The Wondering Jews

There is an oft-told Hasidic tale of the Baal Shem Tov's holy fire and special prayer in the sacred forest.  A concise version, borrowed from Noa Baum , follows: It is told that in every generation there are times when hope threatens to leave this world. At such times, the Baal Shem Tov, the great Jewish mystic, would go into a secret place in the forest. There he would light a special fire and say a holy prayer speaking the long-forgotten most sacred name of God. The danger was averted and hope stayed alive. In later times when disaster threatened, the Maggid of Mezrich, his disciple, would go to the same place in the forest and say, "Ribono Shel Olam, Master of the Universe, I do not know how to light the fire, but I can say the prayer."  Still later, his disciple, Moshe Leib of Sasov, would go to the same place in the forest and say, ,  "Ribono Shel Olam, Master of the Universe, I do not know how to light the fire or say the prayer, but I found my way to thi...

So The Forward has been featuring a series of late called "Rabbis Roundtable," in which they present a question: " We Asked 22 Rabbis [Insert Controversial Question Here]..." Ostensibly to present a diverse set of viewpoints, the Forward's staff asks a preselected panel of rabbis a question and then presents their answers (presumably in some kind of edited form). I'm sure the idea is intended only for good, but there are a few issues with this series that merit discussion (read on for specific thoughts). And these deficiencies further raise important questions about how we view "rabbis" and "Rabbis." Indeed, many people find their "lower case-r rabbi" in friends, colleagues, educators, or others.  Those "little-r rabbis" often don't have ordination from any accredited institution.  On the other hand, many people who have smicha (i.e., formal ordination) do not perform a primary rabbinic function even though the...