A
beth din ,
bet din,
beit din or
beis din (, "house of judgment"; plural
battei 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, 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.