A rabbi is a person who can interpret the Jewish law

The meaning of the word "rabbi" of many leads to difficulty. Who are the Jews called a preacher, a clergyman, or just a person who knows the Torah? 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, remember that the Hebrew word "rabbi" is translated as "my master" or "my teacher". It has long been used in relation to scientists or spiritual leaders - that is, to those who differed in their knowledge and therefore had the right to be particularly respectful to themselves.

Judging by the surviving historical documents, this term began to be used in about 1 century. N. E. In the New Testament, the disciples respectfully refer to Jesus: the rabbi. And in the Talmud era, the rabbi is a title that was appropriated by the Sanhedrin or Talmudic Academy to someone who had sufficient scholarship to make informed decisions in the legislative field.

How the rabbi's work was paid

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

If we try to briefly determine what the main function of the rabbi was, we can say this: the rabbi is a person who has thoroughly studied and therefore is able to teach and interpret the Jewish law. He could be contacted for any legal dispute that arose.

Rabbis have always been revered by people who were part of Jewish communities, and enjoyed certain privileges due to this. So, by the end of the 15th century. The Jewish communities had already elected a rabbi and paid him regular salaries, and he additionally took over, for example, supervising education and observing the rules of eating (kosher) or other equally important things.

Did the rabbi preach?

It should be noted that preaching and missionary work had not previously been the responsibility of the rabbi, since there are no such concepts in Judaism. But in the community of that time, the rabbi is often also a cantor, a moel (a person who is circumcising newborn Jewish boys) or a shoer (a massacre performing a ritual of slaughtering cattle). That is, not directly, but in strict compliance with the requirements of the Torah, the rabbis carried religious knowledge to their compatriots.

The rabbi often acted as a representative of the community to the authorities, which implied such a duty as tax collection.

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

Activities of rabbis in Russia

In all countries where there are Jewish communities, the rabbis basically restrict their activities to the framework of religion and school. The Rabbinate is most often subordinated to the government, and its activities are governed by special laws or regulations.

Thus, in tsarist Russia, a law was introduced in 1855, which required persons who are to be rabbis to study at a rabbinical school or to receive education in general secondary and higher institutions. If there were no such candidates, then the community was allowed to invite Jewish scholars from abroad (over time, the latter rule was abolished).

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

He was elected for three years and in addition to the rituals of worship, they were obliged to conduct metric books, as well as to make decisions on concluding or dissolving 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 subordinated to one person who has the title of "supreme or chief rabbi". This title of the post of leader of Jewish communities was legalized in 1990.

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

In our time, the rabbi is above all a spiritual leader who not only teaches the Torah and knows the subtleties of religious demands, but can also answer any exciting question or solve a difficult life situation. Any worthy person who has been trained can become a rabbi. But to retain this right is quite difficult. After all, any person appealing to him expects from the rabbi a council based not only on personal experience, but on wisdom, carried through the ages.