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most ancient and stringent
regulations. As descendants
of Aaron, they were sent from
Judaea to Rome for the more
important festivals to confer
blessings, and afterwards they
would return to Jerusalem. In
the course of time they also
sent out a few Levites, who
could not themselves become
priests but could act as priests’
assistants: it was they who
blew the shofar, they who
did the singing and played the
music, they who collected the
taxes. The ritual butchers and
slaughterers also came from
their ranks, so there were
more of them in Rome than
there were priests.
Apart from their religious
activities, the priestly families
and Levites had no say in
the life of a community.
Unlike back East, the rich
and respected families in
Rome did not cede important
decisions, so many of Rome’s
Levites asked to be sent back
to Jerusalem, and the Roman
municipal administration
was only too happy to oblige.
In their place, others came
from the ranks of the lower
priesthood and the lower
Levites (for it seems that,
even there, not everything
went so swimmingly for all
priests and Levites), and
after a bit of administrative
maneuvering they were
generally allowed into Rome,
especially if wealthy Jewish
families vouched for their
subsistence. The officials of
the magistracy could breathe
easily, because they would
not be obliged to hand out
free grain to the newcomers
and their families. After all,
people like that arrived with
family; indeed that was largely
the point of leaving the Holy
City and traveling out to the