Reply To: If you do not have s'micha, can you advertise yourself as "Rabbi"?

Home Forums Decaffeinated Coffee If you do not have s'micha, can you advertise yourself as "Rabbi"? Reply To: If you do not have s'micha, can you advertise yourself as "Rabbi"?

#1134321
writersoul
Participant

Ubiq, again you’re missing my point.

The OP was making a specific statement- about men WITHOUT (the current equivalent of) SMICHA being called rabbi.

Women cannot get that kind of accreditation, per Rema, because in order to do so one must be theoretically qualified for Sanhedrin, which women are not. (Among other reasons.)

Men currently can get smicha, earning the title of rabbi. Fine by me.

The alternative to the position mentioned by the OP is men with NO qualification (besides theoretical charisma) being called rabbi. The title of rabbi is one with significance. Women have no equivalent title which they can don so easily. Allowing ANY man to use it would be an innovation, and one which is, indeed, unfair. If halacha says that a woman can’t do something, I can live with it. But this is entirely outside of halacha, and therefore there is no reason to consciously produce something discriminatory.