rabbi

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Pronunciations

rabbi (RAB-eye) listen

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Definitions

  • n. The spiritual leader of a Jewish congregation, capable of making halachic decisions.

  • n. A respectful title when addressing a teacher.

Example Sentences

  • "Each student has a rabbi who acts as his personal mentor to help him navigate yeshiva and life." (source)

  • "Toledo is the reputed birthplace of Rabbi Avraham ibn Ezra." (Glinert)

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Aramaic

Etymology

  • TH רַבִּי, lit. 'my teacher'

      • Who Uses This

      • Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education

      Regions

      • North America

      Dictionaries

      • The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).
      • The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).

Notes

  • "A rabbi leads services, gives sermons, educates children, and counsels the congregants in a synagogue. Not all rabbis lead congregations; they are trained for religious leadership and may work in other roles, including teacher, scholar, counselor, mohel, or mashgiach. The various movements of Judaism each have their own seminaries, which offer training and rabbinical ordination (semikhah). For example, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College is the Reconstructionist movement’s seminary. The Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist movements all ordain women as rabbis." (JPS)

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