Yoram Rovner asked:
I have a question concerning to the jurisdiction of the Sanhedrin Gadol. I found in your site that the S.G. can 5 "add to Yerushalayim or the Azaros (of the Mikdash)". What does it mean? What are the Azaros?
Thanks,
Yoram Rovner
The Kollel replies:
The first Mishnah in Sanhedrin (2a) states that it is forbidden to add to Yerushalayim and the Azaros (courtyards of the Beis ha'Mikdash) without a Beis Din of seventy-one. This means that being that the Kedushah (holiness) of Yerushalayim and the Azaros in the Beis Hamikdash, such as the Ezras Nashim and Ezras Yisrael, is very great and has many Halachic ramifications, adding to their dimensions is not a simple process. The Sanhedrin ha'Gadol is required for such a process.
All the best,
Yaakov Montrose