Asking Rabbis and The Value of Semicha
I have had a few really bad experiences in the past few months with asking Rabbis halachic questions. The answers varied from “You know how to learn, go look it up yourself” to insensitive to wrong to plainly being ignored. A lot of people around here insist on asking Rabbis shailos regardless of whether they know the answer themselves or not. It’s almost like they need an approval for everything they do, because they are too chicken to assume responsibility for their own actions.
So when I finally saw RYGB’s article, The Value of Semicha, (p. 149-154) published on this subject it made me feel better. It turns out I am not the only one who thinks that not everything needs to be asked and you can solve shailos yourself without having the “Rabbi”title.
And yes, this exactly why I am not becoming a Rabbi. The title itself is worthless and it represents nothing.
posted by Unknown @ 6/14/2006 01:38:00 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
well, i think there is value to a title. while you don't need to be an "esq" to resolve legal questions, the fact that someone has it makes his/her advice that much more trustworthy. and in a society of the masses, where one needs a way to measure abilities, a title provides an indication of the training and strengths of a person. would you go to a self-proclaimed doctor who never went to med school, or who didn't pass the medical exams? further, should people be allowed to prescribe their own medication based upon the fact that they "know" medicine. of course not. so while one may know halacha, or law, or medicine, the availability of a title provides uniformity, stability, and security, for people who need a reason to trust you.
In addition, acquiring a title requires the study of certain key subjects. While anyone can study those areas, chances are that they will skip "irrelevant" information and focus on the direct answer to their query. While not definitively dangerous, it can certainly result in a mistake. For example, someone may look up the cure for a fever, and find the symptoms that seem relevant, but may overlook the fact that there may be other reasons for those same symptoms. To put it more succinctly: Although A can cause B, not knowing that C and D also cause B, can result in a misdiagnosis.
I believe that rabbinics is no different that law or medicine in this regard, and the fact that people run to their rabbi is no different than people running to their doctor when they suspect an illness. And just like a doctor will sometimes tell a patient who calls every day, to treat themselves at home for their "headache", a rabbi will sometimes tell someone to "look it up yourself" - i.e. don't come running to me for every little symptom that you feel.
There is one big flaw in your argument. While Doctors and Lawyers have to go through standardized education and government testing, Rabbis do not. Therefore while some Rabbis do know what they are talking about most do not simply because their title does not in anyway reflect their education or ability. I know of someone who got a semicha from his Rosh Yeshiva simply because they needed to get a job in a day school and needed the paper. Many Yeshivas will give you a semicha just for being there and in most that have a semicah program it's is a complete joke. So the semicha is more deceiving than anything else.
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