A rabbi (/ˈræbaɪ/; Hebrew: רַבִּי, romanized: rabbī) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism.[1][2] One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as semikha—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of the rabbi developed in the Pharisaic (167 BCE–73 CE) and Talmudic (70–640 CE) eras, when learned teachers assembled to codify Judaism's written and oral laws. The title "rabbi" was first used in the first century CE. In more recent centuries, the duties of a 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 recognized as a rabbi. For example, only a minority of Orthodox Jewish communities accept the ordination of women rabbis.[3][4] Non-Orthodox movements (i.e., the Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, and Renewal movements) have chosen to do so for what they view as halakhic reasons (Conservative Judaism) as well as ethical reasons (Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism).[5][6]
The word comes from the Mishnaic Hebrew construct רְבִּי rǝbbī,[a] meaning "Master [Name]"; the standard Hebrew noun is רב rav "master". רב rav is also used as a title for rabbis,[8] as are rabbeinu ("our master") and ha-rav ("the master"). See also Rav and Rebbe.
The Hebrew root in turn derives from the Semitic root ר-ב-ב (R-B-B), which in Biblical Aramaic means "great" in many senses, including "revered", but appears primarily as a prefix in construct forms.[9] Although the usage rabim "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 of this use with the later title "rabbi".[10] The root is cognate to Arabic ربّ rabb,[11] meaning "lord" (generally used when talking about God, but also about temporal lords), and to the Syriac word ܪܒܝ rabi.
Some communities, especially Sephardic and Yemenite Jews, historically pronounced the title רִבִּי rībbī; this pronunciation competed with רְבִּי rǝbbī and רַבִּי rabbī in Ashkenaz until the modern period.[12][13]
Rabbi is not an occupation found in the Hebrew Bible, and ancient generations did not employ related titles such as Rabban, Rabbi, or Rav to describe either the Babylonian sages or the sages in Israel. For example, Hillel I and Shammai (the religious leaders of the early first century) had no rabbinic title prefixed to their names. The titles "Rabban" and "Rabbi" are first mentioned in Jewish literature in the Mishnah. Rabban was first used for Rabban Gamaliel the elder, Rabban Simeon his son, and Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai, all of whom were patriarchs or presidents of the Sanhedrin in the first century. Early recipients of the title rabbi include Rabbi Zadok and Rabbi Eliezer ben Jacob, beginning in the time of the disciples of Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai. The title "Rabbi" occurs (in Greek transliteration ῥαββί rabbi) 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.[13][14]According to some, th