[Avodah] Education of a Rov

[Yitzchok Levine]

A Unique Perspective: Essays of Rav Dr. Joseph 
Breuer, ZT"L, 1914 - 1973 has just been published 
by Feldheim. (See http://tinyurl.com/y86fwfq )

"This comprehensive volume contains 136 essays by 
Rav Dr. Joseph Breuer zt'l, Rosh Yeshiva in 
Frankfurt and Rav of Khal Adath Jeshurun in New 
York, presented in chronological order to give 
the reader a sense of the history of the times. 
The essays deal with all aspects of Jewish 
living: from the everyday challenges of leading a 
Torah-true life in the modern world to the 
emotional moments of the Yomim Nora'im and Yomim 
Tovim; from the world of the Holocaust to the 
rise of a Jewish state in Eretz Yisrael; from the 
learning program of the Frankfurt Yeshiva to the 
education of modern-day yeshiva students; from 
the fledgling beginnings of K'hal Adath Jeshurun 
to its becoming the model Kehilla known the world 
over. Rav Breuer's essays reflect the teachings 
and Torah im Derech Eretz hashkafah of his grandfather, Rav S. R. Hirsch."

I strongly recommend purchasing this important sefer.

One essay is titled "The Frankfurt Yeshiva" and 
appeared in 1920. In this essay Rav Breuer 
describes the qualifications that a Rav should 
have.  (I have put certain sentences that struck me in bold.) He writes

There is probably no other vocation whose successful practice
requires so varied and many-faceted an education as the rabbinical
calling. A rabbi must be the teacher of his congregants. He must
have a talent for reaching and influencing the minds and hearts of
others. He also ought to be a good speaker, which can be a very
demanding quality. The sermons of a rabbi from the pulpit are
expected to be inspiring; teachings in the classroom lively and to
the point; social conversation friendly; after-dinner speeches humorous;
speeches at wedding ceremonies solemn; eulogies moving.
In case he has the ability and desire to be a chazzan for Ne’ilah, he
must make certain not to disappoint the congregants with a presentation
that offends the listening ear. And so he might also be a
cantor. He must be able to communicate with the authorities and to
preside at official meetings; this would require certain diplomatic
and organizing abilities. It goes without saying that a rabbi ought
to be versatile when it comes to literary abilities. A rabbi must be
ready to answer any religious doubts of his congregants. He must
be well versed in Jewish history. It might be helpful for a better
understanding of the Hebrew language to have some knowledge of
ancient languages and of the science of archaeology. He must be a
philosopher and cognizant of modern thought — and such a man
of a thousand trades ought, in addition, also to be a Talmud Chocham.

We have such a high regard for the position of a rabbi that we
feel certain that he will want to have as broad an outlook as
possible. The rabbi is not only, to use a pejorative phrase, “an
inspector of ritual slaughter”; he is not only a Morah Horah for kosher and
treifa. In fact, as guardian of Jewish religious law, every phase of
life requires his psak din. His interpretations and instructions are to
be applied far beyond the mere so-called “rituals” of Jewish life, for
they extend to the broad reaches of the all-encompassing Jewish
religious law, which regulates every aspect of man’s life. It is
wrong to say that Jewish religion is only a matter of feeling [and
not observance], and it is equally wrong to say that thoughts and
attitudes are personal matters of the individual [inconsequential to
observance]. Innumerable pages of the Torah appeal to the hearts
and minds of our people [in calling for Torah observance]. He who
tries to influence the minds of individuals in a spirit contrary to that
of the Torah is as much an Apikoras as one who treats one of our
“rituals” with contempt. If, then, the rabbi is expected to imbue his
congregants with the proper knowledge and proper observance of
Jewish law, he must be able to grapple with the specific practical
problems and intellectual trends of his particular time. It becomes
clear that the candidate for the rabbinate must acquire a wide area
of knowledge in order to be a Morah Horah for the active life of his
congregants.

Half-knowledge in a rabbi is unacceptable — it borders on
blasphemy. The study program in the Yeshiva is geared to avoid
this, for its central aim is to make of the rabbi a genuine Ben Torah. No
Yeshiva sees its program as one in which Geonim and Gedolim are
systematically produced. Rather, the Yeshiva provides the opportunity
for the qualified individual student to gradually develop
into a Gaon or Godol. And the Yeshiva, the Talmudic training school—
in contrast to other places of study with multi-faceted programs—
is the only guarantor for such development.

A powerful speaker, a brilliant author, a profound thinker—all
very impressive. But this powerful speaker, brilliant writer, profound
thinker must also be a truly eminent Talmud Chocham, for otherwise
his rabbinical qualities will just be those of a lifeless puppet. 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.aishdas.org/pipermail/avodah-aishdas.org/attachments/20100402/a9b59597/attachment-0001.htm>