 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Jewish leadership" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(July 2007) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Part ofa series on |
| Judaism |
|---|
 |
Jewish leadership (Hebrew:מנהיגות יהודית) has evolved over time. Since thedestruction of the Second Temple inJerusalem in 70 CE, there has been no single body that has a leadership position over the entireJewish diaspora. Variousbranches ofJudaism, as well as Jewish religious or secular communities and political movements around the world elect or appoint their governing bodies, often subdivided by country or region.
During the era of theTanakh, various forms of leadership developed. There were the heads of the originalHebrew tribes, and then alsoprophets such asMoses,Jeremiah andSamuel and whose words inspire people to this day,judges such asSamson,kings such asDavid andSolomon,priests of theTemple in Jerusalem, and theSanhedrin which was thejudiciary.
With the demise ofancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah and coinciding with the revolt of theMaccabees againstancient Greece and laterJewish-Roman wars, the sages of theMishnah and subsequently theTalmud, referred to as theOral Law in Judaism, took on a growing and central leadership role. After the destruction of theSecond Temple and the subsequent exile for almost two thousand years, the Jews scattered throughout the world turned to their most learnedrabbis for local leadership and council.
DuringBar Kokhba's revolt againstRoman Empire (132-136), the supreme religious authorityRabbi Akiva sanctionedSimon bar Kokhba to be a war leader, whereas during the 2nd centuryJudah haNasi was not only the supreme temporal leader sanctioned by Rome, but also edited the original work of theMishnah which became the "de factoconstitution" of the world's Jewry. The final editions of theTalmud became the corecurriculum of the majority of Jews.
InBabylonia theExilarch was almost always a rabbinical personality. TheGeonim such asSaadia Gaon (892-942) were not only great sages but also political guides. The writings and rulings of those such asRashi (1040–1105),Maimonides (1135–1204),Yosef Karo (1488–1575) who published the most widely accepted code of Jewish law theShulkhan Arukh,Isaac Luria (1534–1572), theVilna Gaon (1720–1797), theChafetz Chaim (1838–1933) and many others have shapedJewish law for almost two thousand years, as their religious rulings were published, distributed, studied, and observed until the present time.
The loose collection of learned rabbis that governed the dispersed Jewish community held sway for a long time. Great parts ofCentral Europe accepted the leadership of the rabbinicalCouncil of Four Lands from the 16th to the late 18th centuries. In theEastern Europe, in spite of the rivalry between the schools of thought of the Vilna Gaon (or the GRA, RabbiElijah ben Solomon, 1720–1797) of theMitnagdim, who spoke against Hasidic Judaism andBaal Shem Tov (RabbiIsrael ben Eliezer, 1700–1760), the founder ofHasidic Judaism, rabbis were regarded as the final arbiters of community decisions. Tens of thousands ofResponsa and many works were published and studied wherever Jews lived in organized communities. InWestern Europe, especially in monarchies, where no equal rights were granted for the Jewish population, radicalMaskilim defined the new role of religion as an education of just citizens — likeMoses Mendelssohn in his bookJerusalem or On Religious Power and Judaism which was a response to the Prussian reformerChristian Wilhelm von Dohm. The radical tendency of the pedagogic movement went so far, that Mendelssohn's studentDavid Friedländer identified Judaism with the seclusion of modern European culture and secular Judaism could end up in conversion to the religion of the unsecularized state. In contradiction to his teacher early modern leadership turned out to be misled leadership, whose followers ended up as "Jewish citizens without any conscience".
With the growth of theRenaissance and the development of thesecularmodern world, and as Jews were welcomed into non-Jewish society particularly during the times ofNapoleon in the 18th and 19th centuries, Jews began to leave theJewish ghettos in Europe, and simultaneously rejected the traditional roles of the rabbis as communal and religious leaders. New leaders such asIsrael Jacobson, father of the GermanReform Judaism movement, launched an egalitarian, modernist stance that challenged the Orthodoxy. 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.
In individual religious congregations orsynagogues, the spiritual leader is generally therabbi. Rabbis are expected to be taught in both theTalmud and theShulkhan Arukh (Code of Jewish Law) as well as many other classical texts of Jewish scholarship. Rabbis go through formal training in Rabbinical texts andresponsa, either at ayeshiva or similar institution. "Rabbi" is not a universal term, however, as many Sephardic rabbinic Jewish communities refer to their leaders asHakham ("wise man"). Among Yemenite Jews, known asTeimanim, the termMori ("my teacher") is used. Each religious tradition has its own qualifications for rabbis; for more information, seeSemicha ("ordination"). Some synagogues also employ a cantor (hazzan orchazzan) to lead the chanting of liturgical prayer.[1] Cantors in the Reform movement have a multi-faceted role. They chant prayers, lead congressional singing, and introduce new melodies, blending ancient and modern music.[2] Cantors in Reform congregations or synagogues are part of the clergy. Music and leading liturgical prayer is their primary role, but they may also lead religious school classes and perform pastoral duties.[2]
In Israel the office ofChief Rabbi has always been very influential. Various Orthodox movements, such asAgudath Israel of America and theShas party in Israel strictly follow the rulings of theirRosh yeshivas who are often famous Talmud scholars. The lastRebbe ofLubavitch, RabbiMenachem Mendel Schneerson, the late RabbiElazar Menachem Shach, and RabbiOvadia Yosef in Israel are examples of powerful contemporary Haredi rabbis. TheHaredi Agudah movements receive and follow the policy guidelines of their ownCouncil of Torah Sages. In theHassidic movements, leadership is usually hereditary.
In both the Reform and Conservative of Judaism, rabbis are often trained at religious universities, such as theJewish Theological Seminary in New York City for the Conservative movement,Hebrew Union College for the American Reform movement, andLeo Baeck College for the UK Liberal and Reform Movements. 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 assigningrabbis and other religious leaders.
The Union of Reform Judaism (URJ), the synagogue arm of the Reform Movement in North America, is governed by a 253-member Board of Trustees in close partnership with URJ Chair Daryl Messinger, URJ President Rabbi Rick Jacobs, and the senior leadership team. Delegates from URJ congregations meet once every two years for the URJ General Assembly to pass resolutions that guide the organization's future direction.[3]
The body of Conservative rabbis is theRabbinical Assembly, which maintains aCommittee on Jewish Law and Standards. The body of Reform rabbis is theCentral Conference of American Rabbis.
Following theRenaissance and theEnlightenment inEurope (with its Jewish "extension" theHaskalah 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 ofsecularvalues 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 asHadassah and theUnited Jewish Communities, 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 secularUnited Jewish Communities (UJC), formerly known as theUnited Jewish Appeal (UJA), represents over 150Jewish Federations and 400 independent communities acrossNorth 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 forphilanthropic andhumanitarian causes in North America and Israel. Additional local organizations include Jewish Family Services, Jewish nursing homes and Jewish community foundations. Other organizations such as theAnti-Defamation League,American Jewish Congress,American Jewish Committee, and theB'nai B'rith represent different segments of the American Jewish community on a variety of issues.
AKaraite synagogue is run by a board of directors, and its spiritual leader is often called aHakham, the equivalent of a "rabbi", and matches one in function. TheGabbai is the treasurer, theShammash is the custodian, theHazzan leads prayers, and in some theBa'al Qeri'ah leads in the reading of the Torah. In America, Karaites are represented bythe Karaite Jews of America, and in Israel they are represented.
| History | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Population |
| ||
| Languages (Diasporic) |
| ||
| Philosophy | |||
| Branches | |||
| Literature | |||
| Culture | |||
| Studies |
| ||
Italics indicateextinct languages | |||
