Rabbi Meaning
/ˈɹæ.baɪ/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA Jewish scholar or teacher of halacha (Jewish law), capable of making halachic decisions.
nounA Jew who is the leader or is qualified to be the leader of a Jewish congregation.
Sentence Examples
Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.
Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God.
Rabbi Tom gave the sermon on Friday night.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The local ____ gave a sermon during the Friday evening service at the synagogue.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ delivered a thoughtful sermon on the importance of forgiveness during the High Holy Days.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English raby, from Ecclesiastical Latin rabbi, and its source Koine Greek ῥαββί (rhabbí), from (post-Tanakh) Hebrew רַבִּי (rabbi, “my master”), from רַב (rav, “master”) + ־ִי (-í, “my”). Compare late Old English rabbi. Doublet of rebbe and related to rav.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Next, R. Moskowitz brings us to the Slonimer Rebbe, a late 20th century Hasidic rabbi, who taught that the evil of Esav was that very sense of completion, the self-perception that he had no need for growth or further transformation."
— 2019 September 10, Rachel Timoner, “Book Review: Textual Activism by Rabbi Mike Moskowitz”, in Tikkun, archived from the original on 06 Dec 2019:
""Elon Musk is spreading the kind of antisemitism that leads to massacres," reads the decree, which was signed by 164 "rabbis, leaders of Jewish organizations, artists, activists, and academics." "And advertisers are funding the platform that allows him to spread his ideology to hundreds of millions [of] people.""
— 2023 November 17, Maggie Harrison Dupré, “Rabbis Warn That Elon Musk Is Spreading the Type of Antisemitism "That Leads to Massacres””, in Futurism, archived from the original on 24 Mar 2024:
"Hoskins? He doesn't have a better rabbi in the department than that?"
— 2006 September 17, David Mills, “Soft Eyes”, in The Wire, season 4, episode 2, spoken by Clarence Royce (Glynn Turman):
"If I'm ever gonna make Captain, I need a good mentor. I need my rabbi."
— 2013 September 17, Dan Goor, Michael Schur, “Pilot”, in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, season 1, episode 1, spoken by Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero):
"This past weekend, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach set off a firestorm with his full-page ad in the New York Times accusing National Security Adviser Susan E. Rice of turning a blind eye to the Rwandan genocide when she was on President Bill Clinton’s national security team in the 1990s."
— 2015 March 4, Jill Jacobs, “Shmuley Boteach isn’t ‘America’s rabbi’”, in The Washington Post, archived from the original on 29 Apr 2023:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The local ____ gave a sermon during the Friday evening service at the synagogue.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ delivered a thoughtful sermon on the importance of forgiveness during the High Holy Days.