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Becoming a Rabbi

Answered by Rabbi Raphael Leban

Question

Please describe the process by which one becomes a rabbi?

Becoming a Rabbi is not like getting a driver’s license. It requires years and years of study, a thorough knowledge of some fundamental areas of Jewish law and a familiarity with much of the rest of Jewish law.

Answer

Then ‘semichah’, what we translate as ordination, can be received from certain Rabbis who themselves are willing and capable of conferring such title. It’s basically a process of entering the unbroken chain of Torah transmission and teaching authority from Moses until our present Rabbinic leadership.

Some Rabbis become leaders of congregations, others become teachers, still others judges. They are many and a varied group. But what binds them together is a love and dedication to G-d, His Torah and His People, Israel.

Regards,
Raphael Leban

Follow-up question

Question

Does that mean anyone who is Jewish can become a rabbi? Are there any disqualifying characteristics as there are in Christianity?

Answer

In answer to your question, there aren’t really any criteria for who could become a rabbi. Because of the strictures of modesty and tradition, rabbis are men, but a convert or any other Jewish man could study and develop himself until he was worthy of the title. In that sense, a rabbi is different from even a president of the United States, since only someone who is born here qualifies to be president.

Rabbi Raphael Leban
www.TheJE.com
Denver, CO