The modern-day Sanhedrin, headed by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, has decided to purchase a herd of sheep to be used for the Passover sacrifice ritual to be held this year if possible at the Temple Mount.

The Sanhedrin, which was formed several years ago, meets once a week, according to the Haaretz news service, in what it says is a renewal of the Jewish High Court that existed more than a thousand years ago.

A member of the Sanhedrin, Professor Hillel Weiss, said in an interview that the symbolic Passover sacrifice is intended to remind Jews that the Temple rituals will resume when the Messiah comes.