1. ENCYCLOPAEDIAJUDAICA

2. ENCYCLOPAEDIAJUDAICAS E C O N D E D I T I O NVOLUME 17RaSamFred Skolnik, Editor in ChiefMichael Berenbaum, Executive EditorIN ASSOCIATION WITHKETER PUBLISHING HOUSE LtD., JERUSALEM 3. ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second EditionFred Skolnik, Editor in ChiefMichael Berenbaum, Executive EditorShlomo S. (Yosh) Gafni, Editorial Project ManagerRachel Gilon, Editorial Project Planning and ControlThomson GaleGordon Macomber, PresidentFrank Menchaca, Senior Vice President and PublisherJay Flynn, PublisherHlne Potter, Publishing DirectorKeter Publishing HouseYiphtach Dekel, Chief Executive OfficerPeter Tomkins, Executive Project DirectorComplete staff listings appear in Volume 12007 Keter Publishing House Ltd.Thomson Gale is a part of The ThomsonCorporation. 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TABLE OF CONTENTSEntries RaSam5AbbreviationsGeneral Abbreviations783Abbreviations used in Rabbinical Literature784Bibliographical Abbreviations790Transliteration Rules803Glossary806 5. RAAB, ESTHER (18941981), Hebrew poet. Raab, born inPetah Tikvah, is considered the first Hebrew poetess in ErezIsrael. Her father, Judah *Raab, had immigrated from Hun-garyand helped found the first moshavah, where she grewup in poverty and hardship. After a short stay in Deganyah,she worked in Ben Shemen and returned home. In 1921 shemarried her cousin, the merchant Yitzhak Green and spentfive years with him in Cairo and in Paris. Back in Tel Aviv, thecouples home became a meeting place for writers and paint-ers.Her first poems appeared in Hedim in the beginning ofthe 1920s. In 1930, shortly before the publication of her firstcollection of poems, Kimshonim (Thistles, 2002), her husbanddied. Two years later, Raab married the painter Arieh Alweil.Her second collection, Shirei Esther Raab, appeared morethan 30 years later, in 1964. Her late poems appeared in thevolume Tefillah Aharonah (Last Prayer, 1972). Yalkut Shirim,published in 1982, includes a lengthy introduction by ReuvenShoham. A collection of stories, Gan she-Harav, with storiesdepicting her childhood and youth in the moshavah and hervivid impressions of her stay in Egypt, appeared in 1983. Hernephew, the writer Ehud Ben Ezer, edited Kol ha-Shirim (1988)and Kol ha-Prozah (2001) and wrote her biography Yamim shelLaanah u-Devash (Days of Gall and Honey including abibliography, 1998). The landscape of Erez Israel and the Ori-ent,colors, shades, and smells, and particularly the flora of thehomeland make up her poetic texture. Raab expresses a gen-uinelove for the country, the soil, the space, and writes pas-sionatelyrical poetry, expressing yearning, pain, disappoint-ment,and loneliness. The growing interest in Hebrew womenwriters and their oeuvre has also given rise to a rediscoveryInitial letter R of Recordare,the first word of a prologue to theapocryphal book of Baruch, in aLatin Bible written and illumi-natedin France, c. 1300. Prince-tonUniversity Library, Med. andRen. Mss., Garrett no. 29, vol. IIfol. 79v. Ra-Rzand re-appreciation of Esther Raab and her poetry. In addi-tionto the English collection Thistles, to which the translatorHarold Schimmel added an Introduction, single poems andstories appeared in foreign anthologies. For translations seethe ITHL website at www.ithl.org.il.Bibliography: E. Sharoni, Edenic Energy: E. Raabs Unme-diatedVision of Nature, in: Modern Hebrew Literature 8:34 (1983),6269; D. Melamed, Requiem for a Landscape, in: Modern HebrewLiterature, 9:34 (1984), 6972; A. Lerner, A Womans Song: The Po-etryof E. Raab, in: Gender and Text in Modern Hebrew and YiddishLiterature (1992), 1738; idem, The Naked Land: Nature in the Poetryof E. Raab, in: Women of the Word (1994), 23657; B. Mann, Fram-ingthe Native: E. Raabs Visual Poetics, in: Israel Studies, 4:1 (1999),23457; H. Zamir, Ahavat Moledet ve-Siah Hershim, in: Theory andCriticism, 7 (1995), 12545; E. Ben Ezer, E. Raab ve-ha-Aravim, in:Nativ, 9:5 (1996), 7278; Z. Luz, E. Raab, Monografiyyah (1997); E.Ben Ezer, Or Hadash al E. Raab ve-Y. Luidor, in: Iton 77, 255 (2001),1720; Sh. Zayit, Ani Amarti et Kol ha-Emet, Ani Nishbaat: Ha-Model ha-Biografi shel E. Raab, in: Masad, 2 (2004), 2129.[Anat Feinberg (2nd ed.)]RAAB (Ben-Ezer), JUDAH (18581948), pioneer and oneof the first Jewish guards in Erez Israel. Born in the village ofSzent Istvn in western Hungary into a farming family whichhad contacts with the Jewish community in Erez Israel, Raabwent to Erez Israel with his father in 1876. He joined the groupof Jerusalemites who founded Petah Tikvah and plowed thefirst furrow in its fields in 1878. He was one of the first guardsand was responsible for the settlements security during itsearly years. When Petah Tikvah was abandoned during thesabbatical year (shemittah) of 1882, Raab became an instruc-ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 17 5 6. raanannahtor for new settlers in Rishon le-Zion and the Bilu settlers.In 1883, when Petah Tikvah was resettled, he returned andinstructed new immigrants (the Byalistokites) in agricul-turaltechniques. Raab was appointed a foreman by Baronde *Rothschilds officials and struggled to maintain the agri-culturalcharacter of Petah Tikvah. His memoirs, Ha-Telemha-Rishon (1956) recorded by his son, B. Ben-Ezer, constitutevaluable material on the early history of Jewish settlement inErez Israel. His daughter Esther *Raab (18941981) was bornin Petah Tikvah and joined kibbutz Deganyah in her youth.After her marriage she lived in Egypt for five years and thenin Tel Aviv, returning afterward to Petah Tikvah. Her earlylyric poetry, characterized by its descriptions of the landscapeof Erez Israel, is collected in Kimshonim (1930). Her collectedpoems were published in Kol ha-Shirim (1988).Bibliography: Y. Yaari and M. Harizman, Sefer ha-Yovel shelPetah Tikvah (1929), 1269, 18792; Tidhar, 1 (1947), 11921.[Yehuda Slutsky]RAANANNAH (Heb. ), urban community with mu-nicipalcouncil status in central Israel, N.E. of Herzliyyah.Raanannah was established in 1922 as a village (moshavah) bya group of American Jews who founded Ahuzzat New York AInc. (1912). The land was bought through the Palestine LandDevelopment Company. Initially there were many economicdifficulties. An attempt was made to raise cattle as the main-stayof the economy. Raanannah progressed in the later 1920sand in the 1930s when a rich groundwater table was tapped,the citrus branch introduced, and middle-class immigrants ofthe Fourth Aliyah and later newcomers were absorbed. Withthe crisis in the citrus branch during World War II, the set-tlerschanged over to mixed farming and made beginnings inindustry. In the 1940s, two housing quarters for Yemenite andother immigrants were built with contributions from Zionistsin the United States and South Africa. In 1947, Raanannah had3,800 inhabitants and grew quickly after the War of Indepen-dence(1948) when mabarot (immigrant transit camp) inhab-itantswere given permanent housing (1953 9,000 inhabit-ants;1968 11,900). Raanannah belonged to the outer ringof the Tel Aviv conurbation and developed various industriesas well as agriculture. Over the years, most of Raanannahsfarmland became built-up areas. In 1981 Raanannah receivedcity status, with an area of about 6 sq. mi. (15 sq. km.). In themid-1990s the population was approximately 56,900, risingto 68,900 in 2002. The city had a large community of immi-grantsfrom English-speaking countries. Its expansion reachedthe outskirts of *Herzliyyah in the south. In 1996 a high-techindustrial area was established, housing such big companiesas Amdocs. Raanannah was one of the few Israeli cities to re-ceiveISO 9002 certification for the quality of its public ser-vices.Income among residents was much higher than thenational average.Website: www.raanana.muni.il.[Efraim Orni / Shaked Gilboa (2nd ed.)]RABAN, AVNER (19372004), Israeli underwater archaeolo-gist.Born in kibbutz Ramat David in the Jezreel Valley, Rabansinterest in underwater activities began after completing hismilitary service while fishing with nets along the coast of Israeland accidentally discovering archaeological artifacts. Rabanstudied fine arts at the Oranim Teachers College from 1958 to1960. In 1961 he became one of the founders of the UnderwaterExploration Society of Israel, together with Dr. Elisha Linder.The society eventually joined the International Confederationof Underwater Activity (CMAS), headed by Jacques Cousteau,and Raban in time took part in a number of underwater ex-peditionsworking in the Mediterranean area, notably on theexcavation of the Yassi Ada shipwreck off the coast of Turkey.Raban was co-director and staff member of various under-waterexpeditions in Israel: Akhziv (1961); surveys along thenorthern coast of Israel (1964); Acre (1965); and Athlit (1966).In 1966 Raban began his academic studies at the Hebrew Uni-versityof Jerusalem, studying archaeology and geography. Toqualify for his B.A. Raban participated in a number of exca-vationson land, at Megiddo and Hazor. During the Six-DayWar (1967), he discovered several shipwrecks in the Red Seawhile combing the Straits of Tiran and Snapir for mines. In1968 he directed his first underwater excavation at Sharm el-Sheikh, which led to an interdisciplinary survey of the Gulfof Eilat and a survey of the east coast of Sinai in 196970, theexcavation of the Mercury Wreck in the Red Sea in 1972,and the excavation of a wreck in the Naama Gulf of the RedSea in 1973. In 1981 Raban received his Ph.D. degree from theHebrew University of Jerusalem, subsequently teaching in theDepartment of Maritime Civilizations and the Center of Mari-timeStudies at Haifa University, where eventually he became afull professor. From the mid-1970s Raban concentrated on thearchaeological study of the harbors along the coast at Israel,namely at Acre, Dor, Athlit, and Caesarea, as well as furtherafield in Crete and Sicily. Between 1972 and 1992 Raban alsoconducted work on land, with a survey of the Jezreel Valley,and digging at Tell Abu-Hawam. From the 1980s on Rabandedicated many years to the study of Caesarea Maritima, but,unfortunately, was unable to complete the two-volume reportThe Harbors of Caesarea, when he unexpectedly died whilevisiting London during a sabbatical at Oxford.Bibliography: R. Gertwagen, Obituary: Avner Raban(19372004), in: Bulletin of the Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society,22 (2004), 7982.[Shimon Gibson (2nd ed.)]RABB, MAXWELL MILTON (19102002), U.S. attorney,government official, and Jewish community leader. Rabb,who was born in Boston, graduated from Harvard Law Schooland was admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1935. He subse-quentlybecame an administrative assistant to Senators HenryCabot Lodge (193743) and Sinclair Weeks (1944). After navalservice, Rabb became a legal and legislative consultant to Sec-retaryof the Navy James Forrestal in 1946. He later served asassociate counsel to President Dwight Eisenhower (195354),6 ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 17 7. and was secretary to Eisenhowers cabinet from 1954 to 1958.Rabb was sent as chairman of the U.S. delegation to the tenthsession of UNESCO in Paris in 1958, later serving on the exec-utivecommittee of the United States Committee for UNESCO(195960). President Johnson appointed Rabb to the Commis-sionon Income Maintenance Programs (the Heineman Com-missionon welfare and related programs, 196870). He wasa trustee of the American Health Foundation (196974) andserved on the Council of Foreign Relations (1978). Between1981 and 1989 he was American ambassador to Italy.Among other posts, Rabb was a director of several corpo-rationsand a member of the board of directors of the NAACPLegal Defense and Educational Fund. He also served as pres-identof the United States Committee for Refugees, a privategroup organized in 1958 that dealt with refugee resettlementand immigration. Active in Jewish community affairs, Rabbwas chairman of the government division of the UJA (195357),a member of the board of governors of the Hebrew Union Col-lege-Jewish Institute of Religion, and vice chairman of the NewYork executive committee of the Anti-Defamation League,among many other posts. Rabb was a member of the New Yorklaw firm of Stroock, Stroock and Lavan from 1958.John Cabot University established the Maxwell RabbScholarship in honor of Rabb, who was the longest-servingAmerican ambassador to Italy. The partial-tuition scholar-shipis granted to a degree-seeking student from the U.S. orItaly who demonstrates a commitment to community serviceand/or civic involvement.[Rohan Saxena and Ruth Beloff (2nd ed.)]RABBA, MENAHEM (16t century), preacher in Padua.Rabba wrote Beit Moed (Venice, 1605), a homiletic work con-tainingsermons for every religious occasion during the year.A large number of his sermons deal with the concept of re-pentance(teshuvah) to which he ascribes a metaphysical di-mension.Although the work exhibits certain philosophic in-fluences,no specific philosophic thought is dominant. Thebook was published posthumously by Rabbas son, Elijah,who in the introduction lists other works of his father simi-larin style to Beit Moed: Ot ha-Berit, Havvat Rabba, NetivotOlam, Kelil Tekhelet, Maaneh Rakh, and Kiryat Arba, none ofwhich was published.RABBA BEN MATNAH (late fourthearly fifth century),Babylonian amora. The Talmud relates that he was a pupil of*Rabbah and *Sheshet and a colleague of *Abbaye b. Avin andHanina (Pes. 34a). On the death of R. Joseph he was a candi-date,together with Abbaye, Rava, and Zera II, for the post ofhead of the Pumbedita academy. They decided on a contestto see which of them could make a statement that the otherscould not refute. Abbaye succeeded and was appointed. Therabbis, in discussing the relative merits of the intellectual char-acteristicsof Zera and Rabba ben Matnah, described the for-meras keen witted, and sharp intellectually, whereas Rabbaben Matnah was slow in deliberation, and so able to arriverabbahat firm conclusions in deciding a law (Hor. ad fin). Strangelyenough, though he was apparently a very great scholar, noneof his teaching has survived. However if he is to be identifiedwith R. Abba II much of his wisdom has been recorded un-derthe latter name.Bibliography: Halevy, Dorot, 2 (1923), 4601; Hyman, To-ledot,S.V.RABBAH (Ha-Rabbah; Heb. .( ,(1) An abbreviation for *Rabbath-Ammon.(2) A town in Judah mentioned with Kiriath-Jearim aspart of the inheritance of the tribe of Judah in the hill coun-try(Joshua 15:60). It is probably identical with a city calledRbt near Gezer in Thutmosis IIIs list of Canaanite cities (no.105). It may also be mentioned in a cuneiform letter found atTaanach. According to two el-Amarna letters (289, 290) sentby the king of Jerusalem to the pharaoh, Milkilu, the king ofGezer, together with Shuwardata captured Rubutu with the aidof mercenaries. The name appears for the last time in Shishakslist of conquered towns, after Gezer and before Aijalon. Somescholars, following the Septuagint, identify Rabbah with Soba(Ar. Sb) near Jerusalem, but the recently discovered site ofKhirbat Br (Bir) al-Hil fits the descriptions in the ancientsources remarkably well.(3) An abbreviation for the city of Rabbath-Moab, nowKhirbat al-Rabba, 14 mi. (c. 22 km.) south of the River Arnon.Alexander Yannai conquered it with other cities in Moab; af-terhis death it was restored to the Nabateans by Hyrcanus II(Jos., Ant., 14:18). It is called Rabbathmoba by Ptolemy (5:16,4) and appears thus on the coins of his time. Rabbah appearsas a district capital in one of the Babatha letters found in theNahal Hever in 1961. Eusebius refers to it as Areopolis, thetown of the war god Ares (Onom. 124:15 ff.). In the fourth cen-turyit was identified with the Ar of Moab of Numbers 21:28;recently, the remains of a Canaanite-Moabite city (Early andLate Bronze ages) were found at al-Mishna in the vicinity ofKhirbat al-Rabba. In late Roman times, Rabbah was a postof the Equites Mauri Illyriciani (Notitia Dignitatum 80:5);remains of a temple, walls, and a citadel have been noticedhere. A sumptuous Jewish synagogue was destroyed there inthe fifth century by the fanatical monk Bar-Sauma. After theArab conquest, Rabbah, sometimes called Moab by Arab ge-ographers,continued in existence. It is mentioned in 1321 asa village in the district of Karak and as a station on the Da-mascus-al-Karak road.Bibliography: Glueck, in: AASOR, 14 (1934), 62; Press,Erez, S.V.; Abel, Geog, 2 (1938), 235; Aharoni, Land, index; idem,in: VT (1969).[Michael Avi-Yonah]RABBAH (Mar-Rava), gaon of Pumbedita from 651, con-temporaryof *Huna, gaon of Sura. Rabbah and Huna werejointly responsible for one of the earliest and most importantof post-talmudic takkanot, the takkanah of the Moredet (theobstreperous wife). According to the Talmud, a Jewish wifeENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 17 7 8. rabbah bar bar Hanacould demand a divorce only in certain exceptional cases spec-ifiedin talmudic law (as for instance when her husband wasstricken with a repulsive disease). The new takkanah extendedthe reasons and made it possible for some women to obtaindissolution of their marriages by the local courts obliging thehusband to issue a divorce, without her forfeiting the amountof her ketubbah or suffering any loss of property which shehad brought into the marriage. Moreover, the period of wait-ingwas reduced from the usual 12 months to as short as oneto four weeks.Bibliography: Baron, Social2, 6 (1958), 132f.; H. Tykocinski,Takkanot ha-Geonim (1960), 1129.[Meir Havazelet]RABBAH BAR BAR HANA (second half of the third cen-tury),amora. As his fathers name was also Rabbah, it isthought his patronymic referred to his grandfather (see *Rab-bahbar Hana). Born in Babylonia, he went to Erez Israel tostudy in the academy of R. Johanan, and many years after re-turnedto his native land, where he disseminated the teachingsof Johanan, transmitting in his name close to 200 halakhot inall spheres. The heads of the Babylonian academies, such asR. Judah of Pumbedita and his distinguished disciples, Rab-bah,and R. Joseph, transmitted in his name halakhot they hadlearned from him. He suffered from the persecutions of theSassanids who even broke into his house, and he complained:Merciful One! Either in Thy shadow or in the shadow of Esau[= Rome] (Git. 17a). It is possible that in consequence of thesesufferings he decided to return to Erez Israel (Pes. 51a), butthere is no evidence that he did so.Rabbah achieved great renown for his remarkable leg-ends(known as the aggadot of Rabbah bar Bar Hana andchiefly found in the tractate Bava Batra (73a74a). These talespurport to relate what he saw and heard during his manyjourneys by sea and land. They are marked by hyperbole, andexcited the wonder of contemporary scholars. Some of themspoke out sharply against him: Every Abba is an ass and ev-erybar Bar Hana is a fool (BB 74a). Rabbah ascribes some ofhis stories to sailors and Arabs, but begins most of them withthe words, I myself saw. The following is a typical one: Wewere once traveling in a desert and an Arab joined us. Hesaid to me: Come and I will show you where the men of Ko-rahwere swallowed up (cf. Num. 16:23ff). I saw two cracksthat emitted smoke. I took a piece of clipped wool, dipped it inwater, attached it to the point of a spear, and inserted it there,and when I took it out it was singed. He said to me: Listencarefully! What do you hear? I heard them crying out: Mosesand his Torah are true and we are liars! The Arab said to meEvery 30 days Gehenna returns them here as meat turns ona spit, and they cry out: Moses and his Torah are true and weare liars (BB 74a).The expositors of the Talmud, aware of the strangenessof these stories, sought to rationalize them. Yom Tov b. Abra-ham*Ishbili stated: The stories in this chapter deal with sub-jectsthat are strange to people because they are unfamiliarwith them, but they are very plausible to those with a knowl-edgeof nature, such as the size of sea monsters and the size ofwaves in a storm. They also contain allusions to matters whichwere not seen with the eye but in a vision. For when the sageswent on ocean voyages they saw there Gods wonders andduring their sleep they experienced remarkable visions in thecontext of their meditations. The geonim wrote that wher-everthe words I myself saw occur, it was in a dream whileon a voyage. Some regard these tales and aggadot as ethicaland national allegories, while others see them as intimationsand cryptic sayings (see Maharsha (Samuel Eliezer b. Judah*Edels), ad loc.).Bibliography: Hyman, Toledot, 107678; Bacher, BabAmor, 8793; idem, Ergaenzungen und Berichtigungen (1913), 10;Bacher, Trad, 699, S.V.[Abraham Arzi]RABBAH BAR HANA (TJ, Abba bar Hana, e.g., in BM 5:5;early third century), Babylonian amora. In Babylon Rabbahstudied under his uncle, Hiyya (MK 16b), whom he subse-quentlyaccompanied to Erez Israel (MK 21a). Before they leftto return to Babylon, Hiyya asked the nasi to give Rabbah per-missionto decide matters of ritual law, monetary cases, anddefects in a firstborn animal which could render its slaughterpermissible. Although such permission was rarely granted, thenasi acceded to the request (Sanh. 5a). Rabbahs closest col-leaguewas Ray (TJ, BM 5:7, 10c), in whose company he is foundboth in Erez Israel and in Babylon (MK 21a; Hul. 44b), withwhom he held halakhic discussions (Hul. 8b), and in whosename he transmitted teachings (Shab. 50a; Nid. 47a). It is re-latedthat when Rabbah was once in mourning and thoughtthat he ought not to give his regular lecture, Rav said, We havelearned, if the public have need of him, he does not refrain(MK 21a). Little is known of Rabbahs personal life, other thanthat he traded in wine (BM 83a, see Dik. Sof. ibid.) and thathis wife died before him (BB 52a). His only known pupil wasHananel (MK 19a). Rabbah b. Hana is frequently confused with*Rabbah b. Bar Hana who, some believe, was his son. They canbe distinguished only by context and chronology.Bibliography: Hyman, Toledot.RABBAH BAR HUNA (in TJ, Abba bar Huna or Bar barHuna; d. 322 C.E.), Babylonian amora. Rabba was a discipleof both Samuel (Er. 49a), and Rav (BB 136b), in whose nameshe transmitted sayings and decisions (Ber. 25a; Shab. 97a). Hismain teacher, however, was his father, Huna (Meil. 15b), thehead of the academy at Sura (cf. Git. 35a). His father urgedhim to attend Hisdas lectures diligently. Initially, however,Rabbah found some of the matters discussed (such as per-sonalhygiene) alien to his earnest nature (Shab. 82a). Onlyin later life did he develop a close association with Hisda, andserved with him as a judge (Shab. 10a). Indeed, his eventualrespect for Hisda was such that he accepted his advice not tointroduce the Decalogue in the statutory daily prayers (Ber.12a; see Dik. Sof. thereto). He publicly acknowledged Hisdas8 ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 17 9. correction of another of his decisions, instructing his amorato deliver a discourse on the theme that no one can fully un-derstandthe words of the Torah until he has been mistakenin their interpretation (Git. 43a). The two are also known tohave studied aggadah together (Pes. 110a; 117a; Sot. 39a).After Hisdas death Rabbah was appointed head of theacademy of Sura (Iggeret Sherira Gaon, p. 82). Rabbah wasparticularly friendly with the exilarch, frequenting his home(Shab. 157b, Suk. 10b, etc.), and the exilarch used to addresshalakhic queries to him (Shab. 115b). Nevertheless, Rabbah in-sistedon his complete independence of him, and in a disputewith the members of the exilarchs household, he emphasizedthat he had received authority to act as judge from his fatherand not from the exilarch, and was therefore not bound bytheir views (Sanh. 5a). Rabbah was distinguished by his piety(Shab. 31ab), and by his modesty which his colleague Ravaonce prayed that he might emulate (MK 28a). Among his max-imsand sayings are many which stress this virtue: An insolentperson is considered a transgressor (Taan. 7b). He also taughtthat he who possesses knowledge of the Torah but is withoutthe fear of God is like a steward who, although in possessionof the inner keys of the treasure house, is unable to gain accessto it, because he does not possess the outer keys (Shab. 31ab).He also said: When a man loses his temper, even the DivinePresence is unimportant in his eyes (Ned. 22b). Rabbah diedin Babylon, but his remains were taken to Erez Israel, wherefuneral orations were delivered for him (MK 25b).Bibliography: Bacher, Bab Amor, 62f.; Hyman, Toledot,107174.RABBAH BAR NAHAMANI (c. 270330; d. 321/22 accord-ingto Iggeret R. Sherira Gaon, ed. by B.M. Lewin (1921), 87;according to Hyman c. 260340), Babylonian amora. Rabbahwas the scion of a priestly family, which traced its lineage tothe high priest Eli (RH 18a). He studied under *Huna at Sura,and under *Judah b. Ezekiel at Pumbedita (Er. 17a). To such anextent did Huna respect him that he seldom decided a ques-tionof importance without consulting him (Git. 27a; BM 18b;BB 172b, et al.). On one occasion his contemporaries in ErezIsrael suggested that he join them and study under *Johanan,maintaining that he would learn more with a guide than bystudying by himself (Ket. 111a). From Nedarim 59a, it wouldappear that he took their advice, although Bacher maintainsthat he never left Babylonia. He certainly spent most of his lifein Babylonia, where his most constant colleague was Joseph(BB 114a). Rabbahs main interest was in the halakhah, and hewas renowned for his interpretation of the Mishnah and forhis elucidation and clarification of the apparent contradic-tionscontained in various texts. He was particularly versedin the regulations concerning ritual purity, in which he wasregarded as an authority (BM 86a). Whereas Josephs ency-clopedicknowledge of traditions earned him the title Sinai,Rabbah was known as oker harim (uprooter of mountains),for his exceptionally skillful dialectic ability (Ber. 64a.). Onlyten aggadic sayings are quoted in his name (e.g., Shab. 64a;rabbah ben avuhaPes. 68b; Meg. 15b; et al.), and there is no foundation for thestatement of Abraham ibn Daud in the Sefer ha-Kabbalahthat he was the author of such aggadic compilations as Gen-esisRabbah.Judahs death left the post of the head of the academyof Pumbedita vacant. Joseph declined the office, whereuponRabbah was elected. He held the post for 22 years, until hisdeath (Ber. 64a; Iggeret R. Sherira Gaon, 8586), and underhis leadership the academy achieved its greatest renown. Thenumber of regular students rose to 400 (Ket. 106a), and duringthe *kallah months of Adar and Elul, the audiences numbered12,000 (BM 86a). Rabbahs own contribution as a teacher wassignificant. He used to put his audience in a receptive moodby beginning his lectures with witty aphorisms and interest-inganecdotes (Shab. 30b), and he would frequently invitecomment on paradoxical halakhot and deliberately captiousdecisions (Ber. 33b). However, although highly esteemed byscholars, he was intensely disliked by the members of thePumbedita community, whose behavior he frequently andseverely denounced (Shab. 153a and Rashi ibid.).Little is known of his private life other than that he waspoor. The Talmud explicitly contrasts his poverty with Hisdascomfortable economic position (MK 28a). Rabbah died intragic circumstances. Charged with aiding his large audi-encesto avoid paying poll tax during the kallah months, Rab-bahwas forced to flee the bailiffs who had been sent to seizehim. He wandered about in the vicinity of Pumbedita, andit was there, in a thicket, that his body was ultimately found(BM 86a; Iggeret R. Sherira Gaon 7887). According to theaggadah, it was on that day that the Heavenly Academy wasdebating whether, if the bright spot appeared after the whitehair (cf. Lev. 13:13), the leper was clean or unclean. The Al-mightymaintained that he was clean, the Heavenly Academythat he was unclean. Rabbah was asked for his opinion, and,as he called out Clean, clean, he expired. At that moment, aheavenly voice was heard to declare, Happy art thou, O Rab-bahb. Nahamani, whose body is pure, and whose soul hasdeparted in purity (BM 86a). According to Rosh Ha-Shanah18a (MK 28a) he was only 40 years old at his death. However,this figure is unacceptable on chronological grounds and hasgenerally been emended to 60. He was survived by a son alsocalled Rabbah (Shab. 123a). *Abbaye, who grew up in his house(Ber. 48a), was his nephew and pupil.Bibliography: Halevy, Dorot, 2 (1923), 43540; Hyman,Toledot.RABBAH BEN AVUHA, Babylonian amora of the secondhalf of the third century C.E. Rabbahs first teacher was Rav,in whose name he transmitted many sayings (Shab. 129b; Er.85a). After the latters death, he continued his studies at Sam-uelsacademy at Nehardea. When Nehardea was destroyed in259 by the Palmyrenes, he moved to Mahoza, where he wasappointed a judge (Yev. 115b) and head of the academy (Shab.59b). According to Sherira Gaon he was of the family of theexilarch, and Sherira himself claimed to be a descendant ofENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 17 9 10. rabbah ben shilahhis (Iggeret R. Sherira Gaon, ed. by B.M. Lewin (1921), 82). TheTalmud (Ber. 21a; BM 91b) records halakhic decisions in hisname. He, however, stated that his knowledge extended onlyto four orders of the Mishnah (according to Rashi, Moed,Nashim, Nezikin, and Kodashim; not Zeraim and Tohorot;but according to tosafot, the reference is to those four ordersin the Tosefta; BM 114b). A legendary account is given of themanner in which Rabbah was miraculously relieved of hispoverty. He was privileged to meet the prophet Elijah, andto discuss halakhah with him. Elijah gave him some leavesfrom paradise which, although discarded by Rabbah (in ordernot to consume his portion in the world to come), left such apleasant fragrance on his robe, that he sold it for 12,000 de-narii(BM 114ab).He had a son named R. Kamma (Er. 3a); however hismain pupil and (probably) his son-in-law was R. Nahman (b.Jacob), who transmits many of his sayings (Yev. 80b). Amonghis teachings were that the commandment to love ones neigh-boras oneself (Lev. 19:18) applies even in the execution of acriminal, and is fulfilled by granting him as easy a death aspossible (Ket. 37b).Bibliography: Hyman, Toledot, 107071.RABBAH BEN SHILAH (fl. late third early fourth centuryC.E.), Babylonian amora. His teacher was Hisda (Shab. 81a).Because of his aversion to bribery, Rabbah declared a judgeunfit to try a case involving neighbors from whom he hadborrowed anything (Ket. 105b). He was quick to defend oth-ers.According to an aggadah, Elijah appeared to Rabbah onone occasion, and told him that God mentions halakhot inthe name of the sages but not in that of R. Meir, because hehad been taught by *Elisha b. Avuyah who had denied the ex-istenceof God. Rabbah said to Elijah: Meir found a pome-granate,ate the fruit, and threw away the peel, i.e., he hadextracted only what was good from Elishas teachings, where-uponElijah replied that henceforward God would mentionMeirs name (Hag. 15b).Bibliography: Hyman, Toledot, 108384; Bacher, Bab Amor,1401.[Moshe Beer]RABBAH TOSFAAH (middle of the fifth century), Babylo-nianamora. He was a pupil of *Ravina (I) (Suk. 32a; BK 119a),and a colleague of the latters nephew, *Ravina (II) (Yev. 75b;MK 4a). He succeeded Mar Bar Rav Ashi as head of the SuraAcademy, a position he held for six years until his death in474 (Ibn Daud, Book of Tradition, 36). Although among thelast of the amoraim, he still gave original rulings. He declareda child legitimate although born to a woman whose husbandhad gone overseas 12 months before the birth, assuming thata pregnancy may extend as long as that period (Yev. 80b; foranother example see Ber. 50a). Some claim that his name,Tosfaah (the amplifier), reflects the activity of making addi-tionsof brief, explanatory remarks, through which he clarifiedtalmudic themes and decided between the conflicting opin-ionsof earlier amoraim (Halevy, Dorot, 3 (1923), 19; but seeH. Albeck, in: Sinai, Sefer Yovel (1958), 72). He is in fact men-tionedby name in the Talmud only in nine places.Bibliography: Hyman, Toledot, 1086f.; H. Albeck, Mavola-Talmudim (1969), 448.[Aaron Rothkoff]RABBANITES, name and definition current from approxi-matelythe tenth century applied to Jews accepting the OralLaw (Torah she-be-al peh) as binding and normative in thesame degree as Scripture (Torah she-bi-khetav). As with manyparty definitions the term is used with pride by the Rabban-itesthemselves and with derision and contempt by their op-ponentsthe *Karaites.RABBATHAMMON (Rabbah; Heb. , ), thecapital of the Ammonites, present-day Amman, capital ofthe Hashemite Kingdom of *Jordan. The earliest settlement,dating from the Chalcolithic period until the end of the earlyBronze Age (c. 2200 B.C.E.), was centered on a sacred rockon the acropolis. After a gap, occupation was resumed withthe establishment of the Ammonite kingdom. Its strong for-tificationsprevented its capture by the Israelites (Josh. 13:25).The bedstead of the giant *Og, king of Bashan, in Rabbath-Ammon is mentioned in the Bible (Deut. 3:11). In the time ofDavid, Joab captured the royal city and the city of waters(probably the acropolis and the water installations in the val-leybelow), but he postponed conquest of the entire city untilDavids arrival (II Sam. 1112; cf. I Chron. 20:1). Shobi, the sonof Nahash (an Ammonite king) of Rabbath-Ammon, succoredDavid when he fled before Absalom (II Sam. 17:2729). Soonafter Davids death, however, the city again became the capi-talof an independent kingdom, and it is denounced as suchby the prophets Amos (1:14), Jeremiah (49:23), and Ezekiel(21:25; 25:5). Remains of tombs and temples containing figu-rinesand seals inscribed in Ammonite have been found there.The main temple was erected over the sacred rock on theacropolis.In the Hellenistic period, Rabbath-Ammon was again aflourishing city and was known as Philadelphia in honor ofPtolemy II and his wife Arsinoe. It was besieged and taken byAntiochus III in 218 B.C.E. by a stratagem similar to that usedearlier by *Joab (see I Chron. 19:10ff.). The city successfullyresisted Alexander Yannai under its ruler Zeno Cotylas. It be-camea city of the *Decapolis in Roman times and later devel-opedinto a great and prosperous center of the caravan trade inProvincia Arabia. It was mentioned by Eusebius (Onom. 146).It was captured by the Arabs in 635 and became the capital ofthe Belqa district. A Jewish community existed there in the11t12t centuries, as is known from the Scroll of *Abiathar.In the time of the Crusaders, Rabbath-Ammon, then knownas Ahamant, was temporarily in the possession of the princeof Transjordan. It was subsequently abandoned until reset-tledby Circassians in 1878, who were relocated there by theOttoman Turks. In 1921 it became the capital of the emirate10 ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 17 11. of Transjordan and later of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jor-dan.Its population, greatly increased by Palestinian refugees,numbered approximately 200,000 in 1970. By 2006 its popu-lationwas over 1.7 million.The site was surveyed and photographed by a Britishteam led by C. Warren in 1867 for the Palestine ExplorationFund. Since then Amman was frequently visited by scholarsand explorers, notably by H.C. Butler in 1921. In 1927 an Italianexpedition directed by G. Guidi worked at the site; the excava-tionscontinued in 192933 under the direction of R. Bartoc-cini.From 1945 G.L. Harding investigated Amman on behalfof the Department of Antiquities, and in 1966 J.B. Hennessyexcavated the Late Bronze Age temple on behalf of the BritishSchool of Archaeology in Jerusalem. Numerous excavationshave taken place in recent years in Amman, particularly inthe area of the acropolis/citadel (Jebel Qala).Bibliography: H.C. Butler, Architecture (1909), 34ff.; Avi-Yonah, Geog, index; L. Harding, in: QDAP, 11 (1945), 67ff.; 14 (1950),44ff.; idem, in: ADAJ, 3 (1956), 80; Maayah, ibid., 45 (1960), 1145;Ward, ibid., 89 (1964), 47ff. Add. Bibliography: G.M. Landes,The Material Civilization of the Ammonites, in: Biblical Archaeolo-gist,24 (1961), 6586; A. Almagro and E. Olavarri, A New UmayyadPalace at the Citadel of Amman, in: A. Hadidi (ed.), Studies in theHistory and Archaeology of Jordan I (1982), 30521; L.G. Herr, The Am-manAirport Excavations, 1976. ASOR Annual 48 (1983); A. Northedge,Studies on Roman and Islamic Amman (1992); J.B. Humbert and F.Zayadine, Trois campagnes de fouilles Ammn (19881991), in:Revue Biblique, 99 (1992), 21460; G.S.P. Grenville, R.L. Chapmanand J.E. Taylor, Palestine in the Fourth Century. The Onomasticon byEusebius of Caesarea (2003), 81.[Michael Avi-Yonah / Shimon Gibson (2nd ed.)]RABBI, RABBINATE. The title rabbi is derived from thenoun rav, which in biblical Hebrew means great and doesnot occur in the Bible; in its later sense in mishnaic Hebrew,however, the word rav means a master as opposed to a slave(e.g., does a slave rebel against his rav Ber. 10a; It is like aslave who filled a cup for his rav and he poured the water overhis face Suk. 2:9). It was only during the tannaitic period,in the generation after Hillel, that it was employed as a titlefor the sages. The passage in the New Testament (Matt. 23:7)in which the Scribes and Pharisees are criticized because theylove to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi probably reflectsthe fact of its recent introduction. The word rabbi thereforemeans literally my master, although the Sephardim point itand pronounce it ribbi, the suffix therefore not being a pro-nominalone. In any case it lost its significance, and rabbi be-camesimply the title accorded to a sage. Since the title wasaccorded only to those who had been properly ordained, andsuch ordination was not granted in talmudic times outsideErez Israel (see Semikhah), it was not borne by the Babylo-niansages (the amoraim) who adopted, or were granted, thealternative title of rav. In the Talmud, therefore, the title rabbirefers either to a tanna or to a Palestinian amora, while ravrefers to a Babylonian amora. The rabbi of the Talmud wastherefore completely different from the present-day holder ofrabbi, rabbinatethe title. The talmudic rabbi was an interpreter and expounderof the Bible and the Oral Law, and almost invariably had anoccupation whence he derived his livelihood. It was only inthe Middle Ages that the rabbi became in addition to, or in-steadof, the interpreter and decisor of the law the teacher,preacher, and spiritual head of the Jewish congregation orcommunity, and it is with this meaning of the word that thisarticle deals. For the talmudic rabbi see Sages. In modern us-agethe word rabbi in Hebrew has sometimes become theequivalent of mister. Thus every Jew called up to the read-ingof the Torah is invited to do so as Rabbi So-and-So theson of Rabbi So-and-So, and for the rabbi as spiritual headthe title ha-rav is employed.[Louis Isaac Rabinowitz]Middle AgesIn medieval times, the title ha-rav denoted great scholarlystanding and social reputation unconnected with the hierar-chicalstructure of the yeshivot and geonim. In this sense it ap-pears,for example, in various letters of the 10t12t centuries,and in the Chronicle of Ahimaaz is used to describe the myste-riousAaron, while the chronicler Abraham ibn Daud employsthese terms and their derivatives to define the generations ofscholars rabbanim after the death of Hai Gaon. Relativelyearly in these centuries, the term rabbanim (now translatedinto English as Rabbanites) came to designate the mainstreamof Orthodoxy in Judaism, which based itself on the author-ityof the Talmud and the geonim, as against the minority ofthe Karaites. Centralistic tendencies in the leadership of thegaonate and exilarchs are revealed in the tendency for one ofthese institutions to appoint from above the scholar who ledthe local community and in the main carried out the func-tionsof judge (dayyan), bringing with him as his letter of ap-pointmenta writ of judgeship (pitka de-dayyanuta). What isknown of their actual functioning, however, shows both thatsuch appointees were in reality much more than judges onlyand that in fact local opinion had a say in their appointment.By the end of the 10t and beginning of the 11t century therewere more and more cases of open local election by the com-munityof a spiritual and moral leader.Through their social functions rabbi and rabbinate car-riedover into the Middle Ages a medley of concepts and at-titudes,the active elements being scholarship, judgeship, so-cial-spiritual leadership, and example. A certain measure ofreligious authority attached to the concept of rabbi and tohis person, deriving from the authority invested in the ge-onicacademies and the outlook of their scholars, and alsofrom the distant memories of the supreme authority of themishnaic rabbi ordained by semikhah the ordination of an-cienttimes. These titles and designations never carried withthem priestly or semi-priestly authority or functions. Prayerand leading in prayer, blessing of the people, and officiatingin marriage and burial ceremonies never became an integralpart of the conception of rabbinical office until the beginningof the 19t century, with the Reform movement. Some rabbisled in prayer and blessed the people, but until modern timesENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 17 11 12. rabbi, rabbinatethis was no more than a matter of personal inclination. Thesupervision of marriage, and even more so of divorce pro-ceedings,became an integral part of the rabbinic office, bothbecause the payment for performing such functions becamepart of the stipend of the local rabbi, and because legal acu-menwas required, especially in the case of divorce. It wouldseem that from its earliest days preaching to the people wasan integral part of the rabbinic function, the rabbi being boththe authoritative scholarly expositor of law and morals, andthe moral and spiritual leader of the people. At certain timesand in certain regions scholarly exposition was regarded as themain part of preaching, while in others moral exhortation wasseen as its main burden; both elements were always present inrabbinical preaching, though in varying proportions.The weakening of centralistic institutions, as well as thecontinuing growth of Jewish communities in countries whichhad never known such leadership, increasingly augmented theimportance of the local rabbi. Although the activities of manyrabbis are known, in most cases neither income nor statusare clearly apparent. Over the years the ideal has developedof the scholarly charisma of the rabbi asserting itself withoutrecourse to official definitions. Ideally all rabbis are equal asofficeholders; the only hierarchy ideally obtaining betweenthem is that of personal intellectual and moral preeminence.The office of rabbi was originally an honorary one on theprinciple that the Torah had to be taught free of charge. It wasnot until the 14t century that there is the first clear evidenceof a rabbi receiving emoluments. When Simeon b. ZemahDuran fled from the anti-Jewish riots in Spain in 1391 and ar-rivedin Algiers the local community wished to appoint himas rabbi. He pleaded inability to accept as he was pennilessand had to earn a livelihood. In order to enable him to acceptthe position, a formula was worked out whereby instead of asalary for his services he was to receive sekhar battalah, i.e.,compensation for loss of time due to his preoccupation withhis rabbinic office. This remained the legal basis in Jewish lawfor a rabbi receiving a salary, even though in the modern pe-riodthe rabbis salary is generally regarded as in the categoryof a professional wage with contracts written between rabbisand their congregations.In outward recognition of such preeminence, the vari-ouscommunities applied to a particular local rabbi for hispersonal responsa on different legal and theoretical matters.He would thus be given, de facto and personally, the author-ityvested in the geonim ex officio.In both Ashkenazi and Sephardi centers rulers becameaware relatively early of this new development in Jewish so-ciety.In the story of the Four Captives, Abraham ibn Dauddescribes the satisfaction of a local ruler in late tenth-centuryMuslim Spain, at having a scholarly Jewish authority in hiscountry, independent of the geonim in Baghdad. The officeof the rab de la corte in Castille and Arraby moor in Portu-gal,as well as appointments known from the 13t century of aJewish Hochmeister for some regions of the German Empire(see, e.g., Meir Baruch of Rothenburg), and also similar ap-pointmentsin France all are related phenomena. They aremanifestations both of the gradual institutionalization of theoffice of rabbi, and of the attempts by rulers and communityleaders to structure a formal and fixed hierarchy out of fluidrelationships based on scholarly and personal charisma. Theresponsa of the Sephardi Isaac b. Sheshet Perfet disclose aconflict surrounding the appointment to the office of rabbiof France in the 14t century, while other contemporary writ-ingsreveal the views of the Ashkenazi scholar Meir ha-Leviof Vienna on the nature of the rabbinate. All demand provenand attested knowledge, as well as integrity and excellencein character and conduct; and on these grounds candidatesare approved and disqualified. The Ashkenazi scholar revealsa conception of a well-defined written diploma attesting tothe knowledge and qualifications for a rabbi the so-calledsemikhah diploma. For about a century mainly in the 15t Ashkenazi rabbis were titled manhig (leader), which showstheir centrality in community life at that time. Sephardi so-cietyhad its own ways of attesting these qualifications, with-outinstituting such a diploma (see below). When Sephardimand Ashkenazim came in close contact after the expulsionfrom the Iberian Peninsula (149297), the institution of thisdiploma became a bone of contention, as is evidenced in thewritings of Isaac Abrabanel. Ironically enough, the abortiveattempt to resurrect the semikhah, made in 1538 by Jacob Be-raband enthusiastically accepted by Joseph Caro, served tostrengthen the Ashkenazi type of semikhah diploma and themedieval line of development of the office of rabbi, and alsogave impetus to the development of the Shulhan Arukh, thecombined work of Joseph Caro and the Ashkenazi-PolishMoses Isserles (who was himself a royal appointee to the cen-tralrabbinate in Poland).From the 14t century onward there emerged the conceptof one rabbi for one locality the mara de-atra (the master ofthe locality). Other scholars in his community were to submitto his authority, ex officio, a concept that took a long time toestablish. In Poland-Lithuania of the 16t17t centuries rab-binicaloffice was linked to being a rosh yeshivah, thereby de-rivingmuch of its authority and prestige. In its main outline,though with various changes in details, this conception of therabbi and his office remains to the present day that which infact dominates the society and communities of Mitnaggedimwherever they are found, the religious establishment in theState of Israel, and communities of Hungarian and GermanOrthodoxy and Neo-Orthodoxy. In these circles the office andconception of the rabbi are those which have emerged fromthe Middle Ages: he is seen as scholar and teacher, judge andspiritual leader. His livelihood comes either from a fixed sal-aryor from payments for functions performed, or from acombination of both. His rights and duties are often definedin a ketav rabbanut (letter of appointment to and acceptanceof the rabbinic office, sometimes written as two separate doc-uments),a custom deriving from the late Middle Ages. Inthe frame of this traditional rabbinate there have appearedin modern times centralistic trends, manifested, e.g., in the12 ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 17 13. British office of chief rabbi for the U.K. and the dominionsand the Chief Rabbinate in Erez Israel. On the other hand,in the huge concentrations of Jewish population in moderncities, in the U.S. in particular, the concept of the mara de-atrais on the point of vanishing and the rabbi there is mainlythe rabbi of a synagogue congregation. In regions and com-munitieswhere Hasidism prevails, the status and function ofthe rabbi as such have in many ways become subordinate tothose of the zaddik.The Reform movement, with its progressive rejection oftraditionally received halakhah, has changed the very conceptof rabbi. The Reform rabbi is judge no longer: he has becometo a large degree, for the first time in the history of the rab-binate,a priest ordering the prayer service and leading it. Inthe U.S. in particular he is also becoming the social and eventhe socialite director of his synagogue congregation. The Con-servativewing of Judaism, in particular in the U.S., is tryingto combine both concepts of the rabbinate.The Jewish Religious Leadership in the Muslim EastThere is a scarcity of information concerning the religiousleadership of the early Middle Ages in eastern lands. Extantfragments of records pertaining to such leadership date backonly to the 12t century. Sources become more extensive be-ginningin the 16t century, after the expulsion of the Jewsfrom Spain, and are found in the responsa of the eastern lands,especially from the Ottoman Empire. In this section the re-ligiousleadership will be discussed starting with the geonicera, although the title of rabbi, in its usual sense of a scholarappointed over a community to decide and teach its religiousregulations, was not used until the 12t century.The geonim served as spiritual heads of the Babylonian orPalestinian communities, and in Babylonia they ruled along-sidethe exilarchs, who served as secular heads. The authorityof the geonim extended over the borders of the Arabian caliph-atedue to their religious authority. Previously the exilarch hadreserved the right to appoint judges, either alone or in consul-tationwith the gaon. But during the decline of the exilarchate,the geonim appointed judges for most of Babylonia, grantingthem a certificate of justiceship (pitka de-dayyanuta).In Erez Israel the religious head of a community wasknown as a haver (associated member of the Academy) andwas ordained in the Palestinian academy. The haver servedas head of the communitys rabbinical court once he hadbeen empowered by the head of the academy. The Palestin-ianacademies granted to ordained scholars the title of haverbe-Sanhedrin ha-Gedolah (member of the Great Sanhedrin);in Babylonia it was customary to call similar appointees al-luf.At the same time the title of rav (rabbi) was common inEgypt, North Africa, and Spain.The decline of the gaonate and the Palestinian Academyin the 11t century created some confusion regarding the rab-binateas a communal institution. There was no sufficient re-ligiousauthority capable of continuing the traditional ordi-nation(semikhah) or appointment of judges. Consequently,rabbi, rabbinateordination was discontinued. In Spain, however, some re-ligiousheads of communities would grant their students awrit of ordination (ketav masmikh). Judah ben Barzillai al-Bargeloni declared in his Sefer ha-Shetarot that this writ wasonly reminiscent of the ancient ordination and that no actualsemikhah could be given outside Erez Israel. This type of doc-ument,he maintained, was awarded only for the purpose ofencouraging students.In the 1130s R. Joseph ibn Migash ordained Joseph benMamal by means of a ketav minnui (writ of appointment).Maimonides opposed the institution of the professional rabbiin the sense of a paid official; he preferred the ideal of thescholar who earns his living independently but serves as acommunal teacher. Even in the geonic period in North Af-rica,there were scholars who received appointments to therabbinate. R. Hushiel b. Elhanan of Kairouan ordained his sonHananel and Nissim b. Jacob b. Nissim (Ibn Shahin). Abra-hamibn Daud mentioned in his Sefer ha-Kabbalah that afterthe deaths of Hananel and Nissim b. Jacob the tradition wasdiscontinued, although judges officiated in Mahdia and QalatHammad without ordination. In the geonic period the title ofha-rav ha-rosh (chief rabbi) was widespread in North Africa.It was awarded by the academy in Pumbedita to designate thehead of a famous rabbinical court.In Spain the rank of dayyan (judge) was higher than thatof rabbi. Certain individuals were empowered to punish of-fendersand bore the right to judge alone. Important authori-ties,such as Maimonides and his father Maimon, were calleddayyan. The position of dayyan was more highly regarded inSpain than in the eastern lands after the expulsion. In thosecountries the hakham (scholar) gained prominence, al-thoughthe dayyan reserved the right to appoint a hakham orto empower even ordinary individuals with the right to judge.Two examples are known of appointment of rabbis by the gov-ernmentin the 14t and 15t centuries: Joseph Sasportas whowas invested with judicial powers in the kingdom of Tlemcenand Isaac b. Sheshet Perfet, who was appointed by the govern-mentof Algiers. Isaac b. Sheshet Perfet (second half of the 14tcentury) wrote that in Germany, as well, it was customary toaward a writ of ordination, although in Spain it was consid-eredsufficient if a teacher gave permission to his student toact as congregational religious leader.The arrival of Spanish and Portuguese refugees in east-ernlands aroused a serious conflict concerning ordinationas practiced by the native Ashkenazim and Romaniots. Anexample of this was the controversy about Messer David benJudah Leon, an ordained scholar and leader in Jewish edu-cationin Avilona (Valona), Albania, in the early 16t century.Rabbi David Cohen of Corfu supported Leon and stated thatthe method of ordination in use at least served to deter thosenot fit to decide the halakhah. David Cohen himself had re-ceivedordination. Elijah Mizrahi opposed the Sephardi refu-geeswho claimed that no one could ordain once the Sanhedrinno longer existed. Nonetheless, the Ashkenazim did influencesome Eastern Sephardi communities to practice ordination.ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 17 13 14. rabbinateHowever the significance of the ordination was completely dif-ferentfrom the Ashkenazi ordination. The responsa cite sev-eralexamples of writs of appointment containing the phraseyoreh, yoreh, yadin, yadin (he will teach, he will judge),sometimes adding yattir, yattir (he will permit); this wasthe text of ordination customary in the talmudic period. Onefactor which soothed the conflict was the publics reluctanceto accept Ashkenazi ordination as an automatic qualificationfor communal leadership. The idea of reinstituting the tradi-tionalordination as known in ancient times continued to ex-citescholars until the 16t century, when Jacob Berab reliedon the words of Maimonides in his attempt to ordain certainscholars. This act aroused negative reactions and a fresh con-flictcontinued for two generations.When the Spanish and Portuguese refugees reached theOttoman Empire, they organized communities according totheir origins, each preserving its own traditions. Due to theabsence of ordination, the spiritual leader in these commu-nitieswas mainly called hakham or marbiz Torah (teacherof the Torah). Other titles in use were dayyan, haver beit ha-din,kahin ve-rosh, moreh zedek, and moreh horaah; these titleswere not limited to congregational leaders in the strict sense.In Erez Israel, Egypt, and Syria, however, the title marbiz Torahwas replaced by hakham and in North Africa by moreh zedek.A rabbi in charge of all or most congregations in a city wascalled ha-rav ha-kolel (the supreme rabbi).The marbiz Torah or hakham was the highest religiousauthority in his district. To qualify for his office he had to beexpert in all fields of halakhah. He preached publicly on Sab-bathsand holidays. Frequently he acted as chief controllerover foundations and bequests and organized the redemptionof hostages. In small communities he often served as a scribeor notary. The marbiz Torah judged in matters of marriage,divorce, halizah, and monetary disputes generally alone butsometimes joined by two laymen to strengthen the verdict ashaving been passed in a court of three. Claims between peopleof different communities were judged by the marbiz Torah ofthe defendants community. He was also responsible for judg-ingin matters of ritual fitness and maintaining standards ofmorality in the city. Generally, his office was not inherited.The marbiz Torah was usually treated with respect andadmiration. He was paid an ample wage and honored with setmarks of etiquette; the congregation stood when he enteredand allowed him to pass first through the synagogue or street.He occupied a fixed seat in the synagogue and when he diedhe was buried with special marks of honor. Certain congre-gationspurposely left the late leaders office vacant for a con-siderableperiod to show deference to their loss.On the other hand there is record of conflicts betweenthe marbiz Torah and members of his congregation. Some-timeshis knowledge of halakhah was questioned or sometimescompetition between two scholars for the same office wouldcause conflicts or a split in the community; many marbizeiTorah are known to have been dismissed from their posi-tions.An hakham who was disregarded or dishonored couldexcommunicate his opponents, and sometimes members ofhis congregation took measures to curb his powers of excom-municationif used too freely.From the late 15t century the Eastern communities feltthe need for a central rabbinate that would assume the over-allreligious and administrative leadership that lay beyondthe province of the local marbizei Torah. In the late 15t andearly 16t centuries this office had already been filled by thetwo chief rabbis of the Romaniots, Moses Capsali and Eli-jahMizrahi, both in Constantinople, who were called ravkolel, ha-rav ha-manhig (leading rabbi), or ha-rav ha-gadol(grand rabbi). They were appointed by the government andgiven a permit known as the hurman to collect Jewish taxes.For the privilege of maintaining this office, the community hadto pay a special tax, known as rav aqchesi (white (i.e., silver)coin for the permit to have a rabbi). This tax had to be paideven in the 17t century long after the office of chief rabbi hadbeen discontinued. After the death of Elijah Mizrahi, there wasno longer any one figure who filled this position; rabbinicalcouncils, however, frequently met in various cities on impor-tantmatters. At this time there was a growing feeling amongthe Sephardim to grant high office to great rabbis of the gen-eration.Samuel de Medina was recognized as chief rabbi inSalonika, and Jacob Berab filled the same office in Safed. Inalmost every large community there was a rav kolel who wasnot appointed by the government but by the Jews themselves.The rav kolel performed all tasks of the marbiz Torah and wasalso head of the rabbinical court or of a yeshivah. Often hewas called reish mata (Aramaic: head of the city). In Izmir(Smyrna) it was customary for two chief rabbis to serve si-multaneously,one in charge of civil law, the other in chargeof ritual; both were called ha-rav ha-gadol. Their subordinaterabbis were called morei zedek. In this city there was a timewhen four chief rabbis ruled simultaneously. The hakhamimdevoted all their time to the study of Torah and as such wereexempt from taxes; an ordinance which fixed this exemptionwas drafted in Jerusalem in the early 16t century. The exemp-tionapplied to any hakham rashum (recorded rabbi) whoserved as marbiz Torah or filled a spiritual position.In other eastern countries, additional titles were awardedattesting the outstanding scholarship or eminence of theleader. The names navon (understanding) or maskil (wise,erudite) were used generally for young scholars who had ac-quireda fair knowledge of halakhah. The term hakham vatik(senior or conscientious scholar), despite its literal mean-ing,was also used for younger leaders. The name he-hakhamha-shalem was used to distinguish well-known importantrabbis, marbizei Torah, heads of academies, and rabbinicalcourts.Beginning in 1836 the Ottoman regime established theoffice of hakham bashi (head of the rabbis) in Constantinople.The incumbent had to be a citizen of the empire. Eventuallysimilar offices were established in the capitals of big provinces.The exact duties and privileges of the hakham bashi were fixedin 1864. The hakham bashi of Constantinople exercised au-rabbi,14 ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 17 15. thority over all other rabbis in the empire (including the rishonle-Zion in Erez Israel). In Egypt the hakham bashi was the onlyauthority to decide ritual matters and was accompanied by ajudge who had the right to sit alone. The Jewish communityin Erez Israel appointed a chief rabbi known as the rishon le-Zion (first of Zion). Although this title existed from the 17tcentury, it was not officially recognized until 1842, when theincumbent rishon le-Zion was named hakham bashi of ErezIsrael. In 1874 a hakham bashi was appointed in Tripoli (NorthAfrica) and soon the title became so popular that almost everyNorth African community had its hakham bashi.There were also chief rabbis who were heads of rabbinicalcourts in Tunis, Djerba, in Algeria and Morocco.In smaller cities in Morocco, which did not possess rab-binicalcourts, a rabbin dlgu was appointed who acted asa one-man court and a community representative before thegovernment. In Morocco there were some families who re-servedthe dynastic right (serarah) to serve as rabbis andjudges. No parallel custom is found in any other land. Solei-manKareh was appointed in 1872 hakham bashi of Yemen bythe Turkish regime. In that country the hakham bashi was thehighest legal and religious authority. After Kareh the positionof hakham bashi was held intermittently and for short dura-tions.In each village and town in Yemen, the mori served asrabbi, judge, and teacher. The Yemenite rabbis earned theirlivings mainly as slaughterers, goldsmiths, and teachers.[Leah Bornstein-Makovetsky]Modern PeriodSince the emancipation era, the functions of the rabbi, partic-ularlyin Western countries, have undergone a radical changeto which various factors contributed. In the first place, thegovernments of the various countries abolished the right ofjurisdiction previously granted to the Jews in civil law, in con-sequenceof which the function of the rabbi as judge in civillitigation and the need to study Hoshen Mishpat (the Jewishcivil code) for practical purposes no longer existed. Moreover,even matters of ritual and matrimonial law which remainedwithin the sphere of Jewish jurisdiction were dealt with, inthese countries, not by the individual rabbi, but by a centralbet din, these functions being fulfilled by the dayyan. In thesecond place, with the entry of the Jews into general life theneed became increasingly felt for the rabbis to be equippedwith a wider knowledge than was regarded as necessary forthe medieval rabbi in the Jewish community, in both Jewishspheres Jewish history, literature, homiletics, and JuedischeWissenschaft generally and in purely secular branches. Thisneed, felt internally, was powerfully reinforced when the gov-ernmentsof various countries, commencing with EmperorFranz Joseph in Austria in 1848 and extending to other coun-tries,demanded a certain standard of general education as acondition of recognizing rabbis. When the existing yeshivotrefused to countenance any change in their traditional syl-labus,which was almost wholly confined to Talmud and thecodes, the need was met by the establishment of rabbinicalrabbi, rabbinateseminaries which provided a comprehensive curriculum ofJewish studies (with a lessened stress on Talmud and codes),which was generally supplemented by a university education.The modern rabbi, whether Orthodox, Conservative, or Re-form,was largely the product of these institutions. A majortransformation in the makeup of the rabbinate in liberal de-nominations(Reform, Conservative, and Reconstructionist)from the 1970s into the 21st century has been the ordinationof women.FUNCTIONS OF THE RABBI. The function of the modernrabbi varied somewhat in the various countries according tolocal conditions. Thus in England he approximated until re-centlymore to the cantor than in any other country. His of-ficialtitle in the United Synagogue was minister-preacher,while his colleague was the minister-reader, both sharing theconduct of the weekly and Sabbath services and the readingof the Torah. In England, France, and Germany the wearingof canonicals was obligatory, while in France the organiza-tionalaspects of the rabbinate was largely determined by theConsistory. Nevertheless there are general lines of similar-itywhich applied equally to all. Preaching, of course in thevernacular, occupied a place of prime importance, out of allproportion to the old-fashioned rabbi who generally limitedhis public discourses to two halakhic-aggadic addresses peryear (see Preaching). The modern rabbi was expected to de-votemuch of his time to pastoral work, establishing a personalbond between himself and his congregants, visiting the sick,officiating at benei mitzvahs, marriages, funerals, and housesof mourning as a matter of course. He was expected to takepart in all social, educational, and philanthropic activitiesof the congregation. Above all he was looked to as the spokes-manof the Jewish community to the larger community,though the extent of this participation varied in differentcountries, being most extensive in the United States. The in-fluenceof the larger denominations, particularly the Protes-tantChurch, was marked. Until recent times in England it wasde rigueur for the rabbi to wear a clerical collar, while the garbof the French rabbi in synagogue was identical with that ofthe Protestant pastor. In England Chief Rabbis Adler andHertz donned the gaiters and the silk hat with cockade ofthe Anglican bishop at official functions. Recent years havewitnessed a departure from those models to a considerableextent, and a closer proximation to those of the old school,partly under the influence of the yeshivot and the revival ofOrthodoxy.In England particularly, as in the countries which consti-tutedthe British Empire for which it served as a model, it wasnot even regarded as essential that the rabbi should acquire therabbinical diploma (it was actually forbidden by Chief RabbiHerman Adler, who essayed to establish the principle that hewas the only rabbi for the British Empire) and the title rev-erendwas coined for them. This situation changed consider-ably,but a student of Jews College still graduates and is quali-fiedto accept a position on obtaining the ministers diploma,ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 17 15 16. rabbinatewhich is less than the rabbinical diploma and carries with itthe title reverend. In all other countries, without exception,and among Reform and Conservative, as well as Orthodox, theonly title borne by the spiritual leader is rabbi, apart from theSephardi congregations where he is called Haham (hakham).In England, France, and South Africa, in which the variouscongregations are united in one roof organization, the rabbitended more and more to become a local congregational func-tionary,the chief rabbi alone representing the community asa whole both in religious matters and vis--vis the non-Jew-ishworld. In the United States (see below) and Canada, wherethe tendency is for each congregation to be an independentunit, his sphere of activities was much wider. In the UnitedStates, Canada, and England, and in other countries whereyeshivah education developed, a return to the old conceptionof the classic Eastern European rabbi in appearance, outlook,and function is apparent within limited pockets of strict Or-thodoxJudaism.Jacqueline Tabick, the first female rabbi in the UnitedKingdom, was ordained in 1975 by Leo Baeck College, aninstitution under the joint sponsorship of the Reform Syna-goguesof Great Britain and the Union of Liberal and Progres-siveSynagogues.[Louis Isaac Rabinowitz]GermanySome special features characterized the German rabbinate un-tilthe Holocaust. In the debates on emancipation the questionof the training and functions of the rabbis played an importantpart. In Prussia, which had the largest number of Jews, succes-sivelegislation beginning with the Religionsedikt of 1788 tothe community law of 1847, had more or less ignored the po-sitionof the rabbi, leaving it to the communities whether toappoint rabbis at all, and if they did, they were shorn of theirtraditional authority, becoming mere functionaries, whoseopinion in religious matters could be ignored by the lay lead-ers.Opinions given by prominent Jews such as Gumpert,Muhr, Rubo, and even Zunz had declared the rabbinical of-ficeto be altogether dispensable; rabbis were considered mereKauscherwaechters (Kashrut Supervisors) and protests tothe contrary remained ineffective. Their rabbinical jurisdictionhad been abolished in 1811 (in Altona-Schleswig-Holstein aslate as 1863) and when the last chief rabbi of Berlin, HirschelLewin, appointed under the General Juden Reglement of1750, died in 1800, his position was not filled again. Yet rab-bisof the old school were in positions of religious authorityto the middle of the century, such as Akiva Eger (d. 1837) andhis son Solomon (d. 1852) in Posen. The Law of 1847 requiredgovernment confirmation of rabbinical appointments, thoughthey were not considered public functionaries. The constitu-tionof the Bismarckian Reich gave rabbis equal status withChristian clergy in some respects. States like Hanover, Elec-toralHesse, and Schleswig-Holstein, which were later incor-poratedin Prussia, retained their previously adopted Jewishcommunity organization in which rabbis had the official statusof Landrabbiner, Provinzialrabbiner, etc. Even where rabbispossessed no legal status, they were in fact recognized as therepresentatives and spokesmen of the Jewish faith and com-munity,sat on the advisory educational boards, were givenchaplaincy commissions, etc. In most other German statesthe new laws regulating the life of Jewish communities (Ba-varia,1813; Wurtemberg, 1828; Baden, 1809; grand-duchy ofHesse, 1841) recognized the official position of rabbis provid-ingfor offices of Landrabbiner, Konferenzrabbiner, Bezirks-rabbineror just local rabbis, regulating their qualifications,duties, emoluments, garb, etc. In several of these states theyhad to face examinations before specially appointed govern-mentboards. The new type of rabbi who emerged spoke HighGerman and possessed besides rabbinical training a higherand often university education. This was not limited to Liberaland Reform rabbis; it applied to the Orthodox rabbinate aswell as exemplified by such men as J. Ettlinger, I. Bernays, M.Sachs, S.R. Hirsch, and A. Hildesheimer. The transition fromthe new to the old was not without struggle as shown by thecontroversy about A. Geigers appointment in Breslau. Theemerging Wissenschaft des Judentums was both creative ofand created by this modern type of rabbi. At first, at least, theirindividual and collective authority within the community wasparamount, while rabbinical conferences and synods wereshaping a new non-Orthodox Judaism. Rabbinical seminar-iesof the three main religious trends (Breslau, Hildesheimer,and Hochschule) trained these modem rabbis. Their studentscould not always be clearly classified. Orthodox ones couldbe found at Breslau and the Hochschule, while some non-Orthodox rabbis qualified at the Hildesheimer Seminary. Alarge part of the future rabbis hailed from Germanys easternprovinces or from East European countries where they hadreceived the traditional yeshivah training. Toward the end ofthe 19t century and after World War I new yeshivot (the lastof the old yeshivot was closed in 1865) were established in Ger-manyitself, while some rabbinical students enrolled in easternyeshivot. This raised both the qualifications and standing ofthe Orthodox rabbinate.With this went a general lowering of their status and au-thority,with the lay leadership, qualified by mere professionalor financial success, in the ascendancy. Most rabbis were nolonger given a call, but had to apply for advertised positions.They were now officials rather than leaders, without a vote andeven a voice on their communities administration. Even by1922 there was only one congregation in Germany on whoseboard the rabbi had a seat and later became its chairman. Vig-orousprotests from within the rabbinate were of no avail. Onlythe Nazi persecutions brought about some belated change.The rabbi usually taught at the communitys religiousschool as well as to Jewish pupils in the state high schools.Adult education emerged gradually after World War I andbecame an important function in the Nazi period. Public re-lationswith the non-Jewish community, such as lecturing,participation in public functions and social and educationalwork in general, occupied a considerable part of the rabbistime. His relations to his congregation were regulated by pri-rabbi,16 ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 17 17. vate contract; his salary was usually adequate for maintaininga middle-class standard of living, incidental fees being paidinto the communitys funds.In the larger communities with several synagogues a di-visiondeveloped between the community rabbi and the syna-goguerabbi. In many parts of Germany, where rural, rabbi-lesscommunities survived in great number, district rabbis, withtheir seat in state or provincial capitals, were in charge of theirreligious needs. Even after 1918, when the separation of churchand state had led to the abolition of the 19t-century laws, thetitles of Oberrabiner, Landesrabbiner, or Provinzialrabbinersurvived as a historical relic, without much significance, unlessit meant the care of rural communities. There was at no timea German chief rabbi. When, under the Nazis, Leo Baeck be-camepresident of the Reichsvertretung der deutschen Juden,his being a (liberal) rabbi was incidental.Regina *Jonas, the first woman to receive rabbinic ordi-nation,was a 1930 graduate of the Hochschule fuer die Wisen-schaftdes Judentums (College of Jewish Studies) in Berlin. Shereceived private ordination in 1935 from Max Dienemann, oneof the rabbinic leaders of German Liberal Judaism.From the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 until World War I,many German rabbis served as army chaplains. The needs ofGerman Jewry under the Nazi regime produced the office ofYouth Rabbi; the social and educational responsibilities ofthe rabbi in this tragic period increased manifold.In 1884 German rabbis united in the Verband der Rab-binerDeutschlands, which in 1896 became the Allgemei-nerRabbinerverband in Deutschland, though some Or-thodoxrabbis refused to join. The Orthodox, on their side,established in 1897 their own Vereinigung traditionell-ge-setzestreuerRabbiner while an Orthodoxer Rabbinerver-bandexcluded those rabbis who served in mixed Reform-Orthodox communities. Another source of controversy wasemerging Zionism; the great majority of German Jews wereanti-Zionist and their assimilated leaders even more so; a greatnumber of rabbis had signed the famous protest against theholding of the First Zionist Congress (see Protestrabbiner).This led to a head-on conflict with some of the younger rabbiswho had embraced Zionism, as in the case of Emil BernardCohn, who was dismissed from his post by the Berlin Jewishcommunity board for propagating Zionism.[Alexander Carlebach]In the U.S.The status and role of the contemporary rabbi in North Amer-icaexhibit some unique features which can best be understoodin the light of the historical development of the synagogue asthe central institution in the Jewish community.The North American cultural and social developmentaccepted the concept of differences based on faith, but has re-sisteddifferences based on other criteria. A full treatment ofthis sociological phenomenon can be found in W. HerbergsProtestant-Catholic-Jew (1955). The Eastern European com-munity,from which most North American Jews and theirrabbi, rabbinateancestors emigrated, was based on ethnic and other nationalminority differences. In the melting pot process, allowanceswere made for such concepts as Jewish nationality on the onehand, while on the other various ethnic minorities that makeup the North American community (with the possible grow-ingexception of the French-Canadian and the black-Ameri-canseparatists) assimilated to a cultural climate in which onlydifferences of faith are recognized and where each commu-nityis given equal status and dignity unrelated to the num-berof its adherents.Insofar as earlier immigrant generations attendedchurches and synagogues, they probably preferred those wherethe language and customs of their countries of origin wereused in worship and pulpit. Norwegian Lutherans attendedchurches where Norwegian was used, Italian Catholics whereItalian was used. Their children and grandchildren howeverchose to affiliate with a place of worship which was Ameri-canin loyalty and composition. The place of worship becamea center around which gravitated social and cultural activitieswhich previously had been the functions of societies and clubsof a strong ethnic flavor. In the Jewish community particu-larly,many of the functions previously performed by Hebrewcommunal schools, Zionist youth movements, philanthropicactivities, and social action committees, became increasinglycentered in the synagogue which developed into the compre-hensiveJewish Center. The latter often was the only function-ingJewish institution in the community with adequate build-ing,constituency, and professional leadership. Besides beingspiritual leader, interpreter of Jewish law, and preacher, therabbi tended more and more to become the senior Jewish pro-fessionalin the community. This was equally true of the rabbiof a Conservative, Orthodox, Reform, or unaffiliated congre-gation.He came to interpret the Jewish tradition not only tothe members of his congregation, but also to their Christianneighbors. He had to assume responsibility for all aspects ofJewish education. National and international Jewish organi-zationslooked to him for influence. During the first decadesof this century, the Reform rabbi tended to represent the totalJewish community to its neighbors. This function later cameto be performed by rabbis of all denominations. The field ofcounseling has become a part of the modern rabbis school-ing.In the U.S. both the Reform and Conservative rabbini-caltraining schools include courses in pastoral psychiatry fortheir students. These institutions also maintain pastoral psy-chiatrycenters for research, marriage counseling, etc.In recent years, the modern rabbi has played an increas-ingrole in the general field of human relations or civil rights,and organizations dealing with them as a general rule increas-inglytend to have a rabbi either on their staff or as an electedpresident. For example, the American Jewish Congress has al-mostinvariably elected a rabbi as president, after the electionof Stephen Wise, its first rabbi president. One of the reasonsis that when they participate in government or communal af-fairs,they often prefer that a rabbi represent them since theircounterparts are likely to be Protestant or Catholic clergymen.ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 17 17 18. rabbi, rabbinateThe modern rabbi tends to model himself after the paradigm(and often the founders) of his rabbinical seminary and profes-sionalassociations, e.g., Sabato Morais and Isaac Meyer Wise,the first presidents of the Jewish Theological Seminary and theHebrew Union College respectively, who took forthright, ifdifferent, positions on the merits of the American Civil War.Alumni of all the American Jewish seminaries played centralroles as social activists, Zionists or anti-Zionist leaders.The status of the modern rabbi is probably best reflectedin the number of institutions established by the different Jew-ishdenominations to educate future rabbis (see *RabbinicalSeminaries).[Wolfe Kelman]The ordination of women as rabbis has transformed therabbinate in North America. In 1972, in response to changingpublic attitudes and social realities, the leadership of the Re-formmovement approved the ordination of Sally *Priesand byHebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. By the be-ginningof the 21st century, several hundred women had beenordained as rabbis in North America, the United Kingdom,and Israel, and as many as half of rabbinical students in semi-nariesof liberal denominations of Judaism, including those ofthe Conservative/Masorti and Reconstructionist movements,were female. The paths of rabbis who are women have not beenfree of obstacles. Many female clergy hold subordinate posi-tionsin larger synagogues, or work as educators or chaplains,rather than senior leaders of congregations. These occupa-tionalpatterns are a not only a reflection of persistent culturalprejudices towards women as religious authority figures, butalso of many womens choices of rabbinic options that allowthem time for the demands of home and family.[Judith R. Baskin (2nd ed.)]In IsraelThe rabbinate and the functions of the rabbi in modern Israeldiffer fundamentally from their counterparts in any other partof the Jewish world, whether ancient or modern. A number offactors have contributed toward this unique state of affairs. Inthe first place there is the law of the State of Israel which es-tablishesthe halakhah as state law in all matters affecting per-sonalstatus, which includes marriage, divorce, legitimacy, andconversion and affords the rabbinical courts the status of civilcourts of law within that wide sphere. This, coupled with thefact that the Ministry of Religious Affairs was, apart from onebrief interregnum, the prerogative of the (Orthodox) NationalReligious Party, has had the effect of making Orthodox Judaismto all intents and purposes the established church of the state,to the virtual exclusion of other religious trends in Judaism,Conservative and Reform, which have only a handful of con-gregations,mostly composed of recently arrived immigrantsbelonging to those trends in the countries of their origin.A second factor determining the complexion and thefunctions of the rabbinate is the establishment of the twin Or-thodoxchief rabbinate (Ashkenazi and Sephardi) which arestate appointments, and similar twin chief rabbinates in thelarger cities. These local rabbinates and chief rabbinates areadministered by the local religious councils, which are nomi-natedthrough a complicated system of political party repre-sentationand the Ministry of Religious Affairs, and it is to allintents controlled by the ministry. These councils consist ofOrthodox Jews. All appointments of rabbis must be confirmedby the chief rabbis and the Ministry of Religious Affairs.A third factor is the fact that almost without exceptionthe rashei yeshivot, who exercise a powerful influence in Israel,as well as the other rabbis who belong to the Agudat Israel(to which the rashei yeshivot also mostly belong), regard theNational Religious Party and the chief rabbis who owe theirappointments to their support as tending toward heterodoxy,a charge which they are at great pains to disprove or dispel.As a result, they are unduly apprehensive of any move whichmight be regarded as progressive or reform. To these con-siderationsmust be added two others. The Ashkenazi rab-binatecontinues wholly the tradition of the classical EasternEuropean rabbinate, and the new incumbents to the rabbin-ateare wholly the products of the yeshivot, while the Sephardirabbinate equally continues in their old traditions. Lastly, thesynagogue in Israel is, with only a handful of exceptions, nota congregational entity with fixed membership but a place forworship and study.All these factors add up to the distinctive features of therabbinate and the functions of the rabbis in Israel. Next to thechief rabbis the hierarchy consists of the dayyanim of the Su-premeBet Din of Appeal, followed by the dayyanim of the dis-trictcourts. They are classified as civil judges with the emolu-mentsand privileges of judges, and their functions are whollyjudicial and not pastoral. Next in importance, and in receiptof salaries from the religious councils, are a host of rabbis whoact as religious functionaries with specific and limited dutiessuch as inspection of kashrut, of mikvaot, of the eruv, of theadherence to the various agricultural laws, etc. They also, bynature of their functions, perform no pastoral duties. Next inthe scale come district rabbis, also appointed by the religiouscouncils. In theory they are charged with the welfare of thecommunity within the district over which they have been ap-pointed,but with few exceptions they regard their position as asinecure. Lowest on the scale come, what in theory is the near-estapproach to the Western rabbi, the rabbi of a synagogue. Inthe absence of a regularly constituted congregation, however,and with no official source of income, they are financially theleast rewarded. Few synagogues pay anything approaching aliving wage to these rabbis. They mostly depend upon one ofthe other rabbinic functions referred to for their livelihood,and their appointments largely commence as de facto oneswhich sometimes develop into uneasy de jure ones. In the ab-senceof the congregational unit with its duly paid-up mem-bership,and the consequent lack of personal bond betweenrabbi and worshiper, there is nothing in the rabbinate in Israelwhich approaches the pastoral aspect of the work of the mod-ernrabbi. Marriages are performed by duly appointed officialsof the local religious councils, funerals by t