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[Middle English rabi, from Old French, from Late Latin rabbī, master, from Greek rhabbi, O my master, from Hebrew and Aramaic rabbî, my master : rab, master (from rab, to become great) + -î, my.]
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Jews settled far and wide, and the regimes under which they lived were dissimilar. Nevertheless, they remained a community bound together by adherence to the laws and teachings of the Talmud. The Gentile rulers allowed them the status of an autonomous corporate entity, and they needed qualified interpreters of talmudic literature. At first, the more expert members of the community undertook this duty on a voluntary basis: rabbis received no payment for their work and earned their livelihoods in other ways. Eventually, especially in the wake of the Expulsion from Spain (1492), when the religious leaders found it impossible to find other means of earning a livelihood, the rabbinate became a paid profession and the rabbi a salaried official of the community. His duties varied from place to place, and the attitude of the non-Jewish authorities (who in some instances insisted on confirming any appointment) might determine the scope of his authority. The common thread included the rabbi's duty to render decisions according to rabbinic law, not only in religious matters but also in civil litigation. In large cities, the rabbi often headed a yeshivah, and in all places he supervised religious activities such as ritual slaughter (Sheḥitah) and the ritual bath (Mikveh). His office conferred no special privileges in the performance of rituals and his preaching was usually confined to sermons twice a year, on the Sabbaths preceding Passover and the Day of Atonement (see Homiletics).
Sometimes, as in the case of Prague, the rabbi of a major community acquired jurisdiction over a province, but for the most part communities and their rabbis were confined to a town and its environs. Each was independent of the others; there was no institutional hierarchy, but the scholarly reputation of an individual rabbi might lend authority to his pronouncements well outside his own community.
The advent of Enlightenment and Emancipation posed new challenges to the traditional role of the rabbi. In the countries where Emancipation was achieved, the rabbis lost their judicial role, questions of belief and observance needed to be reconsidered, and age-old practices were reformed in growing circles. The need for a rabbi to acquire secular knowledge in addition to Jewish learning was felt in Orthodox as well as Reform circles, and Rabbinical Seminaries in a modern spirit were founded for the training of rabbis from the 19th century on. Their curriculum reflected the new responsibilities of the rabbis: less emphasis on Talmud and concern with subjects which would enable the rabbi to preach and teach in congregations whose members had themselves received a secular education. In the British Commonwealth, in the 19th century, rabbis called themselves "ministers" and took the title "reverend," in imitation of their surroundings. Since World War II, the tendency has been to assume the title "rabbi," leaving "reverend" for those not fully qualified.
The large Jewish communities of Eastern Europe were for the most part unaffected by these changes, and the yeshivah continued to flourish. The czarist regime attempted to force on its Jewish subjects government-appointed rabbis. In the the United States the rabbinate has been characterized as "a new profession with an old name." The Jewish community dates back to 1654, but almost two centuries passed before New York enjoyed the services of its first rabbi. The new structures of Jewish life called for fresh rabbinical definitions. There was no autonomous corporate entity with judicial power as had existed in the "Old World," and functions which in Europe had been community matters were now handled by other bodies. Synagogues multiplied freely, and the rabbis were responsible to a single congregation. The "trends" that emerged (Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist) developed their own seminaries, congregational unions, and rabbinical associations, each with its own standard of rabbinical practice. Except among the more extreme Orthodox, the pattern that has evolved is for the emphasis of the rabbi's activities to be pastoral, social, educational, and Interfaith.
In the Sephardi and Oriental communities, the nature of the rabbinate changed little, concentrating on its judicial and educational functions. A common title for the rabbi was marbits Torah ("spreader of Torah"). In the Ottoman Empire, the millet system assigned jurisdiction over religious matters to the religious authorities of the non-Muslim communities. In Palestine/Israel, this practice was carried over and systematized by the British mandatory administration and then by the government of Israel. This means that in Israel there is an official rabbinate with legal control over matters of personal status (e.g., marriage, divorce, conversion). The rabbis receive their salary from the State for their services as marriage registrars, etc. They are less concerned with synagogue activities than rabbis in the Diaspora, tending to confine their interests to matters of halakhah, without involvement in wider issues such as occupy rabbis in other countries. The official rabbinate in Israel is Orthodox; the rabbis of non-Orthodox congregations have received no recognition, though there has been agitation among them for representation on rabbinical councils and a share in government budgeting for religious affairs.
There is a parallel Ashkenazi and Sephardi Chief Rabbinate which, together with the Ministry of Religious Affairs, confirms every rabbinical appointment. The rabbis themselves are graduates of yeshivot.
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Bibliography
See L. Ginzberg, Students, Scholars, and Saints (1985); J. R. Marcus and A. J. Peck, The American Rabbinate (1985).
Title derived from rav, which in Hebrew denotes a master.
In its Talmudic origins, the mastery to which rabbi referred was a knowledge of both Scripture and Jewish oral tradition, including competence in interpreting law and recalling legends. Although at first the title was honorific, it evolved into something more formal. Always connected with a level of superior scholarship and familiarity with sacred Jewish texts, it has in contemporary times also come to signify general religious leadership.
Although the requirements for acquiring the title are not stipulated in Jewish law, semikha or ordination - in which another rabbi attests to the scholarship and learning of the initiate - has become an assumed prerequisite of being called rabbi. Throughout much of Jewish history, this process occurred in the context
of yeshivas; currently, it also takes place in theological seminaries.
Generally, civil authorities have recognized the right of the Jews to decide for themselves who may be called rabbi. This became more complicated after Jews ceased to speak with a single communal voice in the modern period, with the consequence that different groups of Jews set various criteria for deciding who would be entitled to be called rabbi. Thus in the modern period in the United States, for example, there are four types of rabbis being ordained, to represent the four different denominations: Reformed, Reconstructionist, Conservative, and Orthodox. The Orthodox denomination, although it represents a minority of world Jewry, produces the most rabbis. Throughout Jewish history, the title has been granted only to men, but in the late twentieth century, non-Orthodox Jews began to ordain women as well. In Israel, only Orthodox rabbis are officially recognized, even though Reformed and Conservative rabbis are also there.
Two general categories of rabbis evolved in modern times: those who were primarily teachers, scholars, or issuers of legal decisions and remained in the academy of Jewish learning or sometimes served on a religious court, and those who ministered in the community and the synagogue. Rabbis have also become ratifiers of changes in personal status by officiating at weddings, funerals, and other rites of passage.
The rabbinate in modern Israel is unique in several important respects. Because there is no strict separation of religion and state in Israel, Halakhah is the governing law in all matters of personal status. Accordingly, the Orthodox rabbinical interpretation of Jewish law is dominant. In Israel, many rabbis exert their authority as officials of the state Ministry of Religion and the office of the Chief Rabbinate. Headed by two national chief rabbis elected by a board of fellow rabbis for a term of ten years, the Chief Rabbinate is divided into Ashkenazic and Sephardic wings. Ostensibly empowered to make all ultimate religious decisions, it also provides parish rabbis and chief rabbis for major municipal regions.
There are other rabbis in Israel, particularly within Hasidic and yeshiva circles. Unlike the state rabbis whose authority is official, these rabbis dominate by virtue of their charisma or perceived scholarship. The relatively few non-Orthodox rabbis in Israel have a limited following. During the last few decades, the chief rabbis and their subordinates have steadily lost moral authority. Today the majority of secular Israelis consider them irrelevant, and the minority of ultra-Orthodox Jews guide themselves by their own sages whom they endow with greater rabbinic authority. This leaves only a narrow band of Orthodox Jews - primarily religious Zionists - who recognize the moral preeminence of the Chief Rabbinate. Nevertheless, the Chief Rabbinate is assured of influence as long as it continues to control matters of personal status and religious certification in the state.
Bibliography
Heilman, Samuel C. "Jewish Unity and Diversity: A Survey of American Rabbis and Rabbinical Students." In Encyclopedia Judaica, Vol. 13. New York: Macmillan, 1973.
— SAMUEL C. HEILMAN
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In Judaism, a rabbi (
/ˈræbaɪ/) is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי rabi [ˈʁäbi], meaning "My Master" (irregular plural רבנים rabanim [ʁäbäˈnim]), which is the way a student would address a master of Torah. This word "master" רב rav [ˈʁäv] literally means "great one" or one who is "abundant/much/many".
The basic form of the rabbi developed in the Pharisaic and Talmudic era, when learned teachers assembled to codify Judaism's written and oral laws. In more recent centuries, the duties of the rabbi became increasingly influenced by the duties of the Protestant Christian minister, hence the title "pulpit rabbis", and in 19th century Germany and the United States rabbinic activities including sermons, pastoral counseling, and representing the community to the outside, all increased in importance.
Within the various Jewish denominations there are different requirements for rabbinic ordination, and differences in opinion regarding who is to be recognized as a rabbi. All types of Judaism except for Orthodox Judaism ordain women as rabbis and cantors [1] [2].
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The word rabbi derives from the Hebrew root word רַב, rav, which in biblical Hebrew means ‘great’ in many senses, including "revered". The word comes from the Semitic root R-B-B, and is cognate to Arabic ربّ rabb, meaning "lord" (generally used when talking about God, but also about temporal lords). As a sign of great respect, some great rabbis are simply called "The Rav".
Rabbi is not an occupation found in the Torah (i.e. the Pentateuch) and ancient generations did not employ related titles such as Rabban, Ribbi, or Rab to describe either the Babylonian sages or the sages in Israel.[3] The titles "Rabban" and "Rabbi" are first mentioned in the Mishnah (c. 200 CE). The term was first used for Rabban Gamaliel the elder, Rabban Simeon his son, and Rabban Johanan ben Zakkai, all of whom were patriarchs or presidents of the Sanhedrin.[4] A Greek transliteration of the word ῥαββί hrab-bee' is found in the books of Matthew, Mark and John in the New Testament, where it is used in reference to "Scribes and Pharisees" as well as to Jesus.[5]
Sephardic and Yemenite Jews pronounce this word רִבִּי ribbī ; the modern Israeli pronunciation רַבִּי rabi is derived from an 18th century innovation in Ashkenazic prayer books, although this vocalization is also found in some ancient sources. Other variants are rəvī and, in Yiddish, rebbə. The word could be compared to the Syriac word ܪܒܝ rabi.
In ancient Hebrew, rabbi was a proper term of address while speaking to a superior, in the second person, similar to a vocative case. While speaking about a superior, in the third person one could say ha-rav ("the Master") or rabbo ("his Master"). Later, the term evolved into a formal title for members of the Patriarchate. Thus, the title gained an irregular plural form: רַבָּנִים rabbanim ("rabbis"), and not רַבָּי rabbay ("my Masters").
There is a mitzvah to stand up for a Rabbi or Torah Scholar when they enter one's presence.[6] However, if one is more learned than the Rabbi there is no need to stand. One must also stand for the spouse of a Rabbi or Torah Scholar and address them with the utmost respect.[7] In many places today and throughout history, Rabbis and Torah Scholars had the power to place individuals who insulted them in excommunication.[8] Kohanim, like everyone else, are required to honor Rabbis and Torah Scholars.
The definition of a Torah Scholar is complex and subjective.
The governments of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah were based on a system of Jewish kings, prophets, the legal authority of the court of the Sanhedrin and the ritual authority of priesthood. Members of the Sanhedrin had to receive their semicha ("ordination") derived in an uninterrupted line of transmission from Moses, yet rather than being referred to as "rabbis" they were more frequently called judges (dayanim) akin to the Shoftim or "Judges" as in the Book of Judges.
All of the above personalities would have been expected to be steeped in the wisdom of the Torah and the commandments, which would have made them "rabbis" in the modern sense of the word. This is illustrated by an two-thousand-year-old teaching in the Mishnah, Ethics of the Fathers (Pirkei Avot), which observed about King David,
With the destruction of the two Temples in Jerusalem, the end of the Jewish monarchy, and the decline of the dual instititutions of prophets and the priesthood, the focus of scholarly and spiritual leadership within the Jewish people shifted to the sages of the Men of the Great Assembly (Anshe Knesset HaGedolah). This assembly was composed of the earliest group of "rabbis" in the more modern sense of the word, in large part because they began the formulation and explication of what became known as Judaism's "Oral Law" (Torah SheBe'al Peh). This was eventually encoded and codified within the Mishnah and Talmud and subsequent rabbinical scholarship, leading to what is known as Rabbinic Judaism.
The title "Rabbi" was borne by the sages of ancient Israel, who were ordained by the Sanhedrin in accordance with the custom handed down by the elders. They were titled Ribbi and received authority to judge penal cases. Rab was the title of the Babylonian sages who taught in the Babylonian academies.
After the suppression of the Patriarchate and Sanhedrin by Theodosius II in 425, there was no more formal ordination in the strict sense. A recognised scholar could be called Rab or Hacham, like the Babylonian sages. The transmission of learning from master to disciple remained of tremendous importance, but there was no formal rabbinic qualification as such.
Maimonides rules that every congregation is obliged to appoint a preacher and scholar to admonish the community and teach Torah, and the social institution he describes is the germ of the modern congregational rabbinate. In the fifteenth century in Central Europe, the custom grew up of licensing scholars with a diploma entitling them to be called Mori (my teacher). At the time this was objected to as hukkat ha-goy (imitating the ways of the Gentiles), as it was felt to resemble the conferring of doctorates in Christian universities. However the system spread, and it is this diploma that is referred to as semicha (ordination) at the present day.
In 19th century Germany and the United States, the duties of the rabbi became increasingly influenced by the duties of the Protestant Christian Minister, hence the title "pulpit rabbis". Sermons, pastoral counseling, representing the community to the outside, all increased in importance. Non-Orthodox rabbis, on a day-to-day business basis, now spend more time on these traditionally non-rabbinic functions than they do teaching, or answering questions on Jewish law and philosophy. Within the Modern Orthodox community, rabbis still mainly deal with teaching and questions of Jewish law, but are increasingly dealing with these same pastoral functions. Orthodox Judaism's National Council of Young Israel and Modern Orthodox Judaism's Rabbinical Council of America have set up supplemental pastoral training programs for their rabbis.
Traditionally, rabbis have never been an intermediary between God and humans. This idea was traditionally considered outside the bounds of Jewish theology. Unlike spiritual leaders in many other faiths, they are not considered to be imbued with special powers or abilities.
In an ironic twist, the secular system in most states requires that a Jewish wedding be performed by an ordained rabbi in order to be legally recognized, even though there is no such requirement in Jewish law. In other words, the secular system treats rabbis as the Jewish equivalent to Catholic Priests or Protestant Ministers, although they are not religious equivalents.
Acceptance of rabbinic credentials involves both issues of practicality and principle.
As a practical matter, communities and individuals typically tend to follow the authority of the rabbi they have chosen as their leader (called by some as the mara d'atra) on issues of Jewish law. They may recognize that other rabbis have the same authority elsewhere, but for decisions and opinions important to them they will work through their own rabbi.
The same pattern is true within broader communities, ranging from Hasidic communities to rabbinical or congregational organizations: there will be a formal or de facto structure of rabbinic authority that is responsible for the members of the community.
Traditionally, a person obtains semicha ("rabbinic ordination") after the completion of an arduous learning program in the codes of Jewish law and responsa.
The most general form of semicha is Yore yore ("he shall teach"). Most Rabbis hold this qualification; they are sometimes called a moreh hora'ah ("a teacher of rulings"). A more advanced form of semicha is Yadin yadin ("he shall judge"). This enables the recipient to adjudicate cases of monetary law, amongst other responsibilities. Although the recipient can now be formally addressed as a dayan ("judge"), the vast majority retain the title rabbi. Only a small percentage of rabbis earn this ordination. Although not strictly necessary, many Orthodox rabbis hold that a beth din (court of Jewish law) should be made up of dayanim.
An Orthodox semicha requires the successful completion of a rigorous program encompassing Jewish law and responsa in keeping with longstanding tradition. Orthodox rabbinical students work to gain knowledge in Talmud, Rishonim and Acharonim (early and late medieval commentators) and Jewish law. They study sections of the Shulchan Aruch (codified Jewish law) and its main commentaries that pertain to daily-life questions (such as the laws of keeping kosher, Shabbat, and the laws of family purity). Orthodox rabbis typically study at yeshivas, which are dedicated religious schools. Modern Orthodox rabbinical students, such as those at Yeshiva University, study some elements of modern theology or philosophy, as well as the classical rabbinic works on such subjects.
The entrance requirements for an Orthodox yeshiva include a strong background within Jewish law, liturgy, Talmudic study, and attendant languages (e.g., Hebrew, Aramaic and in some cases Yiddish). Since rabbinical studies typically flow from other yeshiva studies, those who seek a semicha are typically not required to have completed a university education. There are some exceptions to this rule, including Yeshiva University, which requires all rabbinical students to complete an undergraduate degree before entering the program and a Masters or equivalent before ordination. Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School also requires an undergraduate degree before entering the program.
While some Haredi (including Hasidic) yeshivas (also known as "Talmudical/Rabbinical schools or academies") do grant official semicha ("ordination") to many students wishing to become rabbis, most of the students within the yeshivas engage in learning Torah or Talmud without the goal of becoming rabbis or holding any official positions.
The curriculum for obtaining semicha ("ordination") as rabbis for Haredi and Hasidic scholars is the same as described above for all Orthodox students wishing to obtain the official title of "Rabbi" and to be recognized as such.
Women do not, and cannot,[citation needed] become rabbis in Orthodox Judaism. Only men can do so, and only after a long process of study in, and recognition by, their own yeshivas.
Within the Hasidic world, the positions of spiritual leadership are dynastically transmitted within established families, usually from fathers to sons, while a small number of students obtain official ordination to become dayanim ("judges") on religious courts, poskim ("decisors" of Jewish law), as well as teachers in the Hasidic schools. The same is true for the non-Hasidic Litvish yeshivas that are controlled by dynastically transmitted rosh yeshivas and the majority of students will not become rabbis, even after many years of post-graduate kollel study.
Some yeshivas, such as Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim (in New York) and Yeshiva Ner Yisrael (in Baltimore, Maryland), may encourage their students to obtain semicha and mostly serve as rabbis who teach in other yeshivas or Hebrew day schools. Other yeshivas, such as Yeshiva Chaim Berlin (Brooklyn, New York) or the Mirrer Yeshiva (in Brooklyn and Jerusalem), do not have an official "semicha/rabbinical program" to train rabbis, but provide semicha on an "as needs" basis if and when one of their senior students is offered a rabbinical position but only with the approval of their rosh yeshivas.
Consequently, within the world of Haredi Judaism, the English word and title of "Rabbi" for anyone is often scorned and derided, because in their view the once-lofty title of "Rabbi" has been debased in modern times. This is one reason that Haredim will often prefer using Hebrew names for rabbinic titles based on older traditions, such as: Rav (denoting "[great] rabbi"), HaRav ("the [great] rabbi"), Moreinu HaRav ("our teacher the [great] rabbi"), Moreinu ("our teacher"), Moreinu VeRabeinu HaRav ("our teacher and our rabbi/master the [great] rabbi"), Moreinu VeRabeinu ("our teacher and our rabbi/master"), Rosh yeshiva ("[the] head [of the] yeshiva"), Rosh HaYeshiva ("head [of] the yeshiva"), "Mashgiach" (for Mashgiach ruchani) ("spiritual supervsor/guide"), Mora DeAsra ("teacher/decisor" [of] the/this place"), HaGaon ("the genius"), Rebbe ("[our/my] rabbi"), HaTzadik ("the righteous/saintly"), "ADMOR" ("Adoneinu Moreinu VeRabeinu") ("our master, our teacher and our rabbi/master") or often just plain Reb which is a shortened form of rebbe that can be used by, or applied to, any married Jewish male as the situation applies.
Note: A rebbetzin (a Yiddish usage common among Ashkenazim) or a rabbanit (in Hebrew and used among Sephardim) is the official "title" used for, or by, the wife of any Orthodox, Haredi, or Hasidic rabbi. Rebbetzin may also be used as the equivalent of Reb and is sometimes abbreviated as such as well.
Conservative Judaism confers rabbinic ordination after the completion of a rigorous program in the codes of Jewish law and responsa in keeping with Jewish tradition. Additional requirements include the study of: the Hebrew Bible, Mishna and Talmud, the Midrash literature, Jewish ethics and lore, the codes of Jewish law, the Conservative responsa literature, both traditional and modern Jewish works on theology and philosophy.
Conservative Judaism has less stringent study requirements for Talmud and responsa study compared to Orthodoxy but adds following subjects as requirements for rabbinic ordination: pastoral care and psychology, the historical development of Judaism; and academic biblical criticism.
Entrance requirements to a Conservative rabbinical study include a strong background within Jewish law and liturgy, knowledge of Hebrew, familiarity with rabbinic literature, Talmud, etc., and the completion of an undergraduate university degree. Rabbinical students usually earn a secular degree (e.g., Master of Hebrew Letters) upon graduation. Ordination is granted at the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in Los Angeles, the Rabbinical School of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York, the Schechter Institute for Jewish Studies in Jerusalem, the Jewish Theological Seminary – University of Jewish Studies of Budapest and the Seminario Rabinico Latinoamericano in Buenos Aires (Argentina).
All Conservative seminaries train women as rabbis and cantors.
Reform Judaism is a liberal form of Judaism.[9] Its rabbinic studies are mandated in pastoral care, the historical development of Judaism, and academic biblical criticism, in addition to the traditional study of rabbinic texts. Rabbinic students also are required to gain practical rabbinic experience by working at a congregation.
All Reform seminaries train women as rabbis and cantors.
The seminary of Reform Judaism in the United States is Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. It has campuses in Cincinnati, New York City, Los Angeles, and in Jerusalem. In the United Kingdom the Reform and Liberal movements maintain Leo Baeck College for the training of rabbis, and in Germany the progressive Abraham Geiger College trains Europeans for the rabbinate.
There are several possibilities for receiving rabbinic ordination in addition to seminaries maintained by the large Jewish denominations. These include seminaries maintained by smaller denominational movements, and nondenominational (also called "transdenominational" or "postdenominational") Jewish seminaries.
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Historically and until the present, recognition of a rabbi relates to a community's perception of the rabbi's competence to interpret Jewish law and act as a teacher on central matters within Judaism. More broadly speaking, it is also an issue of being a worthy successor to a sacred legacy.
As a result, there have always been greater or lesser disputes about the legitimacy and authority of rabbis. Historical examples include Samaritans and Karaites.
The divisions between the various religious branches within Judaism may have their most pronounced manifestation on whether rabbis from one movement recognize the legitimacy or the authority of rabbis in another.
As a general rule within Orthodoxy and among some in the Conservative movement, rabbis are reluctant to accept the authority of other rabbis whose Halakhic standards are not as strict as their own. In some cases, this leads to an outright rejection of even the legitimacy of other rabbis; in others, the more lenient rabbi may be recognized as a spiritual leader of a particular community but may not be accepted as a credible authority on Jewish law.
These debates cause great problems for recognition of Jewish marriages, conversions, and other life decisions that are touched by Jewish law. Orthodox rabbis do not recognize conversions by non-Orthodox rabbis. Conservative rabbis recognise all conversions done according to halakha. Finally, the North American Reform and Reconstructionst movemements recognize patrilineality, under certain circumstances, as a valid claim towards Judaism, whereas Conservative and Orthodox maintain the position expressed in the Talmud and Codes that one can be a Jew only through matrilineality (born of a Jewish mother) or through conversion to Judaism.
With some rare exceptions (see below), women historically have generally not served as rabbis until the modern era. Today all types of Judaism except for Orthodox Judaism allow and do have female rabbis [13].
In Orthodox Judaism, women cannot become rabbis, although there is no prohibition against women learning halakhah that pertains to them, nor is it any more problematic for a woman to rule on such issues than it is for any lay person to do so.[14] Rather, the issue lies in the rabbi's position of communal authority. Following the ruling of the talmud, the decisors of Jewish law held that women were not allowed to serve in positions of authority over a community, such as judges or kings.[15][16] The position of official rabbi of a community, mara de'atra ("master of the place"), has generally been treated in the responsa as such a position. This ruling is still followed in traditional and orthodox circles but has been relaxed in branches like Conservative and Reform Judaism that are less strict in their adherence to traditional Jewish law.
There were some rare cases of women acting as rabbis in earlier centuries, such as the 17th century Asenath Barzani, who acted as a rabbi among Kurdish Jews [2]. Hannah Rachel Verbermacher, also known as the Maiden of Ludmir, was a 19th century Hasidic rebbe, the only female rebbe in the history of Hasidism.[17]
The first formally ordained female rabbi was Regina Jonas, ordained in Germany in 1935 [18]. Since 1972, when Sally Priesand became the first female rabbi in Reform Judaism[19], Reform Judaism's Hebrew Union College has ordained 552 women rabbis (as of 2008).[20]
Sandy Eisenberg Sasso became the first female rabbi in Reconstructionist Judaism in 1974 [21] (one of 110 by 2006); and Amy Eilberg became the first female rabbi in Conservative Judaism in 1985 [22] (one of 177 by 2006). Lynn Gottlieb became the first female rabbi in Jewish Renewal in 1981 [23], and Tamara Kolton became the very first rabbi (and therefore, since she was female, the first female rabbi) in Humanistic Judaism in 1999 [24]. In 2009 Alysa Stanton became the world's first African-American female rabbi.[25]
In Europe, Leo Baeck College had ordained 30 female rabbis by 2006 (out of 158 ordinations in total since 1956), starting with Jackie Tabick in 1975.[26]
The consensus of the Orthodox Jewish community has been[who?] that women are ineligible to becoming rabbis; the growing calls for Orthodox yeshivas to admit women as rabbinical students have resulted in widespread opposition among the Orthodox rabbinate. Rabbi Norman Lamm, one of the leaders of Modern Orthodoxy and Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva University's Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, opposes giving semicha to women. "It shakes the boundaries of tradition, and I would never allow it." (Helmreich, 1997) Writing in an article in the Jewish Observer, Moshe Y'chiail Friedman states that Orthodox Judaism prohibits women from being given semicha and serving as rabbis. He holds that the trend towards this goal is driven by sociology, and not halakha ("Jewish law"). In his words, the idea is a "quirky fad."[27] No Orthodox rabbinical association (e.g. Agudath Yisrael, Rabbinical Council of America) has allowed women to be ordained using the term rabbi.[citation needed]
However, in the last twenty years Orthodox Judaism has begun to develop clergy-like roles for women as halakhic court advisors and congregational advisors. Some Orthodox Jewish women now serve in Orthodox Jewish congregations in roles that previously were reserved for males, specifically rabbis. The grammatically correct Hebrew feminine parallel to the masculine title rabbi is rabbanit (רבנית) sometimes used for women in this role.[28] Sara Hurwitz, considered by some the first Orthodox woman rabbi, following correct Hebrew feminized grammar of rav (רב), used the title rabba (רבה). Other women in Jewish leadership, like Rachel Kohl Finegold and Lynn Kaye, do not have official titles, but function as de facto assistant rabbis.
In Israel, the Shalom Hartman Institute, founded by Orthodox Rabbi David Hartman, opened a program in 2009 that will grant semicha to women and men of all Jewish denominations, including Orthodox Judaism, although the students are meant to "assume the role of 'rabbi-educators' – not pulpit rabbis- in North American community day schools. [3].[29]
Rabbi Aryeh Strikovski (Machanaim Yeshiva and Pardes Institute) worked in the 1990s with Rabbi Avraham Shapira (then a co-Chief rabbi of Israel) to initiate the program for training Orthodox women as halakhic Toanot ("advocates") in rabbinic courts. They have since trained nearly seventy women in Israel. Strikovski states that "The knowledge one requires to become a court advocate is more than a regular ordination, and now to pass certification is much more difficult than to get ordination."[citation needed] Furthermore, Rav Strikovsky granted ordination to Haviva Ner-David (who is American) in 2006, although she has not been able to find a job as a rabbi.[30]
In Israel a growing number of Orthodox women are being trained as yoatzot halakhah.[31]
Rahel Berkovits, an Orthodox Talmud teacher at Jerusalem's Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, states that as a result of such changes in Haredi and Modern Orthodox Judaism, "Orthodox women found and oversee prayer communities, argue cases in rabbinic courts, advise on halachic issues, and dominate in social work activities that are all very associated with the role a rabbi performs, even though these women do not have the official title of rabbi."[citation needed]
The use of Toanot is not restricted to any one segment of Orthodoxy; In Israel they have worked with Haredi and Modern Orthodox Jews. Orthodox women may study the laws of family purity at the same level of detail that Orthodox males do at Nishmat, the Jerusalem Center for Advanced Jewish Study for Women. The purpose is for them to be able to act as halakhic advisors for other women, a role that traditionally was limited to male rabbis. This course of study is overseen by Rabbi Yaakov Varhaftig.[citation needed]
Furthermore, several efforts are underway within Modern Orthodox communities to include qualified women in activities traditionally limited to rabbis:
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"Rabbi and Rabbinism". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. – A pre-Vatican II Catholic view of the development of the Rabbinical office
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Rabbi |
Deutsch (German)
n. - Rabbiner, Rabbi
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (θρησκ.) ραβίνος, (νομοδι)δάσκαλος
Português (Portuguese)
n. - rabino (m)
Español (Spanish)
n. - rabino, rabí
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
犹太教祭司, 法师, 大师, 犹太教律法专家
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 猶太教祭司, 法師, 大師, 猶太教律法專家
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) الحاخام عند اليهود
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 | R. (abbreviation) |
| rebbe |
| Maimonides: Torah and the Philosophic Quest (1986 History Film) |
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 | American Heritage Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 1994-2012 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Encyclopedia of Judaism. The New Encyclopedia of Judaism. Copyright © 1989, 2002 by G.G. The Jerusalem Publishing House, Ltd. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/. Read more |
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| Gale Encyclopedia of the Mideast & N. Africa. Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa. Copyright © 2004 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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Rhymes. Oxford University Press. © 2006, 2007 All rights reserved. Read more | |
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| Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary. Collins Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary © Anne Bradford, 1986, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2008 HarperCollins Publishers All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Wikipedia on Answers.com. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Rabbi. Read more |
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