The Price of Mediation: The Role of Priests in the Priestly Halakhah
The publication of the Qumran scrolls has revealed new data regarding the development of halakhah in priestly circles during the Second Temple period, previously known only from hints and secondary references in rabbinic literature. This talk makes use of the Qumran material to show how Second Temple priests interpreted and modified biblical laws to endow priests with a role as human-divine mediators. I argue that this priestly effort was the root of the priestly dispute with the Pharisees, and I explore the Pharisaic rejection of this priestly mediation as expressed in rabbinic literature.