Sanhedrin 14 – The Decapitation of the Calf

Suppose the body of a murder victim is discovered outside a town in the Land of Israel, and it is not known who killed him. The city nearest to where the body was found has to take a calf that was never worked and bring it to a valley of unworked ground, where it is decapitated.

Measuring which town is nearest has to be carried out by three judges, members of the Great Sanhedrin. The decapitation of the calf is then performed by the court of the town that is nearest.

However, the members of the Sanhedrin do not generally leave the Chamber of Hewn Stones in the Temple since "Your navel is like a moon-shaped basin; let not the strength of the blend diminish." is allegorically referring to the members of the Sanhedrin, who sat in a semicircle.

Art: The Stomach of the Legislature the Ministerial Benches of 1834 by Honore Daumier