# Was Jesus a Rabbi? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 25, 2004, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-jesus-a-rabbi/281594 "2004-12-25T17:03:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2004, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-jesus-a-rabbi/281594/1 "2004-12-25T17:03:40Z")
Re the article linked below, is Jesus considered (in historical context) a “'Rabbi” by modern Jewish scholars? [From Jesus to Christ - Jesus As Rabbi](http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/jesus/rabbi.html) > [@](#): > > The most neutral and least controversial of these words is probably Rabbi, along with the related Rabbouni. Except for two passages, the Gospels apply the Aramaic word only to Jesus; and if we conclude that the title “teacher” or “master” (didaskalos in Greek) was intended as a translation of that Aramaic name, it seems safe to say that it was as Rabbi that Jesus was known and addressed. Yet the Gospels seem to accentuate the differences, rather than the similarities, between Jesus and the other rabbis. As the scholarly study of the Judaism of his time has progressed, however, both the similarities and the differences have become clearer. > Luke tells us (4:16-30) that after his baptism and temptation by the devil, he “came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and he went to the synagogue, as his custom was, on the sabbath day. And he stood up to read.” Following the customary rabbinical pattern, he took up a scroll of the Hebrew Bible, read it, presumably provided an Aramaic translation-paraphrase of the text, and then commented on it. The words he read were from Isaiah 61:1-2: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” But instead of doing what a rabbi would normally do, apply the text to the hearers by comparing and contrasting earlier interpretations, he declared: “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Although the initial reaction to this audacious declaration was said to be wonderment “at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth,” his further explanation produced the opposite reaction, and everyone was “filled with wrath.” > Behind the confrontations between Jesus as Rabbi and the representatives of the rabbinical tradition, the affinities are nevertheless clearly discernible in the forms in which his teachings appear in the Gospels. One of the most familiar is the question and answer, with the question often phrased as a teaser. A woman had seven husbands (in series, not in parallel): whose wife will she be in the life to come (Matt. 22:23-33)? Is it lawful for a devout Jew to pay taxes to the Roman authorities (Matt. 22:15-22)? What must I do to inherit eternal life (Mark 10:17-22)? Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 18:1-6)? The one who puts the question acts as a straight man, setting up the opportunity for Rabbi Jesus to drive home the point, often by standing the question on its head ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2004, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-jesus-a-rabbi/281594/2 "2004-12-25T17:23:39Z")
I’m no religious scholar, but rabbis aren’t the only ones who read and comment on Torah passages during a synagogue service. It’s traditional for a boy to do so at his Bar Mitzvah, for example. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2004, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-jesus-a-rabbi/281594/3 "2004-12-25T19:35:20Z")
You may get better answers tomorrow, on account of today being the Jewish sabbath (so observant Jews don’t post) and Christmas (so observant Christians are probably busy elsewhere). My understanding is that the title “rabbi” was applied more loosely back in those balmy days. There wasn’t necessarily an ordination process and formal title, the way that major religions have today; the title “rabbi” (literally: “my teacher”) could be applied by students/followers/apostles without regard to a formal certification. In modern Judaism, there is nothing ceremonial or religious that a rabbi can do that any knowledgable member of the congregation couldn’t do. Anyone who can read the Torah can do so, anyone who knows how to lead prayers can lead a servce, anyone can be invited to speak, etc. The only exception would be that a rabbi could make a ruling on religious “legal” matters. Remember that traditional Judaism (Orthodox and Conservative) is partly a legal code, covering various aspects of life, and not just a belief-system. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2004, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-jesus-a-rabbi/281594/4 "2004-12-27T03:30:13Z")
I misread the header as: **Was Jesus a Rabbit?** Based on that interpretation, I think we can safely say no. ---
**Author:** ![WeRSauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f19dbf/32.png) [@WeRSauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WeRSauron)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2004, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-jesus-a-rabbi/281594/5 "2004-12-27T05:15:38Z")
I think it would be safe to call Jesus a rabbi (in the sense of a teacher, as he had a group of students). Now, one needs ordination in order to be recognized as a rabbi, but back then there were no such requirements. Back then, too, rabbis were influential but probably not necessary (compared to today; but then today’s Judaism is explicitly Rabbinic Judaism). I think, to use today’s language among certain Jews, one might also call Jesus a _tzaddiq_, literally “righteous,” but also refers to one who teaches, performs miracles, and around whom a community evolves. The Lubavitcher Rebbe (z"l), if I remember correctly, was a _tzaddiq_, as were most of the leaders of the Lubavitcher and Chassidic movements in Judaism. Would Jesus be considered a rabbi according to today’s terms or from the perspective of today’s Jews? No, and no. Jesus did not claim to have been ordained by any rabbi, nor did he acknowledge a teacher. He gives no credentials for his learning. Therefore, he’s an uncredentialed preacher. At the most, he could be a _tzaddiq_. Furthermore, Jesus did not belong to the form of Judaism that later became Rabbinic Judaism. I would feel it safe to say that any religious figure outside of the authorities of Rabbinic Judaism would, legitimately, not be recognized as a rabbi by today’s Jews. More Jewish examples would be Saducee, Karaite, or Essene teachers or authorities. Today, possibly only the Karaites are the only Jews that do not belong to Rabbinic Judaism. WRS ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2004, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-jesus-a-rabbi/281594/6 "2004-12-27T14:07:19Z")
> [@Beware of Doug](#): > > I misread the header as: > > **Was Jesus a Rabbit?** > > Based on that interpretation, I think we can safely say no. No, unlike those quoted in the Talmud, he did not engage in exposition of the Law that we would regard as splitting hares! 😃 Seriously, **WRS** has a distinct point. Rabbinic Judaism is principally a descendant of the good aspects of Pharisaism – the keeping of the Law for love of God. (Jesus condemns the Pharisees, not for keeping the Law, but for turning the keeping of the Law into an end in itself and for their condemnation of others for not abiding by it in the terms they held themselves to.) The Saduccees were predominantly oriented towards the ceremonial aspects of Temple worship; the Essenes towards ritual purity and something of an esoteric, eschatological devotion; the Zealots might best be regarded as predecessors of the Zionists. Jesus’s focus was on a humanism that has always been an important element of Judaism – a relationship with God that is expressed in one’s treatment of one’s fellow man. He taught as a rabbi, but not as a typical modern rabbi. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2004, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-jesus-a-rabbi/281594/7 "2004-12-27T19:54:16Z")
Since a large part of a rabbi’s traditional duties involved mediation of disputes, it’s worth noting that in Luke chapter 12, a man in a crowd calls out to Jesus for assistance in allotting an inheritance (precisely the type of situation for which a family would turn to a rabbi for fair, impartial judgment), and Jesus answers, “Friend, who appointed me judge or arbiter?” Jesus was certainly a rabbi in the sense that he was a teacher, but he didn’t show any interest in a case in the kind of mundane case that Jews would have expected a rabbi to render judgment on. ---
**Author:** ![coffeecat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coffeecat/32/3405_2.png) [@coffeecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coffeecat)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-jesus-a-rabbi/281594/8 "2004-12-28T04:29:22Z")
The title “Rabbi” didn’t exist until after Jesus’s time. As **Polycarp** touched on, what became the rabbis were then called the Pharisees. Perhaps the question should be, “Was Jesus a Pharisee?” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-jesus-a-rabbi/281594/9 "2004-12-28T06:55:52Z")
There was most certainly a title “Rabbi” in the time that JC lived, and there was most certainly a formal ordination ceremony. In fact, in those days, the ordination was more significant than the ceremonies that Yeshivos hold today, because back then, they had genuine ordination, known in Hebrew as Semicha, in a direct line from Moses which authorized the ordainee to sit on Rabbinical courts and try capital cases, and to confer the Semicha upon students of their own. And most of those are referred to by the Mishna and Talmud by the title “Rabbi.” Those few for whom the title is not used were outstanding individuals (such as Hillel and Shammai) whose names were considered to be sufficient distinction without a title to be shared with run-of-the-mill Rabbis. There is nothing that indicates that JC was a Rabbi. Naturally, this is a very Pharasaic definition, and it’s pretty safe to say that if JC existed as described in the gospels, he was no Pharisee. ---
**Author:** ![coffeecat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coffeecat/32/3405_2.png) [@coffeecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coffeecat)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-jesus-a-rabbi/281594/10 "2004-12-29T00:33:57Z")
[Link](http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=30&letter=R&search=rabbi#69). _[The Jewish People](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0140098275/qid=1104280221/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-2968134-0413463?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)_ says that the title didn’t come into general use until the academy at Yavneh, after the destruction of the Temple. [p.81] ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-jesus-a-rabbi/281594/11 "2004-12-29T00:43:36Z")
> [@coffeecat](#): > > [Link](http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=30&letter=R&search=rabbi#69). > > _[The Jewish People](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0140098275/qid=1104280221/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-2968134-0413463?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)_ says that the title didn’t come into general use until the academy at Yavneh, after the destruction of the Temple. [p.81] Rabban Shimon Ben Gamliel, and Rabbi Yishmael the High Priest (a title that was not in use after the Temple’s destruction) and other Talmudical Rabbis would disagree with you. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-jesus-a-rabbi/281594/12 "2004-12-29T03:17:52Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > here is nothing that indicates that JC was a Rabbi. Naturally, this is a very Pharasaic definition, and it’s pretty safe to say that if JC existed as described in the gospels, he was no Pharisee. Maybe it’s NOT so safe. More than a few Jewish scholars believe Jesus WAS a radical Pharisee, and that the anti-Pharisee comments in the Gospels reflect the growing divide between Christians and Jews long AFTER the death of JEsus. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-jesus-a-rabbi/281594/13 "2004-12-29T06:33:03Z")
astorian: > [@](#): > > Maybe it’s NOT so safe. More than a few Jewish scholars believe Jesus WAS a radical Pharisee, and that the anti-Pharisee comments in the Gospels reflect the growing divide between Christians and Jews long AFTER the death of JEsus. Which is why I qualified my statement by saying _if JC existed as described in the gospels_.