalized edition in Hebrew, and later in other languages. This edition presents the correspondence of each word of the Talmud in bold, with explanations added in regular type, essential for understanding each sentence and following the Gemara step by step.

In this edition, the text of the Talmud is divided into paragraphs, translated as they appear. It includes numerous studies and halakha taken from the Steinsaltz edition in Hebrew, summarizing the main commentaries and the conclusions of the decisors on each topic addressed. It is enriched new illustrations.

At the end of each book, it includes the original text of the treatise according to the classical Vilna edition, with the commentary of Rashi – which, here, is punctuated and vocalized – and that of the Tosafot, also punctuated.

We hope that this publication will achieve the goal that Rav Steinsaltz zal sought throughout his life: to enable every Jew to know and appreciate his ancestral heritage in order to strengthen the love of the Torah among the people.

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Sanhedrin II

Sanhedrin is not merely a treatise on the judicial system. In its very essence, it is like the foundation of a sovereign and religious Jewish state. As such, it addresses all questions relating to the organization of a national entity and its institutional structures.

The Torah's provisions concerning the Jewish state rest on several fundamental axioms. A primary principle stems from the rules specific to Judaism, its thought, and the way of life of its adherents: the Creator is also the ultimate Master. He established and maintains the laws of nature, while simultaneously forging the laws of humankind. The primary source of all power is divine will. It is God who confers authority upon governmental bodies. This idea is powerfully expressed in the profession of faith of the prophet Isaiah (33:22): “For God is our judge, our lawgiver, and our king.” Enumerating the three traditional branches of power, the verse connects them all to God. He gradually transmitted them to humankind, formed in His image (Gen. 1:27), just as He entrusted them with dominion over the world and nature, so that they might continue the work of Creation.

In truth, there is no legislative power in the Jewish state, strictly speaking. All the rules and ordinances that the people of Israel have accepted in addition to the laws of the Torah are intended to fill a legal void, in the absence of precise guidance in the written or oral Torah; or to guarantee, through preventative measures, the application of the divine word. The only legislative power is that of God himself and, more specifically, of the Torah, the expression of the divine Will and the eternal source of Law.

That being said, legislative power has been delegated entirely to the Sages of each era, who alone are authorized to explain the rules of the Torah and to draw out their practical implications in a given place or time.

Until the destruction of the Temple, the legal system, consisting of a complex network of rabbinical courts, was headed by a supreme body, the Great Sanhedrin, a tribunal of seventy-one members, substitutes for Moses and the seventy Elders who had been appointed to him (see Numbers 11:16–17 and 24–25; Sanhedrin 17a).

Biblieurope Editions