What is a Rabbi?

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WHAT IS A RABBI & WHERE DID THEY COME FROM ?

RABBI In Judaism, a rabbi /ˈræbaɪ/ is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רַבִּי RABI [ˈʁäbi], meaning "My Master" (irregular plural רבנים rabanim [ʁäbäˈnim]), which is the way a student would address a master of Torah. The word "master" רב rav [ˈʁäv] literally means "great one".

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. The first sage for whom the Mishnah uses the title of rabbi was Yohanan ben Zakkai, active in the early to mid first century CE. [1] 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. For example, Orthodox Judaism does not ordain women as rabbis, but other movements have chosen to do so for halakhic reasons (Conservative Judaism) as well as ethical reasons (Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism).

The word rabbi derives from the Semitic root R-B-B, in Hebrew script רַב rav, which in biblical Aramaic means "great" in many senses, including "revered", but appears primarily as a prefix in construct forms.[4] Although the usage rabbim "many" (as 1 Kings 18:25, הָרַבִּים) "the majority, the multitude" occurs for the assembly of the community in the Dead Sea scrolls there is no evidence to support an association with the later title "Rabbi."[5] The root 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 HEBREW BIBLE, 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. [6] 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.[7] The title "Rabbi" occurs 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.[8][9]

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").