rabbi

Rabbi is a Jewish religious leader and teacher. The term comes from Hebrew rav meaning "great" or "master" and rabbi meaning "my master" or "my teacher." A rabbi is typically responsible for interpreting Jewish law (halakha), leading prayer services, teaching Torah, and providing spiritual and pastoral guidance within a synagogue or community. Rabbis may perform lifecycle events such as weddings, funerals, and bar or bat mitzvahs, in addition to counseling and youth education.

Historically, the rabbinic office emerged after the destruction of the Second Temple, when Pharisaic and other sages organized into the rabbinic academies that produced the Mishnah and the Talmud. In this period, rabbis became the primary interpreters and authorities of Jewish law and practice, rather than priests within the Temple service. Rabbinic authority and the practice of semicha (ordination) developed across centuries and varied in different communities.

Today, the role and authority of rabbis vary by denomination. In Orthodox Judaism, rabbis are usually trained in yeshivas and receive rabbinic ordination; they lead services, teach Torah, and decide halakhic questions for their communities. In Conservative and Reform Judaism, rabbinical schools award ordination as well, but interpretations of Jewish law and liturgy may be broader, and practices differ. Some movements ordain women as rabbis; others do not. The title rabbi is used as both professional designation and honorific for respected teachers of Jewish law and tradition.