How will the next Sanhedrin function if we lost the original Semicha?

Question

Many functions of the Sanhedrin require the group of rabbis descended from an unbroken chain of Semicha from the time of Moshe.

For example I read in Eliyahu Ki Tov's Sefer Hatoda'ah that sanctification of the new moon (Rosh Hodesh) is only done by such a Sanhedrin.

I assume that at this point, we have no way of knowing which rabbis have this chain of semicha.

Thus, when the next Temple is built and a Sanhedrin is re-established, how will they be able to fulfill their duties without this requirement? Or, will, for some reason, this requirement no longer be needed?

Answer 1

Rambam writes in Hilchot Sanhedrin 4:11 that he believes that semichah can be re-instituted if all the sages in Eretz Yisrael agree to bestow it on an individual.

This was in fact attempted in the sixteenth century by Mahari Berab, who was appointed as a musmach by twenty-five Rabbis in Tzfat, and who then proceeded to give semichah to his own students, including R. Yosef Karo.

However, there was opposition to this development, and this chain of semichah fizzled out after a couple of generations.

Answer 2

If it is not possible to restart semicha like the Rambam says, as brought in the previous answer, we will need a musmach from the past. The Radvaz, in his commentary on the Rambam while stating his opposition to the semicha of the Marahi Beirav, says that Eliyahu Hanavi, who will come before Moshiach, can give semicha.