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To:                      harav@torah.net
From:                 Roger    Clavello

Dear Rabbi,

I would like to ask the meanings of the terms rabbi and rav. Which
one was used in the days of the second temple as the meaning of
teacher?

If posssible I would like to know how each of these terms were used
in the history of Yisrael.

Shalom,
Rogerio


Dear Mr. Rogerio Lima,

Rav, means a teacher, and Rabbi is a title given to a person who
has studied the Torah deeply as is then tested and if found
proficient is ordained as a Rabbi.

Originaly Semichah (ordination) could only be given by a person who himself
had the original Semichah which was handed down from generation
to generation back to Moses who gave Semichah To Yehoshuah
Bin Nun (see Numbers chap. 27, verses 18 - 23) At the time of the
second Temple and also for some hundreds of years afterwards
this Semichah was still extant. One of the rules of this Semichah
is that it may only be given in the Holy land of Israel, and as at the
time of the Second Temple much of the nation lived in Babylon, the
Rabbis there could not be properly ordained and were given the title
"Rav" to differentiate between a Rabbi who had the original
Semichah and one who only had the secondary one. Those Rabbis
who lived in Israel could be properly ordained and were given the
Title "Rabbi". There were people who made the journey from
Babylon to Israel and were ordained with the Title "Rabbi". A
person who has the original Semichah is entitled to much larger
religious powers than a person who does not have this Semichah.
Nowadays and for the last perhaps 1,500 years this tradition of the
original Semichah has been lost so we are not particular nowadays
about the title and the expression "Rabbi" is used for someone who
has the Semichah that is in use nowadays.

I trust that this will help you.

 Best wishes,

 Y. Chesner.

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