A Yeshiva University historian has reported that, on the basis of 35 years of research, he has determined that April 2, the Passover eve this year, marks the 2,000th anniversary of the appointment of Hillel as the first president of the Great Sanhedrin, the ancient Jewish supreme court-legislature. The finding was calculated by Dr. Sidney B. Hoenig. the Dean Pinkhos Churgin Professor of Jewish History, on the basis of historical, mathematical and astronomical calculations. He said the work was an aspect of a study started in 1943 which includes his book, “The Great Sanhedrin.” A detailed presentation of these calculations appears in an article in the current Bitzaron, a Hebrew-language research publication. Dr. Hoenig proposed a celebration of the Hillel Year to begin on Passover eve in honor of the “greatest proponent of rabbinic Judaism,” who is believed to have said “what is hateful to thee, do not do unto thy fellowman.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
