Semichah

Our God is a God of order. Creation is a beautiful display of his order. This is evident when we observe the universe on any scale, from the subatomic to the Macro level. Since the Torah was authored by God directly, the Torah has within it, measures to secure order. The Torah ensures an orderly Nation by granting power to carry out the Torah in a judicial manner exclusively to the priests and judges. In addition, standards of interpretation, known as “Halakah” could not be enforced by just anyone, otherwise, disagreement would too easily cause dissension and disorder. Instead, Halakah would remain solely in the hands of the governing body in every generation. A procedure was implemented, originating from Moses himself to ensure an unbroken connection that would survive each generation, binding the power to handle the Torah exclusively to those who were qualified. This became known as “Semichah.” In Hebrew, this literally means “laying of the hands.”

Scriptural precedent for this is found in Numbers 27:23, when Moses “placed his hands upon… [Joshua] and commanded him, in accordance with what the Lord had spoken.”

The authority to set standards of interpretation and to handle the Torah judicially was first given to Moses. Moses in turn transferred this authority by Semichah (laying of hands) to his second in command, Joshua. Similarly, Moses appointed 70 Elders as judges to show “the way wherein they must walk” (Exodus 18:20) in other words, they began to establish Halakah, which means “to walk.”

Joshua and the 70 Elders gave Semicha to their disciples, and the tradition was practiced from teacher to student until the Talmudic era. Before Semichah was lost, every Sage that had received it, could regard their authority as traceable through the chain of transmission to Joshua and Moses.

The kings of Israel did also possess a form of religious authority. The throne held the designation: “Throne of the Lord” (1 Chronicles 29:23). The authority was termed “The key to the house of David” (Isaiah 22:21-22). According to tradition, King David had transferred Semichah to 30,000 at once (Talmud Jerusalem Sanhedrin 1:2).

Upon the return of the Jewish people from exile in Babylon, Ezra reconvened a council (Ezra 7:25; 10:14, 16) tradition calls this council “The Great Assembly” which consisted of 120 Elders.

Post Old Testament Era

During the time of the 1^st Century, Judaism had broken into three main sects: The Sadducees, the Pharisees, and the Essenes.

The Sadducees rejected the notion that tradition had faithfully preserved the Halacha of previous generations; as a result, they denied the validity of any Semicha ordination.

This left the responsibility of maintaining Halachic authority via the transmission of Semichah to the Pharisees and Essenes.

The Pharisees

The Sanhedrin/Great Assembly was headed by the High Priest and consisted of Pharisee and Sadducee members. This Sanhedrin eventually became corrupt and turned into a political foothold to ensure Roman control.

In reaction, the Pharisees formed their own governing body. It had 70 members plus the “Nasi” (the President). Leadership would operate in pairs, or “zuggot” – referring to the Nasi and the “Av Beit Din” (Vice President). The greatest pair was Hillel (President) and Shammai (Vice President). They set many rulings which have been preserved and can be found in the Mishnah. Hillel and Shammai rarely agreed, and ultimately split the Pharisee sect into two sub-sects.

The Essenes

Halakah was determined by a “Mevakker” [Overseer] (Demascus Document xii, 7-9) in tandem with a council that adhered to certain specifications: 12 laymen, and three priests.

In the deliberative council of the community, there shall be twelve laymen and three priests schooled to perfection in all that has been revealed of the entire Law. Their duty shall be to set the standard for the practice of truth, … and how one can walk with all men with the quality of truth and in conduct appropriate to every occasion. (Man. of Disc. viii 1ff)

Semicha of John the Baptist

In today’s world, if one endeavors to change society for the better, it must be done from within. If a person wishes to implement bold and sweeping changes, the best way is to go through the proper channels. The alternative is to implement by way of Chaos, by breaking the law in the spirit of activism. Jesus was no vandal or criminal. He went through the proper channels.

Scriptural precedent had locked in place the tradition of Semicha as a safeguard to ensure the authority to teach would remain under the tight control of the qualified. This is why in Matthew 21 the Pharisees confronted Jesus asking: “By what authority are you doing these things?” (Matthew 21:23). The wrong answer would expose Jesus as a fraud. It would be similar to a random person of a Blue-Collar profession, walking into a hospital to impersonate a doctor. Imagine this man meeting with multiple patients and prescribing medication. Day after day, this occurs, until finally he is caught. Imagine the TV coverage and legal consequences.

The Pharisees did not take the mishandling of the Torah lightly:

“The sword comes upon the world because of the delaying of justice and the perverting of justice; and because of them that teach the Law not according to the Halakah.” – Mishnah Avot 5:8

The consequence of teaching against Halakah (the standard set by those with Semicha) is losing a “share in the world to come.” This means that an unqualified teacher would lose their salvation:

“If a man profanes the Hallowed things and despises the set feasts…and discloses meanings in the Law which are not according to the Halakah, even though a knowledge of the Law and good works are his, he has no share in the world to come.” – Mishnah Avot 3:12

Jesus responds with:

“I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things.  John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?” (Matthew 21:24,25)

Although it seems as if Jesus is evading the question, he was in fact providing a straight answer. Jesus’ Semicha came from John the Baptist. When Jesus came, John recognized his purpose was finished and humbly transferred Semicha: “He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:13). This is why Jesus did not start to preach until after he was baptized by John. Before this occurred, John the Baptist was highly active and apparently unchallenged by the Pharisees. Evidently, he unquestionably held valid Semicha ordination. One can suppose that since he emerged “from the wilderness” his Semicha came from an Essene source.

The Pharisees were reluctant to admit John was “from heaven” because the Pharisees as a whole did not submit to John and his ministry. Yet, they knew John had favor among the people and did not want to upset crowds. The Pharisees chose not to answer. Their silence meant that Jesus’ authority was unchallenged, and he was free to continue teaching.