Clergy and religious life
Rabbis and synagogue roles
Judaism has no clerical hierarchy in the Christian sense. The hereditary priesthood that served in the Temple in Jerusalem lost its central function when the Romans destroyed the Second Temple in 70 CE, and the sacrificial worship it led has not been restored. In its place grew a tradition centred on study, prayer and law, led by rabbis: scholars and teachers whose authority rests on learning rather than on ordination to a sacred order. A congregation needs no rabbi to hold a service, and any knowledgeable member, in Orthodox practice a man, may lead the prayers. Other roles developed beside the rabbi: the cantor who chants the liturgy, the scribe who writes the Torah scroll, and civic offices such as the chief rabbinates of modern states. The descendants of the priests, the kohanim, keep a few ceremonial duties, above all the priestly blessing. Practice differs between Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist movements, and between Ashkenazi and Sephardi communities.
- Teaching and authority
- Leading prayer
- Priestly lineage
- Sacred craft
Orders and states of life
Teaching and authority
Rabbinic authority rests on learning. A rabbi receives semikhah, ordination, from a teacher or a seminary after years of studying the Talmud and Jewish law, and may then answer questions of law, teach, preach and serve a congregation. Chief rabbis are officeholders elected or appointed by a state or communal body; their authority extends as far as the communities that recognise it.
Leading prayer
Services may be led by any qualified worshipper, but many congregations employ a hazzan, or cantor, trained in the chant and musical modes of the liturgy. The cantor leads the congregation as its representative, the shaliach tzibbur, and in many communities also teaches, prepares children for bar and bat mitzvah, and officiates at weddings, funerals and other life-cycle ceremonies.
Priestly lineage
Kohanim are men descended in the paternal line from Aaron, the brother of Moses, whom the Torah names as the first high priest; Levites descend from the wider tribe of Levi. Without a Temple their status is chiefly ceremonial: kohanim recite the priestly blessing, are called first to the Torah reading and, in traditional practice, keep rules of purity such as avoiding contact with the dead.
Sacred craft
A sofer, or scribe, writes the texts that must be written by hand: Torah scrolls, the small parchments inside tefillin and mezuzot, and the Scroll of Esther read at Purim. The craft, known by the acronym STaM, is governed by detailed laws on materials, letter forms and the scribe’s intention, and the scribe must be learned and religiously observant.
Teaching and authority
Sephardi Chief Rabbi
Rishon LeZion (Hebrew: ראשון לציון); HaRav HaRashi (הרב הראשי)
Addressed as Rabbi; in Hebrew HaRav, and for the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, the Rishon LeZion
Chief rabbinates are largely modern institutions, created as states and communities sought a single religious representative. Israel’s Chief Rabbinate, founded in 1921 under the British Mandate, has two chief rabbis, one Ashkenazi and one Sephardi, elected for ten-year terms; it oversees marriage, divorce, kashrut and the rabbinical courts. The Sephardi chief rabbi bears the older title Rishon LeZion, ‘First to Zion’, used in Jerusalem since the seventeenth century. Countries such as the United Kingdom and France have national chief rabbis whose authority covers their member congregations.
What the figure wears
- Ceremonial robe glima (גלימה)
A long dark robe densely embroidered in gold at the collar and down the front, worn on formal and state occasions; its style derives from the official dress of the Ottoman Hakham Bashi.
- Turban mitznefet (מצנפת)
A tall cylindrical hat wound with a white-and-gold band, after the headgear of Ottoman dignitaries; its Hebrew name is that of the high priest’s headdress in the Torah.
- Small book
A small bound volume, such as a prayer book or a work of Jewish law, a reminder that the office rests on learning rather than on rank.
- Outside services
- The dark suit, white shirt and black hat or kippah of a Sephardi rabbi; the embroidered robe and turban are kept for ceremonies, state occasions and visits by foreign dignitaries.
- Insignia
- The embroidered robe and turban; some holders also wear a pendant in the form of the tablets of the covenant.
Teaching and authority
Rabbi
Rav, Rabbi (Hebrew: רב, רבי)
Addressed as Rabbi with the surname; in Hebrew HaRav
A rabbi is a teacher and an authority on Jewish law, halakha, ordained by receiving semikhah from a recognised scholar or seminary. Rabbis teach, answer questions of law, preach, counsel and officiate at weddings and funerals, and in many communities serve as the salaried leader of a congregation. Some sit as judges on a rabbinical court, the beit din. A rabbi has no sacramental powers and is not a priest. Reform Judaism has ordained women as rabbis since 1972, Reconstructionist Judaism since 1974 and Conservative Judaism since 1985; most Orthodox bodies do not.
What the figure wears
- Long coat rekel (Yiddish)
A long black frock coat reaching below the knee, worn on weekdays by many Hasidic and other Haredi Ashkenazi men.
- White shirt
A plain white shirt buttoned to the neck, often worn without a tie in Hasidic communities.
- Black hat
A broad-brimmed black felt hat worn over a kippah, part of the customary dress of Haredi men in the street and at prayer.
- Talmud volume
An open volume of the Babylonian Talmud, whose printed page sets the Mishnah and its discussion at the centre, framed by medieval commentaries.
- Outside services
- Dress varies by movement: Haredi rabbis wear the black coat and hat daily, Modern Orthodox rabbis a suit and knitted kippah, and many Reform rabbis ordinary clothes, adding a kippah and tallit for prayer.
- Insignia
- None; a rabbi's standing rests on the certificate of semikhah and on a reputation for learning.
Leading prayer
Cantor
Hazzan (Hebrew: חזן)
Addressed as Cantor or Hazzan with the surname
The hazzan leads the congregation in prayer, chanting the liturgy in the traditional musical modes, nusach, which differ between Ashkenazi, Sephardi and other rites, and singing more elaborate settings on Sabbaths and festivals. As shaliach tzibbur, ‘emissary of the congregation’, the cantor prays on its behalf. Cantors train in music, Hebrew and liturgy, often at seminaries of the Reform and Conservative movements, and many also teach and officiate at weddings and funerals. Women serve as cantors in non-Orthodox movements. Concert cantors such as Yossele Rosenblatt made recordings famous in the early twentieth century.
What the figure wears
- Cantorial robe
A long black robe with full sleeves and two short white tabs at the collar, adopted by many Central European and British synagogues in the nineteenth century, following contemporary clerical dress.
- Cantorial hat
A tall black cylindrical hat with a band around it, the formal headgear of cantors in many traditional Ashkenazi and Anglo-Jewish synagogues.
- Tallit טלית
A white prayer shawl with black stripes and knotted fringes, tzitzit, at its four corners, worn over the shoulders at morning prayers in keeping with the Torah’s command of fringes.
- Outside services
- Ordinary clothes with a kippah; the robe and hat are worn only in the synagogue, chiefly in traditional Ashkenazi and Anglo-Jewish congregations.
- Insignia
- None; the cantor's place is the reader's desk facing the ark that holds the Torah scrolls.
Priestly lineage
Kohen
Kohen, plural kohanim (Hebrew: כהן, כהנים)
A kohen is a male descendant, in the paternal line, of the priestly family of Aaron. Since the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE there has been no sacrificial service, but kohanim keep certain duties and restrictions. They are called first to the Torah reading, perform the redemption of the firstborn son, pidyon haben, and recite the priestly blessing of Numbers 6:24–26, a threefold blessing of protection, grace and peace. In Orthodox practice a kohen avoids contact with the dead and may not marry a divorcee. Reform Judaism and some other movements have set these distinctions aside.
What the figure wears
- Tallit טלית
A white prayer shawl with black stripes, drawn over the head and spread over the raised arms during the blessing, so that the hands and face are hidden from the congregation.
- Kittel kittel (Yiddish)
A plain white robe worn by many Ashkenazi men on Yom Kippur and other solemn days, and in some communities by kohanim when they bless the congregation on festivals.
- Outside services
- No distinctive dress; a kohen dresses like other members of his community, and many families carry surnames such as Cohen, Kahn or Katz, an abbreviation of kohen tzedek, 'righteous priest'.
- Insignia
- The split-finger gesture of the priestly blessing, often carved as a pair of hands on the gravestones of kohanim.
Sacred craft
Scribe
Sofer STaM (Hebrew: סופר סת״ם)
Addressed as Sofer, or Rabbi where he is also ordained
A sofer writes Torah scrolls, the parchments for tefillin and mezuzot, and the Scroll of Esther, and also checks and repairs existing scrolls. A Torah scroll holds the five books of Moses, 304,805 letters written by hand on parchment, and takes an experienced scribe about a year to complete. Every letter must be correct and complete; a single error makes the scroll unfit until it is mended. Before writing each divine name the scribe declares the intention to write it in holiness. In Orthodox law a sofer must be an observant Jewish man.
What the figure wears
- Dark clothing
A plain dark shirt and trousers, or a long dark coat, the modest everyday dress of an observant Jewish man at work.
- Kippah כיפה
A small round skullcap worn as a sign of reverence; observant men keep the head covered at all times, and above all while writing sacred texts.
- Quill kulmus (קולמוס)
A feather quill, traditionally from a goose or turkey, cut to a flat nib; metal pens are not used to write a Torah scroll.
- Parchment klaf (קלף)
A sheet of klaf, parchment made from the hide of a ritually clean animal, scored with fine guide lines from which the letters are hung, written in black ink.
- Outside services
- Dress follows the scribe's own community. Many scribes work at home or in small workshops, often combining new writing with checking and repairing tefillin and mezuzot for local families.
- Insignia
- None; a scribe is known by his certification and by the quality of his hand.
Questions people ask
Are rabbis priests?
No. In Judaism the priesthood is hereditary, belonging to the kohanim, and its central work of sacrifice ended with the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. A rabbi is a teacher and legal scholar, ordained by receiving semikhah after study, and holds no sacramental power. Rabbis lead congregations, teach and decide questions of Jewish law, but a service can be held without one. A rabbi may happen to be a kohen by descent, but the two roles are distinct.
Can women be rabbis?
In several movements, yes. Regina Jonas received private rabbinic ordination in Berlin in 1935. Reform Judaism ordained Sally Priesand in 1972, Reconstructionist Judaism ordained Sandy Eisenberg Sasso in 1974, and Conservative Judaism ordained Amy Eilberg in 1985; all three movements now ordain women routinely. Most Orthodox authorities hold that the rabbinate is reserved for men, though since 2009 a few Orthodox institutions have ordained women with titles such as maharat or rabba, a step that others reject.
What is the priestly blessing?
The priestly blessing, birkat kohanim, is the threefold blessing in Numbers 6:24–26, asking for protection, grace and peace for the people. The kohanim remove their shoes, have their hands washed by Levites, and face the congregation, covering their heads and raised hands with the tallit, with fingers parted in a set gesture. In Israel it is recited daily in most communities; in the Ashkenazi diaspora usually only on festivals. Many parents also bless their children with its words.
Why does Israel have two chief rabbis?
The arrangement reflects the two largest branches of Jewish tradition, Ashkenazi Jews from Central and Eastern Europe and Sephardi Jews from the Iberian, Ottoman and Middle Eastern worlds, whose customs and legal rulings differ in many details. The Ottoman authorities had recognised a Sephardi chief rabbi, the Hakham Bashi, and when the British Mandate created the Chief Rabbinate in 1921 it appointed both. The Sephardi chief rabbi continues to bear the title Rishon LeZion.
Who can lead a synagogue service?
Any adult member of the congregation who knows the prayers may lead a service. Communal prayer traditionally requires a minyan, a quorum of ten adults: in Orthodox practice ten men, while Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist congregations count women equally. Rabbis and cantors often lead services, but their presence is not required. Reading from the Torah scroll is a separate skill, and many congregations rely on a trained reader, the baal koreh, to chant it correctly.
Sources and further reading
- Judaism: A Very Short Introduction – Norman Solomon (Oxford University Press, 1996)
- The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion – Adele Berlin, ed. (Oxford University Press, 2nd edition 2011)
- Jewish Liturgy: A Comprehensive History – Ismar Elbogen (Jewish Publication Society, 1993)
- Encyclopaedia Judaica – Fred Skolnik and Michael Berenbaum, eds. (Macmillan Reference USA, 2nd edition 2007)