Q&A: Make for Yourself a Rabbi
Make for Yourself a Rabbi
Question
What does the Rabbi think about the saying, “A person who does not have a primary rabbi—his Torah has no face”? What is the importance of establishing a primary rabbi? (Both halakhically and essentially.) Maimonides, in the laws of Torah study, presents this value in chapter 5. What does the Rabbi think about Maimonides there?
Should I, as a student, actually look for a rabbi who will be the rabbi for me (“Make for yourself a rabbi”), or is it דווקא preferable to learn Torah from many different places?
Thank you
Answer
The whole concept of a rabbi has undergone changes, and today its status and meaning are different from what they were in the past. The Rema himself writes that nowadays there is no law of a primary rabbi, because people learn from books and from many rabbis. Nor is there such great importance to a primary rabbi, as there was when Torah was transmitted orally.
Therefore, do whatever seems more reasonable and beneficial to you.