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Jewish leadership

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Jewish leadership:

Contents

Historic leadership

Biblical leadership (Before 70 AD)

See related List of Jewish Biblical figures.

During the era of the Tanakh, leadership of the Jewish people was governed by Torah principles. There were the heads of the original Hebrew tribes, and then also prophets such as Moses and Jeremiah whose words still as reference points for Bible-believers, judges such as Samuel and Samson, kings such as David and Solomon, priests of the Temple in Jerusalem, and the Sanhedrin which was the judiciary.

Mishnaic, Talmudic, Middle Ages leadership (70 - 1600s)

See related Mishnaic rabbis; Talmudic rabbis, Middle ages rabbis.

With the demise of ancient Israel and Judah and coinciding with the later wars against ancient Greece and Rome, the sages of the Mishnah and subsequently the Talmud, referred to as the Oral Law in Judaism, took on a growing and central leadership roles. After the destruction of the Second Temple and the subsequent exile for over two thousand years, the Jews turned to their most learned rabbis for leadership and council as they found themselves scattered throughout the world. They were at the forefront of either opposition or support of Rome. Rabbi Akiva was the supreme religious authority and he sanctioned the wars of Simon bar Kokhba against Rome (132-135) whereas during the 2nd century Judah haNasi was not only the supreme temporal leader sanctioned by Rome, but also edited the original work of the Mishnah which became the "centarl constitution" of the world's Jews, which was affirmed with the final editions of the Talmud which became the core curriculum of the majority of Jews. In Babylonia the Exilarch was almost always a rabbinical personality. The Geonim such as Saadia Gaon (892-942) were not only great sages but also political guides. The writings and rulings of those such as Rashi (1040-1105), Maimonides (1135-1204), Yosef Karo (1488-1575) who published the most widely accepted code of Jewish law the Shulkhan Arukh, Isaac Luria (1534-1572), the Vilna Gaon (1720-1797), the Chafetz Chaim (1838-1933) and many others have shaped Jewish religious law for almost two thousand years, as their religious rulings were published, distributed, studied, and observed until the present time.

Early modern leadership (1700s-1800s)

See related Rabbis of the Early Modern period.

The loose collection of learned rabbis that governed the dispersed Jewish community held sway for a long time. Great parts of central Europe accepted the leadership of the rabbinical Council of Four Lands from the 1500s to the late 1700s. In Europe, in spite of the rivalry between the schools of thought of Rabbi Elijah ben Solomon (1720-1797) of the Mitnagdim and Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer (1700-1760) founder of Hasidic Judaism, rabbis were regarded as the final arbiters of community decisions. Tens of thousands of Responsa and many works were published and studied wherever Jews lived in organized communities.

Modern religious leadership (1800s-)

Decline of rabbinical influence

With the growth of the Renaissance and the development of the secular modern world, and as Jews were welcomed into non-Jewish society particularly during the times of Napoleon in the 1700s and 1800s, Jews began to leave the Jewish ghettos in Europe, and simultaneously rejected the traditional roles of the rabbis as communal and religious leaders. The resulting fractures in Jewish society has translated into a situation whereby there is no single religious governing body for the entire Jewish community at the present time.

Modern Synagogue leadership

In individual religious congregations or synagogues, the spirirtual leader is generally the rabbi. Rabbis are expected to be learned in both the Talmud and the Shulkhan Arukh (Code of Jewish Law) as well as many other classical texts of Jewish scholarship. Rabbis go through formal training in Jewish texts and responsa, either at a yeshiva or similar insitution. "Rabbi" is not a universal term however, as many Sephardic rabbinic Jewish communities refer to their leaders as hakham ("wise man"). Among Yemenite Jews, known as Teimanin, the term mori ("my teacher") is used. Each religious tradition has its own qualifications for rabbis, for more information see Semicha ("ordination"). In addition to the rabbi, most synagogues have a hazzan (cantor) who leads many parts of the prayer service. A Gabbai may fill a position similar to "Censored page".

Orthodox and Haredi rabbinic leadership

See Orthodox rabbis.

In Israel the office of Chief Rabbi has always been very influential. Various Orthodox movements, such as Agudath Israel of America and the Shas party in Israel strictly follow the rulings of their Rosh yeshivas who are often famous Talmud scholars. The last Rebbe of Lubavitch, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson and Rabbi Ovadia Yosef in Israel are examples of powerful contemporary Haredi rabbis. The Haredi Agudah movements receive and follow the policy guidelines of their own Council of Torah Sages. In the Hassidic movements, leadership is usually hereditary.

Reform, Conservative, and Reconstructionist leadership

See Conservative rabbis, Reform rabbis, Reconstructionist rabbis.

In both the Reform and Conservative traditions of Judaism, rabbis are often trained at religious universities, such as the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City for the Conservative movement, and Hebrew Union College for the Reform movement. The Reform, Conservative, and Reconstructionist traditions each have their own governing group or individual leaders. Membership in these governing groups are selected by representatives of the Jewish community they serve, with Jewish scholarship considered to be the key factors for determining leaders. These governing bodies make decisions on the nature of religious practice within their tradition, as well as ordaining and assigning rabbis and other religious leaders.

Secular leadership

Following the Renaissance and the Enlightenment in Europe (with its Jewish "extension" the Haskalah movement, which led to much modern-day assimilation into the cultures of their native countries), the variety of Jewish practice grew, with a widespread adoption of secular values and life-styles. Many modern Jewish communities are served by a variety of secular organizations at the local, national, and international levels. These organizations have no official role in religious life, but often play an important part in the Jewish community. Most of the largest groups, such as Hadassah and the United Jewish Communities http://www.ujc.org/ , have an elected leadership. No one secular group represents the entire Jewish community, and there is often significant internal debate among Jews about the stances these organizations take on affairs dealing with the Jewish community as a whole, such as antisemitism and Israeli policies.

In the United States and Canada today, the mainly secular United Jewish Communities (UJC), formerly known as the United Jewish Appeal (UJA), represents over 150 Jewish Federations and 400 independent communities across North America. Every major American city has its local "Jewish Federation", and many have sophisticated community centers and provide services, mainly health care-related. They raise record sums of money for philanthropic and humanitarian causes in North America and Israel. Other organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League, American Jewish Congress , American Jewish Committee, and the B'nai B'rith represent different segments of the American Jewish community on a variety of issues.

Karaite leadership

A Karaite synagogue is run by a board of directors, and its spiritual leader is often called a Hakham, the equivalent of a "rabbi", and matches one in function. The Gabbai is the treasurer, the Shammash is the custodian, the Hazzan leads prayers, and in some the Ba'al Qeri'ah leads in the reading of the Torah. In America, Karaites are represented by the Karaite Jews of America, and in Israel they are represented by Universal Karaite Judaism.

Last updated: 02-07-2005 15:59:57
Last updated: 05-03-2005 17:50:55