There were three courts in Jerusalem, one sitting at the entrance to the Temple Mount, one higher up on the Temple Mount, at the entrance of the Temple Courtyard, and one even higher up the Mount sitting in the Chamber of Hewn Stone.
The dissenting sage and his disputants on the local court would come to the court at the entrance to the Temple Mount, and the dissenting sage would say before the court, "Thus have I expounded, and thus have my colleagues expounded, thus have I taught, and thus have my colleagues taught." If the court judges have heard the answer from their teachers, they tell the disputants the law; if not, they go to a higher court. There, the procedure is repeated. If the highest court has a tradition, they tell it; if not, they decide it, and it becomes binding.
Art: Dispute D'Arabes by Jean-Leon Gerome
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