Q&A: About the Site Name
About the Site Name
Question
Why did you choose to use the title "Rabbi Michael Abraham" on your site? Wouldn't "Michael Abraham" have been preferable?
I'm not trying to be provocative; it seems to me that this would be preferable for several reasons:
A. What good is the title?
B. It projects more authenticity and straightforwardness.
C. It conveys that arguments should be examined on their merits, not by means of hats.
D. It would be more inviting to broader populations who automatically label rabbis.
And more.
Answer
I didn't choose that title; the person who set up the site did.
Whoever is put off by entering rabbis' websites can stay outside. I'm not a missionary.
Discussion on Answer
Who set up the site and when, if I may ask out of curiosity?
And why did the honorable questioner choose the title "our great rabbi, elder sage, and genius"?
It's rare to see people as backward as "our great rabbi, elder sage, and genius"—so lacking in manners, etc.
To Ahmed: me, about 4 years ago.
The site's title has "Rabbi" because if you ask a question about the laws of selecting on the Sabbath, you'll at least get referred to a responsum online. If you ask a question about the proof of Weierstrass's first theorem, you'll be respectfully advised to look for someone else. Even though, from the respondent's point of view, there's hardly any difference.
There's something magical about the rabbinate and rabbis (and in my opinion one shouldn't rely on that magic and pay for everything in full cash—but the magic does exist), and I think the culture of accessibility that existed in all generations even toward the greatest rabbis of the generation—they answered questions for anyone who wanted. I don't know of such an amazing phenomenon on that scale in any other professional guild—is an enormously fruitful force (mainly for the public, but also for the respondent).
You could call the site "Ramda Renaissance" 🙂
Best regards,
Samson of Shantz
If Renaissance, then apparently Ramda = Raphael, Michelangelo, Donatello, and the A—with the help of Wikipedia—maybe after a fellow named Amedeo Modigliani; this requires further examination.
Okay. I was just thinking about the way you explained the rationale for writing "God" in your book, so seemingly the same would apply here.