For the Tzedukim and priestly establishment, atonement was anchored in the altar, priestly service, purity rules, and appointed festivals. The temple was not symbolic background; it was the institutional center of covenant repair.

This explains why rival claims about prayer, community discipline, or non-temple holiness were so disruptive. They challenged the practical authority of the priestly order.

Sources: priestly Torah; Second Temple sacrificial practice; later disputes over altar authority.

Temple-only atonement emphasizes that impurity, sin, thanksgiving, vows, and communal festivals are dealt with through priestly service at the authorized sanctuary. This is not merely institutional self-interest. In priestly logic, the altar is where divine instruction, purity, blood manipulation, incense, and appointed time meet. The Tzedukim node marks the faction most closely tied to that worldview. Its importance grows when set beside Yahad and Perushim alternatives: community discipline, prayer, teaching, and portable holiness all challenge a system centered on the functioning altar.