The ''av beit din'' ( ''ʾabh bêth dîn'', "chief of the court" or "chief justice"), also spelled ''av beis din'' or ''abh beth din'' and abbreviated ABD (), was the second-highest-ranking member of the

Sanhedrin The Sanhedrin (Hebrew and Aramaic: סַנְהֶדְרִין; Greek: , '' synedrion'', 'sitting together,' hence 'assembly' or 'council') was an assembly of either 23 or 71 elders (known as "rabbis" after the destruction of the Second Temple), ...

during the

Second Temple period The Second Temple period in Jewish history lasted approximately 600 years (516 BCE - 70 CE), during which the Second Temple existed. It started with the return to Zion and the construction of the Second Temple, while it ended with the First Jewis ...

, and served as an assistant to the Nasi (Prince). The Av Beit Din was known as the "Master of the Court;" he was considered the most learned and important of these seventy members. Menahem the Essene served as Av Beth Din in the 1st century BCE, before abdicating to "serve the King" in 20 BCE. The

House of Shammai The House of Hillel (Beit Hillel) and House of Shammai (Beit Shammai) were, among Jewish scholars, two schools of thought during the period of tannaim, named after the sages Hillel and Shammai (of the last century BCE and the early 1st century CE) ...

attained complete ascendency over the Sanhedrin from 9CE until

Gamaliel Gamaliel the Elder (; also spelled Gamliel; he, רַבַּן גַּמְלִיאֵל הַזָּקֵן ''Rabban Gamlīʾēl hazZāqēn''; grc-koi, Γαμαλιὴλ ὁ Πρεσβύτερος ''Gamaliēl ho Presbýteros''), or Rabban Gamaliel I, ...

became Nasi in 30CE. Apparently the post of Av Beit Din was eventually filled, since the

Babylonian Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

states that

Joshua ben Hananiah Joshua ben Hananiah ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ ben Ḥánanyāh''; d. 131 CE), also known as Rabbi Yehoshua, was a leading tanna of the first half-century following the destruction of the Second Temple. He is the seventh-most-frequently mentioned sage i ...

was Av Beit Din and

Nathan the Babylonian Nathan the Babylonian (Hebrew: רבי נתן הבבלי), also known as Rabbi Nathan, was a '' tanna'' of the third generation (2nd century). Biography He was the son of a Babylonian exilarch. For unknown reasons he left Babylonia, and his bright ...

was Av Beit Din. The

Jerusalem Talmud The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...

tells the story of how

Gamaliel II Rabban Gamaliel II (also spelled Gamliel; he, רבן גמליאל דיבנה; before -) was a rabbi from the second generation of tannaim. He was the first person to lead the Sanhedrin as '' nasi'' after the fall of the Second Temple in 70 CE. ...

was deposed and Eleazar ben Azariah replaced him as Nasi. After Gamaliel was reinstated, Eleazar ben Azariah was made Av Beit Din. The parallel story in the Babylonian Talmud has Eleazar ben Azariah remaining as a co-Nasi with Gamaliel.

Modern usage

In modern times the title

av beis din The ''av beit din'' ( ''ʾabh bêth dîn'', "chief of the court" or "chief justice"), also spelled ''av beis din'' or ''abh beth din'' and abbreviated ABD (), was the second-highest-ranking member of the Sanhedrin during the Second Temple period, ...

is often used as an honorific for the presiding

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

of a ''

beth din A beit din ( he, בית דין, Bet Din, house of judgment, , Ashkenazic: ''beis din'', plural: batei din) is a rabbinical court of Judaism. In ancient times, it was the building block of the legal system in the Biblical Land of Israel. Today, i ...

'' (rabbinical court), who is typically the salaried

of the local Jewish community and usually a

posek In Halakha, Jewish law, a ''Posek'' ( he, פוסק , pl. ''poskim'', ) is a legal scholar who determines the position of ''halakha'', the Judaism, Jewish religious laws derived from the Torah, written and Oral Torah in cases of Jewish law wher ...

("decisor" of

Halakha ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical comm ...

). It is also abbreviated as ''AB"D'' when it is after the name of the

Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi ( he, רב ראשי ''Rav Rashi'') is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a ...

of a national Jewish community. It can also refer to the most senior member of the court. Although the title ''Av Beit Din'' historically is higher than that of '' Rosh Beit Din'', the rankings are sometimes reversed.For cRc, R'Schwartz is #1 as Rosh, whereas for Beth Din of America, he is #1 as ABD: The

London Beth Din The London Beth Din (LBD) is the Ashkenazi Beth Din of the United Synagogue, the largest Ashkenazi synagogal body in London, England. In its capacity as ''Court of the Chief Rabbi'', it is historically the supreme halakhic Authority for Ashke ...

specifically addresses this, saying: "The title of Av Beth Din is formally held by the Chief Rabbi" but that "Due to his extensive workload as well as convention of his office" he's "not generally personally involved;" the court is run by the ''Rosh Beth Din."

Rosh Beit Din

The holder of the title Rosh Beit Din (Rosh Beth Din; , literally "Head of the Court", abbreviated ) is often the person to whom outsiders look for rulings. In 1934

Yehezkel Abramsky Yehezkel Abramsky ( he, יחזקאל אברמסקי) (7 February 1886 – 19 September 1976), also affectionately referred to as Reb Chatzkel Abramsky, was a prominent and influential Lithuanian Jewish Orthodox rabbi and scholar, born and raised ...

was given this title.

Federation of Synagogues The Federation of Synagogues is a British Jewish organisation with headquarters in Hendon, London. It comprises a network of 19 constituent and seven affiliated communities. As well as looking after its member synagogues A synagogue, ', 'ho ...

' Yisroel Yaakov Lichtenstein used this title when he published a major response in 2009, even though he was ''ABD''. In smaller communities the ''av beth din'' also serves as the ''rosh''.

References

{{Reflist Ancient Israel and Judah Jewish courts and civil law Orthodox rabbinic roles and titles Sanhedrin

Modern usage

Rosh Beit Din

See also

References