Priestly Jurisdiction
R. Joshua and R. Judah ben Betera testified concerning the widow of [a man belonging to] a family of doubtful lineage that she was fit to marry into the priesthood1 [and that members of] a family of doubtful lineage are fit to declare who was unclean and who clean, who was to be put away and who was to be brought near.2 Rabban Gamaliel said: We accept your testimony, but what can we do, since Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai ordained that courts should not be commissioned for this purpose? The priests would listen to you concerning those who might be put away but not concerning those who might be brought near!3
Notes
[The widow of a man who is unfit to be a priest (a ḥalal) may not marry a priest, but according to this ruling, a widow of a man from a family whose priestly validity is doubtful (an ‘issa) may marry a priest.—Ed.]
[The family is trusted to determine the status of women in the family with respect to whether they can marry priests.—Ed.]
[The priests would accept a ruling that a woman could not marry a priest but would not accept the sages’ authority to determine that a woman could marry a priest.—Ed.]
Credits
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 2: Emerging Judaism.
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