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Having a rabbi
- Thread starter Leo613
- Start date
Poisonshady313
Well-Known Member
I am not Hasidic, but I hope for the purposes of not violating DIR rules it is sufficient to say that my rabbi is.
A rabbi is not a dictator. A rabbi is a teacher. A Jew should live by the Torah. And if there is a particular matter in a Jew's life that makes him unsure which choice would be correct according to halacha, he consults his rabbi.
Rabbis have rabbis.
As for how to choose a rabbi.. that's a good question.
Leo613
Active Member
Is god a dictator
Leo613
Active Member
Well it's written you get punished if u don't keep laws like shabbos, kosher. ...What's the logic in that
Leo613
Active Member
Well it's written you get punished if u don't keep laws like shabbos, kosher. ...What's the logic in that
Exedos 31.14
Tumah
Veteran Member
1. How does one choose a Rabbi?
One decides that for whatever reason, a certain Rabbi seems to be a good choice of a leader for oneself.
2. If religion is a personal choice.
Why do you think religion is a personal choice and what exactly does that mean?
3. How can the Rabbi dictate to you how to live?
The same way a doctor can. He knows about the relevant aspect of one's life more than you do.
rosends
Well-Known Member
I have been wondering if I can answer within a Hasidic DIR but I will throw caution to the wind and chime in (wind chimes...nice).
Aseh lecha rav could mean a couple of things -- I can invent a couple: find someone who can be your teacher and guide while you learn, investigate and ask, find someone whose understanding and position accords with your approach and go to him for particular applications of law which are beyond you, find someone who models practice and learn how to live from that person
How? By watching, asking questions, and having life experiences maybe. Or by recognizing that others have gone through experiences and have come to conclusions and found authorities on whom to rely, and go in that direction.
That rav might be someone whom you defer to (sort of like choosing a doctor or have a consigliere or keeping an orthodontist on retainer) when you need halachic puzzles solved, or someone who gives you advice or whom you learn from. That person has the power you invest in him.
Is God a dictator? Sure in some ways. He gave laws which must be followed. But in other ways, he is a partner in creating a society, giving us laws to research and apply across time and space.
Aseh lecha rav could mean a couple of things -- I can invent a couple: find someone who can be your teacher and guide while you learn, investigate and ask, find someone whose understanding and position accords with your approach and go to him for particular applications of law which are beyond you, find someone who models practice and learn how to live from that person
How? By watching, asking questions, and having life experiences maybe. Or by recognizing that others have gone through experiences and have come to conclusions and found authorities on whom to rely, and go in that direction.
That rav might be someone whom you defer to (sort of like choosing a doctor or have a consigliere or keeping an orthodontist on retainer) when you need halachic puzzles solved, or someone who gives you advice or whom you learn from. That person has the power you invest in him.
Is God a dictator? Sure in some ways. He gave laws which must be followed. But in other ways, he is a partner in creating a society, giving us laws to research and apply across time and space.
May I as why you chose to post this in the Hasidic DIR?
Leo613
Active Member
Im new to the website. I'm open to suggestions.
rosends
Well-Known Member
Posting it under the Hasidic DIR might limit who feels comfortable responding and it also creates an expectation that you are asking about having a rabbi within the cultural context of the Chasidic world where having a Rav might be thought of as different from listening to any other rabbi within another branch of Juaism.
If you're primarily interested in a hasidic-centric response, post it here. If, however, you want input from various streams of Judaism, post in the Judaism DIR.
metis
aged ecumenical anthropologist
Let me just say that I do not take the position that any rabbi can tell us how to live and expect blind obedience to what they say, but what any good rabbi can do is to give their advice, which should be seriously considered because of their education and training. To me, a rabbi should not be taken as some sort of dictator, and I doubt that most of us do. Nor would I recommend that the scriptures be taken as if they were a dictator since interpretation and application can be variable.
RabbiO
הרב יונה בן זכריה
If you are willing to throw caution to the winds, how can I not weigh in, at least in one regard?
Leo, putting aside the obvious language difficulties - for whatever reason they exist - for someone who says he was brought up "religious" you seem to have, at best, the most rudimentary understanding of Judaism on any level.
Care to share more about yourself?
RabbiO
הרב יונה בן זכריה
I figured that one out a long, long time ago, my friend --- but back in the day when you babysat me - 1st Temple period - you were singing, badly I might add,a different tune about the attitude one should have toward his babysitter.
Leo613
Active Member
Didn't have secular education just religious education
Tumah
Veteran Member
So you've only had a religious education and you still weren't sure about the questions in your OP?
Leo613
Active Member
What's OP
What do u mean I wasn't sure?