Beth din

A beth din (Hebrew: בֵּית דִּין, romanized: Bēṯ Dīn, lit. 'house of judgment', [beːθ ˈdiːn], Ashkenazic: beis din, plural: batei din) is a rabbinical court of Judaism. In ancient times, it was the building block of the legal system. Today, it is invested with legal powers in a number of religious matters (din Torah, 'matter of litigation', plural dinei Torah) both in Israel and in Jewish communities in the diaspora, where its judgments hold varying degrees of authority (depending upon the jurisdiction and subject matter) in matters specifically related to Jewish religious life.