Director of Israel’s Chief Rabbinate of Israel Batei Din Rabbi Shimon Yaakobi is calling upon the Minister of Finance and the Civil Service Commission to recognize a rabbinical pleader (טוען רבני) as an undergraduate degree. This would permit pleaders to take part in tenders for civil service jobs that require a college degree.
A To’ein Rabbani or Rabbinical Pleader is the equivalent of an attorney representing one in the beis din who has the required familiarity and certification of both state law and halacha.
Rabbi Yaakobi sent a formal request to the appropriate Finance Ministry official following a meeting in which Rishon L’Tzion Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef Shlita and civil service officials.
In his letter, Rabbi Yaakobi explains for eligibility to become a To’ein Rabbani, one must complete four years of learning in yeshiva after age 18 or three years of study in an institution recognized by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel for certifying the rabbinical pleaders. Yaakobi points out studies towards this certification are on line with one achieving an undergraduate degree.
Rabbi Yaakobi reminds officials that over recent years much has been done towards encouraging yeshiva graduates to enter the civil service arena and this would be a step in the correct direction, adding this field is open to both men and women.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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One Response
The concept of a “Rabbinical Pleader” is totally contrary to Jewish law and tradition. It is a zionist creation.
The Israelis consider a graduate of zionist universities with majors such as Jewish studies, Talmud or “bible” to be a college graduate and afford them preferences, yet somewhat who studies the same subjects, and typically at a higher level, is considered uneducated. That is discrimination and is purely a product of zionist bigotry against the Torah world.