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I am under the impression that a person can be received into Judaism from a gentile nation. My question is whether or not that person could conceivably then become a Rabbi?

Please indicate whether your answer has always been the case, or whether this (non/) requirement has always been consistent within Judaism.

kouty
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Jas 3.1
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4 Answers4

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Shemaya and Avtalyon, two great rabbis from the 1st century BCE, are identified in the Talmud (Gittin 57b) as converts. So it seems that converts can become rabbis, and even important ones. I know of no sources that imply the law on this matter was different before that point.

See also this question: Can a convert be a prophet?

Community
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Double AA
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  • +1 Weren't they also the leaders of their generation and the keepers of the Tradition (for lack of a better term)? Slightly more than one's average rabbi. – HodofHod Apr 12 '13 at 06:56
  • I said great rabbis – Double AA Apr 12 '13 at 21:47
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    The Gemera says they were descendants of Gerim. מבני בניו של סנחריב למדו תורה ברבים מאן אינון שמעיה ואבטליון היינו

    Since they led the sanhedrin, they couldn't have been gerim themselves. A modern-day rabbi is a separate question though.

     – Ariel K Apr 14 '13 at 14:01
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    This answer ignores the halakhic problem of כל משימות שאתה משים לא יהו אלא מקרב אחיך (Kiddushin 76b, Yevamos 45b). For a teshuvah on this question, see e.g., שו"ת אגרות משה יורה דעה חלק ד סימן כו – wfb Apr 14 '13 at 16:05
  • @ArielK Mea culpa! I didn't pay close enough attention, conflating the issue of converts descendants with themselves probably primed by the Wikipedia page which says they were actual converts. I don't know if this still answers the question well; it depends what he means by "Jewish by ethnicity", although I think my conclusion is pretty much on target. – Double AA Apr 14 '13 at 22:23
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    @wfb I ignored it on purpose, not thinking it was particularly relevant to someone's becoming a rabbi. – Double AA Apr 14 '13 at 22:23
  • It is quite relevant, as the halakhic literature about this question attests. 2. Even if there would be no problem of a ger being a rabbi, Shmayah & Avtalyon would be a problem of a ger being members (& heads of) the Sanhedrin--this problem was already raised by the Tosfos Yom tov. How then can you cite them as precedent without noting the problem?
    • – wfb Apr 14 '13 at 22:46
  • @wfb 1. Which halachik literature? 2. See my above comments. – Double AA Apr 14 '13 at 23:28
  • Did you see the R. Moshe I quoted? – wfb Apr 14 '13 at 23:46
  • @wfb Yes. He's talking about a position of leadership (like Rosh Yeshiva), ie a political/legal/bureaucratic position, not a rabbi (even taking modern semicha as a heter hora'ah). – Double AA Apr 14 '13 at 23:48
  • As R. Noson Gestetner points out in his article on this question, the word רבנות means שררה http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=50287&st=&pgnum=131&hilite= – wfb Apr 15 '13 at 00:06
  • @wfb So a ger can't own a slave, because a slave owner is called "Rav"??? – Double AA Apr 15 '13 at 00:08
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    I'm pretty sure there's no issur שררה over עבדים. However, you probably cannot appoint a גר as the רב over your Jewish workers. – wfb Apr 15 '13 at 00:17
  • Shemaya and Avtalyon do not help answer whether a ger can be a rabbi, since they were not gerim themselves. (See the second paragraph of wikipedia. C.f. the 'source' for first paragraph.) However, one could probably argue that many modern shul rabbis are not positions of serarah, and therefore a ger can become a rabbi nowadays. And obviously a ger can write/compile a commentary/translation on the Torah. – Ariel K Apr 15 '13 at 00:24
  • @wfb I wasn't suggesting there would be an issue with slaves. What I am suggesting is that the etymology of the word is irrelevant, so don't 'prove' to me that it's assur because Rav comes from lashon Serarah. – Double AA Apr 15 '13 at 04:06
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    OK, so maybe your answer should acknowledge that it may depend on the role of the rabbi and whether he has authority? Especially since the question asks for changes over time, and rabbis in the past had real authority. Also, maybe consider updating the info about Shmaya & Avtalyon – wfb Apr 15 '13 at 15:33
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    @ArielK Ritva and Meiri on Yoma 71b say they themselves were Gerim, as does Rambam and Bartenura to Eduyos 5:6. – Double AA Apr 18 '13 at 16:09
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    Mea culpa, there are such opinions. However, it is very difficult, since a ger cannot be a Nasi according to all opinions. Its much simpler to say they were descendants of gerim. See Maharal "אבל יש שפירשו כי הם עצמם גרים היו בודאי זה טעות גמור". Otherwise, there case was an exception to the rule which cannot be applied in other cases (See Igros Moshe). – Ariel K Apr 18 '13 at 18:07
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    To the extent that a rabbi is a leader of a community, there is an argument that a convert should not be a shul rabbi just as there are opinions that a convert cannot become a shul president. See Can a convert become a synagogue president? Why or why not?. But the same counter-argument is applicable -- if the congregation agrees to accept a convert over them, then the ruling does not apply. See my answer to the cited question. – Bruce James May 28 '13 at 16:11
  • Related: http://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/23501/can-a-convert-become-a-synagogue-president-why-or-why-not – Eilu V'Eilu May 07 '15 at 18:20
  • @DoubleAA There are a lot of details. First, Dine Mamonot or Dine Nefashot, secondly, to be Dayan for other Gerim or for Israel, third, to be occasionally Dayan or attitred Dayan. Moreover, there are multiple opinions in Rishonim, Rashi, Tosfot, Rif etc... – kouty Apr 06 '22 at 16:27