Herod's Fateful Trial Before the Sanhedrin: A Turning Point in Jewish History

Starting in 58 BCE, the situation in Judea increasingly depended on the goodwill of Rome. Four years after Pompey's conquest, his ally Marcus Licinius Crassus felt free to plunder the temple's treasures. His mission was to combat Aristobulus' supporters, whom he annihilated at Migdal by the Sea of Galilee, utterly destroying the city. He funded his campaign with temple funds, as the Jews watched helplessly while this Roman stole the sacred shekels contributed by Jews worldwide for the daily offerings.

Pompey and his circle were embroiled in the famous Roman civil war, opposing Julius Caesar, who would later become emperor. Although Pompey was once Caesar's son-in-law and ally, they eventually became rivals. Supporters of Aristobulus, seeking to replace Hyrcanus with their rule, sided with Caesar, but Pompey crushed them before they could act. Aristobulus was poisoned, his son Alexander was beheaded by Pompey, and his daughter Alexandra was married off to Ptolemy of Chalcis. Thus ended the Hasmonean civil strife.

However, Pompey lost his war. In 48 BCE, at the Battle of Pharsalus, he was defeated and abandoned by his army. Fleeing to Egypt, he boarded a small fishing boat where, under orders from King Ptolemy, archers shot him. Pierced by arrows, he fell mortally into the sea before throngs of onlookers. Jews saw it as divine retribution for desecrating the temple, commemorating it for generations.

The undisputed Roman ruler, now Caesar, seemingly showed little interest in Judea. He retained Hyrcanus as the sole ruler, allowed him to fortify Jerusalem, and focused on Rome's internal affairs. He also exempted Jews from Roman military service, unlike other provinces.

In 48 BCE, 118 years before the Second Temple's destruction, Caesar appointed Antipater the Idumean as caretaker of Judea. Despite being Pompey's ally and Caesar's rival, Antipater had means to win the emperor's favor, effectively governing Judea, now a Roman province.

Antipater appointed his eldest son, Phasael, as governor of Jerusalem, and his second son, Herod, as governor of Galilee. Many devout Jews resided in Galilee, scrupulously observing commandments and resenting Herod and his Romanized followers. One day, Herod captured a devout Jew named Hezekiah and executed him without trial. The sages demanded justice from High Priest Hyrcanus, who reluctantly summoned Herod to trial before the Sanhedrin, even though they deliberated outside their sacred chamber. Despite reduced authority, the Sanhedrin could still judge murderers.

Herod, arrogantly dressed in noble purple with a sword and bodyguards, faced the Sanhedrin. Intimidated, the sages remained silent, except for the president, Shmaya, who courageously rebuked his peers for forsaking divine honor, fearing mortal threats. He prophesied that their fear would lead to punishment, tragically fulfilled when Herod later executed them. King Hyrcanus, present at the trial, postponed it for technical reasons, allowing Herod to escape overnight to Damascus, becoming a Roman-appointed governor of Syria. Had the sages been braver and judged him immediately, they might have spared Israel the troubles caused by wicked Herod. Thus, the sages declared, a king neither judges nor is judged.