When the Torah Prevailed: The Story of Shimon Ben Shetach

A Day of Celebration in the Ancient Calendar

Among the earliest works written by the Sages is Megillat Ta’anit, a chronicle of festive days during the Second Temple era on which fasting and mourning were forbidden. One of those days, the 28th of Tevet, marks a little-known but pivotal moment in Jewish history: the return of the Sanhedrin, the supreme rabbinical court, to the authority of Torah scholars.

The event is described in Megillat Ta’anit:

“On the 28th of Tevet, the Assembly of Judges returned to its place. The Sadducees had taken control of the Sanhedrin during the reign of King Yannai and Queen Shlomtzion. No one from the people of Israel sat with them, except for Shimon ben Shetach. They would discuss halachic (Jewish legal) questions but could not bring proofs from the Torah.”

Shimon ben Shetach, the king’s brother-in-law and the lone Pharisee on the Sanhedrin, introduced a simple yet powerful rule:

“Anyone who can bring a proof from the Torah is qualified to sit on the Sanhedrin.”

This rule quietly shifted the balance of power. In one case, a Sadducee issued a legal opinion with great confidence, but when asked for a source, he admitted he had none. Given time to prepare, he still could not find one. Embarrassed, he stayed home the next day and Shimon ben Shetach replaced him with a qualified student. Day after day, the same process repeated until the Sadducees had all been replaced, and the Sanhedrin was once again composed of sages who upheld the Torah and its traditions. That day was declared a holiday.

King Yannai and the Rise of the Sadducees

King Yannai (Alexander Jannaeus), son of the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) Yochanan, aligned himself with the Sadducees later in life. Embracing a Greek-style monarchy that clashed with traditional Jewish values, he grew increasingly hostile toward the Sages. As part of his effort to consolidate power, he disbanded the traditional Sanhedrin and filled it with Sadducean elites.

These Sadducees may have been intelligent and well-spoken, but they had little regard for the oral tradition. Their rulings were based on surface readings of the Torah, without the rigorous interpretation and transmission that defined rabbinic halacha (Jewish law). For them, a legal opinion didn’t need to be proven, only persuasive.

Shimon ben Shetach, realizing he couldn’t confront Yannai directly, appealed through the queen with a modest request: anyone could sit on the Sanhedrin, regardless of background or belief, as long as they could support their rulings with Torah sources. It was a rule that sounded fair and objective but had far-reaching consequences.

A Quiet Return to Rabbinic Tradition

The Sadducees were unprepared for the demand to provide textual proofs. Untrained in the discipline of transmitting halacha or interpreting Torah in depth, they quickly found themselves unable to meet the new standard. And so, one by one, they quietly disappeared from the court and were replaced by sages who upheld the authority of the Torah and the traditions passed down through generations.

The 28th of Tevet became a day of celebration, commemorating the restoration of authentic halachic leadership and the return of the Sanhedrin to hands that cherished both the letter and the spirit of Jewish law.

In a time of political turmoil and religious division, Shimon ben Shetach's strategy was neither confrontational nor loud. By insisting on one core principle—that justice must be rooted in Torah—he reclaimed the soul of Jewish law and reshaped the future of halachic tradition.