Religion - Jewish Leadership
Jewish leadership: Since 70 AD and the
destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem there has been no single body
that has a leadership position over the entire Jewish community. Various
branches of Judaism have various governing bodies, often subdivided by
country or region. Judaism also has a number of secular organizations
that take a variety of different leadership roles of various Jewish
communities.
Historic leadership
Biblical leadership (Before 70 CE)
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, the Vilna Gaon, or the GRA, Rabbi
Elijah ben Solomon (1720-1797) of the Mitnagdim (meaning those against
-- Hasidic Judaism)and,the Baal Shem Tov,(the Master of the Good Name),
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 spiritual
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
institution. "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 Teimanim, 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
"sexton".
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.
The body of Conservative rabbis is the Rabbinical Assembly, which
maintains a Committee on Jewish Law and Standards. The body of Reform
rabbis is the Central Conference of American Rabbis.
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, 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.
From:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_leadership
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