beit din

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Pronunciations

beit din (bayt DEEN) listen
beit din (BAYT dihn) listen

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Definitions

  • n. A rabbinical court of law made up of three rabbis that makes judgments on matters of Jewish religious life, especially conversion and divorce.

Example Sentences

  • "When Sydney wanted to convert to Judaism, she had to appear before the Beit Din."

  • "If you both go to Bezdin, Jim, it'll probably save you a fortune in lawyers' fees." (Glinert)

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • בֵּית דִּין⁩ bet dín 'House of Judgment' > Y בית־דין bez-(d)in

      • Who Uses This

      • Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education

      Regions

      • North America
      • Great Britain
      • South Africa
      • Australia / New Zealand

      Dictionaries

      • The New Joys of Yiddish, by Leo Rosten and Lawrence Bush (New York, 2003[1968]).
      • The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).
      • The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).
      • Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Popular Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).
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      Alternative Spellings

      beth din, bet din, beis din, bes din, bezdn, beyt din, beyz din, bez din, bezdin, beysdin, beyzdin, beyz din

Notes

  • plural: 'batei din'

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