DY: If they went through a smicha course, great. If they spent ten years in intense study in Lakewood or wherever, also great, I just wish that there was some way of saying, yes, I learned with X person, this person will attest to it and agrees to my adopting the title.
From life and context I will say that it would be weird if a cheder rebbi was not called Rabbi, but in theory, who cares? There’s no equivalent for women, and they do fine… but as it’s the accepted thing, and hopefully those who teach have put a decent amount of work into achieving a reasonably high level of scholarship, I’d just put them to the same standards as I mentioned above- someone who will vouch.
Ubiq:
You make a lot of assumptions. (Yes, even after I ignore the thing about female rabbis, when I’ve made it EXCRUCIATINGLY clear that I mean the exact opposite.) One of these is that the way that things are is the way that it should be, that anyone who takes up a pulpit can achieve a title. You make the statement, unironically, that “some may be more valid than others.” That automatically insinuates that there is some value to the title of rabbi and that some people who may not deserve it are adopting it. Is this something that should be happening? What does the title of rabbi mean to you?
See, here’s the problem- the title of rabbi implies a certain level of unconscious respect which the titles of rebbetzin and morah simply do not have. Some, like Nechama Leibowitz a”h, took the title of Morah and made it their own, and some rebbetzins have taken advantage of the title which marriage gave them to do great things. But neither of those has the same cache that the title of rabbi has- and for that reason, I at least viscerally understand what is going through the minds of women who call themselves rabbi, though I heartily disagree with what they’re doing. The title of rabbi has its own significance, both within the Jewish world and without, which lends prestige to its bearer. Women have no such title. If there is a reason for a man to bear it which he has earned, then that is understandable- and yes, it is also understandable if a woman, in theory, cannot earn it the same way. But for any man who chooses to be able to adopt it, solely because of his gender and stage charisma, that is patently ridiculous.
RebYidd: Was wondering that myself…