Opinion by Rabbi Moshe Yess I have received some rather snickery comments about being an "unordained" Rabbi. People should ask, research and examine carefully before they make snap judgements and assume matters in their own minds. Hence my voluntary reprint here of who and what a Rabbi is. ********************************* Below is a recently edited email response to a fellow Jew about ordained and non-ordained Rabbis that I sent. The recipient will stay anonymous but his question was..."Where did I get my ordination?" Enjoy! Rabbi Moshe Yess ************************* email now follows ************************* Dear *****, Love that question! You've given me an opportunity to sound off on one of my deepest held feelings. Thank you. Here goes. I attended D'var Yerushalayim Yeshiva (a Rabbi college) in Jerusalem for almost 7 years. [In total] I have studied Judaism for over 25 years from Rabbis the world over and specifically the teaching of the Lubavitcher Rebbe [Rabbi M.M.Schneerson] who designated me in his Holy handwriting as an "Oisek Bitsorchei Tsibur" - "one who works for the needs of the community." I did not realize what that [designation] even meant when I first received it. I asked one Chabad Rabbi in Toronto about it and he was shocked. He told me that such a designation from the Rebbe, Rabbi Schneerson, was usually reserved for Roshei Yeshivos (heads of Yeshivas). To this day that designation by the Rebbe has astounded me. It seems to me to be undeserved as applied to a musician (my former full time occupation). ------------------------ [UPDATE] On August 20, 2003 I was informed of the following by a friend:- "On a lighter note; the Rebbe described you as an "Oisek Bitsorchei Tsibur." In Halachah [Jewish Law] an Oisek Bitsorchei Tsibur is of a higher stature than a Rabbi. For more information on "Mihu Rov", see "Kovets Razash" [Kehot Publcation Society. 5747] p.135-141. ------------------------ Although the opportunity to get smichah, Rabbinic ordination, has been available to me since 1978, I made a personal choice not to get ordination due to:- 1) the more urgent need at the time to get the Jewish Bible message out to uncommitted Jews which I did with music concerts for almost 20 years non-stop on 5 continents. 2) my deep personal disgust with Rabbinic politics, the inherent politics associated with acquiring ordination from highly political Rabbinical ordination colleges, and Jewish religious organizational politics in general which have turned Orthodox Judaism today into a collection of "armed camps" at war with one another for funding and influence as opposed to promoting general Jewish and specifically Orthodox unity and unconditional love of all Jews and our fellow men. Let me just say briefly that all that "appears" to be Jewish and kosher....ain't! Humility is the only vessel capable of receiving Godliness. Holier than thou, prideful, Jewish elitism (in any sector of world Jewry and especially in the general Jewish Rabbinate) is the very antithesis of the essential message of the Torah. Micah 6:8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God. Your question assumes that all Rabbis are ordained. It assumes that only ordained Rabbis are real Rabbis. That is just plain incorrect. The word Rabbi is generally understood today to mean an ordained teacher of Jewish Law. There are many awesomely gifted and wonderful ordained Orthodox Rabbis who have self sacrificed greatly to acquire what they have learned. Many are specialists in particular areas of Jewish Law. Many are responsible for keeping Judaism alive and healthy. They deserve our highest respect only when they personally behave in strict accordance with Torah's Legal and moral teachings. Know with a certainty that acquiring ordination and massive amounts of Torah wisdom does not bestow infallibility upon the receiver of that ordination. No man is free of sin. No Rabbi (ordained or otherwise) is above the Law. Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist "schools" of Judaism are pumping out officially "Ordained" female Rabbis. Orthodox Jewish Law forbids that. Go figure. I personally embrace the belief that one who is capable of teaching Torah, even at its simplest level, to another, is deserving of the title of Rabbi as long as he clarifies that he is unordained should that be the case. So if you know aleph (the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet) and teach someone aleph .....then to your pupil you are a Rabbi as the Ethics of the Fathers 6:3 conveys: ________________________________________ ____ ETHICS OF THE FATHERS Chapter 6, Mishna 3 Translated by Rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld "One who learns from his fellow a single chapter [of Torah], a single law, a single verse, a single statement, or even a single letter, must treat him with honor. For so we find with David, King of Israel, who learned from Achitofel two things alone, and he called him his teacher [Rabbi], his guide, and his intimate, as it is said: 'And you are a man of my worth, my guide and intimate' (Psalms 55:14). And does not this matter allow for logical deduction: If David, King of Israel, who learned from Achitofel two things alone, called him his teacher, guide and intimate, one who learns from his fellow one chapter, one law, one verse, one statement, or even one letter, all the more so must he treat him with honor. And honor is [only due for] Torah, as it says: 'Honor - the wise shall inherit' (Proverbs 3:35); 'And perfect ones will inherit good' (ibid., 28:10). And there is no good other than Torah, as it says, 'For a good possession have I given you; do not forsake My Torah' (ibid., 4:2)." ... _________________________________ By the way... (not that I am in anyway implying any comparison to myself whatsoever) I was informed that Rambam, Maimonides, (one of Judaism's greatest Sages of all times) never received ordination. Rabbi Akiva (cited in the Talmud) never received ordination. See here for this: "Shimon Ben Azzai, we are taught, "looked and died." He and his friend, Ben Zoma, were students and colleagues of Rabbi Akiva. Neither was ever ordained as a Rabbi, although their opinions are often quoted in the Talmud." ****************************** Are we to dismiss these awesome, historically towering giants of Torah wisdom because they lacked ordination? I have never presented myself as an ordained Rabbi as my interviews on the Art Bell show so reveal. Truth be known...in the Talmudic era Rabbis had incomes from a craft such as a cobbler or a tailor. Somewhere along the line it was ruled that Rabbis could charge for their Torah knowledge because the time they spent teaching could have been used earning an income elsewhere. In my not so humble opinion that was the death knoll for the office of "Rabbi." Today we see Hebrew illiterate synagogue committees telling "ordained" Rabbis what to teach and how to conduct services. Rabbis are under personal financial threat by synagogue committees who have Rabbinic contract cancellation powers at their disposal. I have seen Rabbis compromised by this catastrophic, "power of the buck" intimidation dynamic. As I stated already female Rabbis are forbidden in Orthodox Jewish Law...yet we see that the Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist "schools" of Judaism ordain women [in contradiction to Orthodox Jewish Law] and the latter two perform gay marriages and have gay synagogues! --------------------------- Leviticus 18:22 "You shall not lie with a man as one lies with a woman, it is an abomination." --------------------------- What's wrong with this "ordained Rabbi" picture? Most Jews want a Rabbi for life event matters like weddings, bar mitzvahs, running synagogues and the such. I am not in that business (and it is a fee based business!) My love is Torah... entirely free from political/economic interferences of any sort. In my life's experiences many of the wisest of "Rabbis" I have encountered were occupied in a craft and free of these above mentioned matters. So take your pick! It's tragically a free marketplace in Judaism today. Such was forecasted to occur just before the arrival of Judaism's King Messiah, Moshiach. Now if you really want to split hairs about this matter. The Lubavitcher Rebbe stated that all Jews connected to himself were his "Shluchim", his emmissaries. In Jewish Law an emmissary is legally and literally in place of the one who sends him. Get the point? Hope this answered your question. Be most discerning about who you allow to communicate God's Words to yourself. There are hidden agendas you may not be aware of. ***************************** Cambridge Dictionary on the title of Rabbi: (the title of) a Jewish religious leader or a teacher of Jewish law. ****************************** I would like to hear your response to this email. Yours truly, Rabbi Moshe Yess |
Opinion by Rabbi Moshe Yess I have received some rather snickery comments about being an "unordained" Rabbi. People should ask, research and examine carefully before they make snap judgements and assume matters in their own minds. Hence my voluntary reprint here of who and what a Rabbi is. ********************************* Below is a recently edited email response to a fellow Jew about ordained and non-ordained Rabbis that I sent. The recipient will stay anonymous but his question was..."Where did I get my ordination?" Enjoy! Rabbi Moshe Yess ************************* email now follows ************************* Dear *****, Love that question! You've given me an opportunity to sound off on one of my deepest held feelings. Thank you. Here goes. I attended D'var Yerushalayim Yeshiva (a Rabbi college) in Jerusalem for almost 7 years. [In total] I have studied Judaism for over 25 years from Rabbis the world over and specifically the teaching of the Lubavitcher Rebbe [Rabbi M.M.Schneerson] who designated me in his Holy handwriting as an "Oisek Bitsorchei Tsibur" - "one who works for the needs of the community." I did not realize what that [designation] even meant when I first received it. I asked one Chabad Rabbi in Toronto about it and he was shocked. He told me that such a designation from the Rebbe, Rabbi Schneerson, was usually reserved for Roshei Yeshivos (heads of Yeshivas). To this day that designation by the Rebbe has astounded me. It seems to me to be undeserved as applied to a musician (my former full time occupation). ------------------------ [UPDATE] On August 20, 2003 I was informed of the following by a friend:- "On a lighter note; the Rebbe described you as an "Oisek Bitsorchei Tsibur." In Halachah [Jewish Law] an Oisek Bitsorchei Tsibur is of a higher stature than a Rabbi. For more information on "Mihu Rov", see "Kovets Razash" [Kehot Publcation Society. 5747] p.135-141. ------------------------ Although the opportunity to get smichah, Rabbinic ordination, has been available to me since 1978, I made a personal choice not to get ordination due to:- 1) the more urgent need at the time to get the Jewish Bible message out to uncommitted Jews which I did with music concerts for almost 20 years non-stop on 5 continents. 2) my deep personal disgust with Rabbinic politics, the inherent politics associated with acquiring ordination from highly political Rabbinical ordination colleges, and Jewish religious organizational politics in general which have turned Orthodox Judaism today into a collection of "armed camps" at war with one another for funding and influence as opposed to promoting general Jewish and specifically Orthodox unity and unconditional love of all Jews and our fellow men. Let me just say briefly that all that "appears" to be Jewish and kosher....ain't! Humility is the only vessel capable of receiving Godliness. Holier than thou, prideful, Jewish elitism (in any sector of world Jewry and especially in the general Jewish Rabbinate) is the very antithesis of the essential message of the Torah. Micah 6:8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God. Your question assumes that all Rabbis are ordained. It assumes that only ordained Rabbis are real Rabbis. That is just plain incorrect. The word Rabbi is generally understood today to mean an ordained teacher of Jewish Law. There are many awesomely gifted and wonderful ordained Orthodox Rabbis who have self sacrificed greatly to acquire what they have learned. Many are specialists in particular areas of Jewish Law. Many are responsible for keeping Judaism alive and healthy. They deserve our highest respect only when they personally behave in strict accordance with Torah's Legal and moral teachings. Know with a certainty that acquiring ordination and massive amounts of Torah wisdom does not bestow infallibility upon the receiver of that ordination. No man is free of sin. No Rabbi (ordained or otherwise) is above the Law. Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist "schools" of Judaism are pumping out officially "Ordained" female Rabbis. Orthodox Jewish Law forbids that. Go figure. I personally embrace the belief that one who is capable of teaching Torah, even at its simplest level, to another, is deserving of the title of Rabbi as long as he clarifies that he is unordained should that be the case. So if you know aleph (the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet) and teach someone aleph .....then to your pupil you are a Rabbi as the Ethics of the Fathers 6:3 conveys: ________________________________________ ____ ETHICS OF THE FATHERS Chapter 6, Mishna 3 Translated by Rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld "One who learns from his fellow a single chapter [of Torah], a single law, a single verse, a single statement, or even a single letter, must treat him with honor. For so we find with David, King of Israel, who learned from Achitofel two things alone, and he called him his teacher [Rabbi], his guide, and his intimate, as it is said: 'And you are a man of my worth, my guide and intimate' (Psalms 55:14). And does not this matter allow for logical deduction: If David, King of Israel, who learned from Achitofel two things alone, called him his teacher, guide and intimate, one who learns from his fellow one chapter, one law, one verse, one statement, or even one letter, all the more so must he treat him with honor. And honor is [only due for] Torah, as it says: 'Honor - the wise shall inherit' (Proverbs 3:35); 'And perfect ones will inherit good' (ibid., 28:10). And there is no good other than Torah, as it says, 'For a good possession have I given you; do not forsake My Torah' (ibid., 4:2)." ... _________________________________ By the way... (not that I am in anyway implying any comparison to myself whatsoever) I was informed that Rambam, Maimonides, (one of Judaism's greatest Sages of all times) never received ordination. Rabbi Akiva (cited in the Talmud) never received ordination. See here for this: "Shimon Ben Azzai, we are taught, "looked and died." He and his friend, Ben Zoma, were students and colleagues of Rabbi Akiva. Neither was ever ordained as a Rabbi, although their opinions are often quoted in the Talmud." ****************************** Are we to dismiss these awesome, historically towering giants of Torah wisdom because they lacked ordination? I have never presented myself as an ordained Rabbi as my interviews on the Art Bell show so reveal. Truth be known...in the Talmudic era Rabbis had incomes from a craft such as a cobbler or a tailor. Somewhere along the line it was ruled that Rabbis could charge for their Torah knowledge because the time they spent teaching could have been used earning an income elsewhere. In my not so humble opinion that was the death knoll for the office of "Rabbi." Today we see Hebrew illiterate synagogue committees telling "ordained" Rabbis what to teach and how to conduct services. Rabbis are under personal financial threat by synagogue committees who have Rabbinic contract cancellation powers at their disposal. I have seen Rabbis compromised by this catastrophic, "power of the buck" intimidation dynamic. As I stated already female Rabbis are forbidden in Orthodox Jewish Law...yet we see that the Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist "schools" of Judaism ordain women [in contradiction to Orthodox Jewish Law] and the latter two perform gay marriages and have gay synagogues! --------------------------- Leviticus 18:22 "You shall not lie with a man as one lies with a woman, it is an abomination." --------------------------- What's wrong with this "ordained Rabbi" picture? Most Jews want a Rabbi for life event matters like weddings, bar mitzvahs, running synagogues and the such. I am not in that business (and it is a fee based business!) My love is Torah... entirely free from political/economic interferences of any sort. In my life's experiences many of the wisest of "Rabbis" I have encountered were occupied in a craft and free of these above mentioned matters. So take your pick! It's tragically a free marketplace in Judaism today. Such was forecasted to occur just before the arrival of Judaism's King Messiah, Moshiach. Now if you really want to split hairs about this matter. The Lubavitcher Rebbe stated that all Jews connected to himself were his "Shluchim", his emmissaries. In Jewish Law an emmissary is legally and literally in place of the one who sends him. Get the point? Hope this answered your question. Be most discerning about who you allow to communicate God's Words to yourself. There are hidden agendas you may not be aware of. ***************************** Cambridge Dictionary on the title of Rabbi: (the title of) a Jewish religious leader or a teacher of Jewish law. ****************************** I would like to hear your response to this email. Yours truly, Rabbi Moshe Yess |
Who And What Is A Rabbi? |
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"Your question assumes that all Rabbis are ordained. It assumes that only ordained Rabbis are real Rabbis. That is just plain incorrect." |
