The Role and Significance of the Rabbanim and Sages

A group of mothers are gathered and showing their nachat. One boasts of her son, the head of a medical department; the other has a son, a judge, and a daughter, a psychiatrist. One of the women is quiet through it all. Finally, they turn to her and ask: “Well, what does your son do?”

“He’s a rabbi!”

“A rabbi? What kind of a profession is that for a nice Jewish boy?”¹

A joke, of course, but in the age of individualism and free choice, we often struggle with the concept of authority. One of the central tenants of Judaism is belief in Rabbinic Authority, and to some this may seem outdated. Where does this stem from and how is it viewed in halacha and in hashkafa?

The Source for Rabbinic Authority

Judaism is a religion of laws – halacha. Through keeping and learning our laws, we are constantly involved in our relationship with Hashem, which governs our decisions and actions. This sounds overwhelming, and for sure, at times it can be, but it also brings beauty and meaning into seemingly mundane behaviors. The basis for these laws come from two aspects of Torah- the written law – known as the Five Books of Moses – and the Oral law. The written law contains 613 commandments, while the Oral Law expands on and explains them. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks explains Judaism’s relationship with both as follows:  

“Three features mark Judaism as a distinctive faith. First is the radical idea that when God reveals Himself to humans He does so in the form of law … Hence the name of the Mosaic books: Torah, which means ‘direction, guidance, teaching,’ but above all ‘law.’… ‘Torah from Heaven,’ is that God, not humans, is the source of binding law.

Second, we are charged with being interpreters of the law. That is our responsibility as heirs and guardians of the Torah she-be-al peh, the Oral Tradition….

The Written Torah is min ha-shamayim, “from Heaven,” but about the Oral Torah the Talmud insists Lo ba-shamayim hi, “It is not in Heaven.” Hence Judaism is a continuing conversation between the Giver of the law in Heaven and the interpreters of the law on Earth…”²

The commandment that gives our rabbis the authority to make decisions in Jewish law, and us the obligation to obey them, comes from the Book of Devarim:

“You shall act in accordance with the instructions given to you and the ruling handed down to you; you must not deviate from the verdict that they announce to you either to the right or to the left.”³

From this pasuk, and the few preceding it, we receive the system of how we resolve questions we have in Torah She baal pe and halacha. Until the destruction of the second Beit Hamikdash, a well-established court system existed, with the Sanhedrin ruling on all matters of Jewish law – often with much debate and discussion, but always with a conclusion. Our sages⁴ agree that it is to the Sanhedrin to which this law applies. Since the destruction, however, Am Yisrael faces a challenge in deciding on matters of halacha as we no longer have centralized authority in the form of the Sanhedrin. What does this mean for rabbinical authority today?

The Sefer Hachinuch⁵ writes that the obligation to follow the Sanhedrin applies, at least conceptually, in every generation. The obstacle facing us, however, is that we don’t have a way to determine who the leading sage is in each. For sure, there have been what we refer to as ‘gedolei hador’ in every generation, but to say the entire Jewish world agreed on one psak is simply not true. Am Yisrael is composed of many different sects, cultures (for example, Sephardi and Ashkenazi, Chassidic and Litvak) and hashkafot, each following their own rabbanim.

Likewise, in order to become a true leader, the Rav needs to understand their generation and its needs, not separating himself, but joining the people, facing them. Please G-d, soon we will have a Sanhedrin in Yerushalayim, but in the interim, we are blessed to have inspiring Torah leadership guiding us halachically and hashkafikly throughout our history, connecting us to our past, giving us strength in our present and hope in our future.

However, a common feature of all halachic Judaism is in the halachic process and observance that Rabbanim will use to determine their halachic conclusions to questions, and that is seen in the tracing of any proof back to our previous sources, namely the Talmud and Rishonim (early commentators such as the Rambam, Ramban and Tosoafot).  In this way, we lean on the timeless rulings of those days, even when dealing with questions that are new, such as electricity on shabbat.

More than Halacha: Hashkafa and Mesorah

In addition to our obligation to obey the rule of rabbanim, there is another aspect of the relationship between rabbanim and the nation, and that is their role as advisors and guides in our lives. Through our leaders we learn not only what to do in halacha, but how to behave and the best way to live our lives. They are our role models. In Pirkei Avot we are told; “make for yourself a Rav.”⁶ 

Rebbetzin Michal Horowitz explains the approach of Rav Soloveitchik to why Yehoshua was chosen to be the next leader after Moshe, though he was not necessarily the most intellectual leader (compared to Eliezer or Pinchas). Rav Solevetichik explains that Yehoshua most “made Moshe his Rav”, and most absorbed Moshe’s way of being. That made him the person most appropriate to take on the leadership of the people⁷. The significance of a rabbinic leader or sage works the other way as well.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe explained that there are two types of tzadikkim in the world. There are those who become tzadikim by separating themselves from everyone else and focusing only on their learning and closeness to Hashem and those who focus on their followers, sometimes even at the expense of their own closeness with Hashem. The Rebbe said that Moshe was the latter and knew Yehoshua was too⁸. Indeed, when we look at the gedolim who have shaped history, we hear stories not only of their astounding Torah knowledge and halachic prowess, but of their humanity, humility and ability to see, understand and love their generation.

The famous Rashi on the abovementioned pasuk in Shoftim states that even if the sages tell you left is right and right is left, we must obey them. Rav Moshe Taragin explains this Rashi, saying that the Sanhedrin would never tell us an untruth. Rather that we need to see the Sanhedrin as if we are facing them (standing opposite to them) – and then their left is on our right. Even when we don’t understand or agree with what they say, we need to view them with awe- facing them, not turning our back to them so that our left is their left⁹. 

Likewise, in order to become a true leader, the Rav needs to understand their generation and its needs, not separating himself, but joining the people, facing them. Please G-d, soon we will have a Sanhedrin in Yerushalayim, but in the interim, we are blessed to have inspiring Torah leadership guiding us halachically and hashkafikly throughout our history, connecting us to our past, giving us strength in our present and hope in our future. Through the connections with and obedience toward our Torah sages, we continue to achieve what Rabbi Sacks described above; the “continuing conversation between the Giver of the law in Heaven and the interpreters of the law on Earth.”

1. https://aish.com/top-ten-jewish-jokes-about-rabbis/ ↩︎
2. https://rabbisacks.org/covenant-conversation/devarim/why-are-there-so-many-jewish-lawyers/  ↩︎
3. Devarim 17,11 ↩︎
4. Such as the Rambam, Ramban and Sefer Hachinuch ↩︎
5. Sefer Hachinuch, Mitzva 495 ↩︎
6. Pirkei Avot, 1:6 ↩︎
7. https://www.yutorah.org/lectures/1069195/%D7%A2%D7%A9%D7%94-%D7%9C%D7%9A-%D7%A8%D7%91:-The-Importance-&-Beauty-of-the-Rebbe-Talmid/Teacher-Student-Relationship-&-the-Continuity-of-the-Mesorah  ↩︎
8. As told by Rabbi Shay Shechter: https://www.yutorah.org/lectures/902250  ↩︎
9. Rabbi Moshe Taragin: https://www.yutorah.org/lectures/1072543/10-Minute-Rashi-for-Shoftim:-Paganism-Affects-the-World;-Visiting-Churches;-Don’t-  ↩︎