A Popular Dictionary of Judaism
(Hebrew. ‘House of Judgment’) A court of law. *Ezra the *scribe was believed to be the founder of the bet din, the lower court. The supreme court was the *Sanhedrin in *Jerusalem.
A bet din is presided over by the *Av Bet Din (Father of the Court) and two other *rabbis who are learned in the law. Today it is concerned with such religious matters as the granting of *divorces and the supervision of *kashrut. In the Middle Ages, the jurisdiction of the Bet Din was far more extensive and every *diaspora community supported one. The great mass of *responsa literature grew out of the activities of these battei din. In *Israel today the bet din has jurisdiction over such matters as personal status while the Bet Mishpat (‘House of Judgment’) deals with secular cases. (See also *SANHEDRIN).
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