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rabbi Definition

rabbi (rab′ī)

noun pl. -·bis

  1. Judaism a scholar and teacher of the Jewish law; now, specif., an ordained Jew, usually the spiritual head of a congregation, qualified to decide questions of law and ritual and to perform marriages, supervise religious education, etc.
  2. Slang a sponsor; influential friend

Etymology: ME < OE < LL(Ec) < Gr(Ec) rhabbi < Heb rabi, my master, my lord < rav, teacher, master + -i, my

rabbi Synonyms

rabbi

n.

Jewish teacher, Jewish minister, graduate of a rabbinical school, Hebrew doctor of laws, rebbe, master, teacher, preacher, expounder of the law, Talmudist, religious functionary, Hebrew theologian; see also priest.

rabbi Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • call: The elders called the rabbi to dicuss what to do.
  • become: I might, instead, have become a really great rabbi!
  • do: Nor did the rabbis like the book's teaching about corrupt angels.
  • ask: A story is told by the rabbis: A heathen asked the rabbi: Why did God speak to Moses from the thorn bush?

Converse of subject

sign: Such a decree signed by the rabbis of the " Arrangement Yeshivot " is tenfold worse.

Adjective modifier

  • orthodox: This of course creates a certain friction with orthodox rabbis, who tend to look backward, at tradition.
  • former: It is named after a former rabbi who became the first Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem, Michael Solomon Alexander.

Modifies a noun

Noun used with modifier

  • century: The cheating rabbi now cites a tenth century rabbi to show that characters on a page cannot appear by throwing ink at it.
  • woman: Jackie Tabick, two years ahead of her on the course, became the first woman rabbi and Julia Neuberger duly became the second.

Possessives

  • son: He writes: " The strategic head of the staged anti-Semitic actions was Albert Norden, a rabbi's son.
  • wife: In all innocence, she asked the rabbi's wife, " What are all the sleeping bags for?

Preposition: in

synagogue: In 1952 I came to Rhode Island. , U.S.A. , where I worked as an assistant rabbi in a synagogue.