A Rabbi by Any Other Name…
Question of the day, for all you Shakespeare fans out there… would a rabbi, by any other name, be as qualified to sit in the seat of Moses? It was traditional in first century synagogues for a “Throne of Moses” to have a prominent and honorable location, from which the officials could render judgments in the name of Moses. Why would a “Rabbi” feel qualified at all to occupy such a position of trust and honor? What would Moses do? Good question.
In Mainstream Judaism, it has been traditional to refer to Moses (perhaps more correctly Mosheh), for a very long time, as “Moses our Rabbi”. Nice try guys. The very first Jewish Rabbi’s came on the scene probably about the time of the Maccabee’s, about 1200 years after the time of Moses. There is no record in scripture he was ever called that. The closest to “Rabbi” we find in any of the original Hebrew scriptures is the word ”Rav”, a title of nobility used by the Babylonian enemy. Basically means or implies “greatness”. In other words, when you address a man as “Rabbi”, you are saying, in Hebrew, “My Great One”. The word “Rav”, without the “i” suffix, simply means ‘great one”. Now you know why Yahshua said, “Call no man ‘Father’, or ‘Rabbi’, for One is your Rav, and your father is the one in heaven”. I’d call Moses a prophet. Hopefully he would agree. “Moshe HaNavii”. (Moses the Prophet)
It is alleged and implied there is a relation between the word ”rabbi” and the word “teacher”. There is, but it is not an explicit or definitive equivalent, merely an associative similarity. A rabbi is expected to be a teacher, but not all qualify. Most teachers would be shocked, some offended if you called them “rabbi”. Both terms have been used as titles of honor, that is as far as the interpretation goes, and the interpretation falls short of definition. All you “Rabbis” out there, take note. If you believe in Moses, you may be dishonoring the memory of Moses by your title, for he was the meekest man on earth of his time, walking humbly with his Creator. If you believe in Yahshua, you have disobeyed your master by assuming this title that he has reserved for himself. I would not call myself rabbi for all the tea in China. What’s the point of it?
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