Editing Vaad (section)

==Historical==
Older examples include the [[Council of Four Lands]]. 
Since the [[Haskalah|Enlightenment]] and the subsequent emancipation of Jews living in European nations, Jewish communities no longer have their own autonomous governments, and vaads with governmental powers no longer exist. Nevertheless, Vaads empowered by the Rabbinate and community leaders continued to wield tremendous power within their respective Jewish communities. A prime example of this was the [[Vaad Rosh Hashochtim of Poland and Lithuania]], a council that consisted of seven Rabbis that regulated the over 3,500 practicing {{Transliteration|he|[[Shechita|shochtim]]}} in [[Poland]] and [[Lithuania]] prior to the [[Holocaust]].

Today, Vaads still exist as rabbinical councils, each with its own purview. Some deal with maintaining communal standards of [[kashrut]] (kosher food); others deal with communal standards of marriage, divorce and [[conversion to Judaism]].<!--  (''More is needed here.'') -->