A rabbi is a person who knows how to interpret Jewish law

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:55

The meaning of the word "rabbi" confuses many. Whom do Jews call so - a preacher, a clergyman, or just a person who knows the Torah well? This question is answered in different ways and often quite contradictory. To understand everything thoroughly, let's try to figure it out together.

The origin of the word "rabbi"

To better understand who among the Jews can be called a rabbi, let's remember that the Hebrew word "rabbi" is translated as "my master" or "my teacher". It has long been used in relation to learned people or spiritual leaders - that is, to those who differed in their knowledge and therefore had the right to be treated with special respect.

Judging by the surviving historical documents, the mentioned term began to be used around the 1st century. n. e. Even in the New Testament, the disciples respectfully address Jesus: rabbi. And in the era of the Talmud, a rabbi is a title that was awarded by the Sanhedrin or Talmudic Academy to someone who had sufficient scholarship to make informed decisions in the legislativearea.

How the rabbi was paid

By the way, the first rabbis did not receive money for this service and therefore were forced to engage in trade or some craft in order to earn a livelihood. Only those who became teachers or spent whole days in the rabbinic courts could receive some kind of payment from the community.

If we try to briefly define what the main function of a rabbi was, then we can say this: a rabbi is a person who has thoroughly studied and therefore is able to teach and interpret Jewish law. One could turn to him for a solution to any legal dispute that arose.

Rabbis have always been revered people who were part of Jewish communities, and because of this they enjoyed certain privileges. So, by the end of the 15th century. Jewish communities already elected a rabbi and paid him a regular salary, and he additionally assumed, for example, supervision of education and observance of the rules for eating food (kashrut) or other equally important things.

Did the rabbi preach?

It should be noted that preaching and missionary work were not previously included in the duties of a rabbi, since such concepts do not exist in Judaism. But in the community of that time, a rabbi is often also a cantor, a mohel (a person who circumcise newborn Jewish boys) or a shoher (a slaughterer who performs the ritual of slaughtering cattle). That is, not directly, but in strict observance of the prescriptions of the Torah, the rabbis carried religious knowledge to their compatriots.

Rabbioften acted as a representative of the community before the authorities, which meant such a duty as collecting taxes.

In large communities, several rabbis were in the service at once. And in Israel and the UK, for example, there has long been a chief rabbi of the country, region and city.

Activities of rabbis in Russia

In all countries where there are Jewish communities, rabbis generally limit their activities to the boundaries of religion and school. The rabbinate is most often subordinate to the government, and its activities are regulated by special laws or regulations.

Thus, in tsarist Russia, a law was introduced in 1855, which required persons who were determined to be rabbis to be trained in a rabbinic school or receive education in general secondary and higher institutions. If there were no such candidates, then the community was allowed to invite learned Jews from abroad (over time, the last rule was canceled).

The rabbi of Russia had to know German, Polish or Russian letters. The person who passed the selection was appointed by the provincial authorities to an official position, and he became the so-called state rabbi. But due to the fact that, as a rule, these people did not have the necessary knowledge to observe and conduct religious rites, in parallel with them, the community also had a spiritual rabbi, elected by the community itself.

He was elected for three years and, in addition to the rites of worship, was given the duty to keep registers of births, as well as to make decisions on the conclusion or dissolution of marriages.

Rabbis in our time

In modern Russia, as well as in some other countries of the world, today the rabbis of the communities are subordinate to one person who bears the title of "chief or chief rabbi." This position of the leader of the Jewish communities was legalized in 1990

The main emphasis in the activities of the rabbi is now on educational and social functions. The main role in them is given to work with parishioners, preaching, as well as participation in the affairs of the Jewish community.

In our time, a rabbi is first of all a spiritual leader who not only teaches Torah and knows the intricacies of religious requirements, but can also answer any question of concern or resolve a difficult life situation. Any worthy person who has been trained can become a rabbi. But it is quite difficult to keep this right. After all, any person who turns to him expects advice from the rabbi, based not only on personal experience, but also on wisdom carried through the ages.