Guide
Priestly Courts
70–220
Several rabbinic texts refer to a court of priests that would rule on certain matters relating to the Temple and priesthood, including the validity of witnesses to the new moon and marriages into priestly families. At times, the rulings of the priestly court were at odds with those of the sages.
Related Primary Sources
Primary Source
Conflict between the Priestly Court and Sages’ Court
A father and son who saw the month [i.e., the new moon] should go [to Jerusalem]. Not because they join together [to constitute a pair of witnesses] but…
Primary Source
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 priesthood [and that members of] a family of…