Specialized Rabbis

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  • #1741156
    Lightbrite
    Participant

    Do rabbis give referrals to specialized rabbis?

    #1741207
    Joseph
    Participant

    Yes.

    #1741228
    Yabia Omer
    Participant

    Yes.

    #1741382
    Neville ChaimBerlin
    Participant

    From my experience, they escalate the shailah and ask the specialized Rabbi on your behalf rather than making you go to him.

    #1741461
    unommin
    Participant

    The question stinks from heresy. A Gadol who knows shaas and poskim is, by definition, an expert in matters both worldly and heavenly. That Gadol can tell you about taaroovos or economics or medicine. To imply otherwise either means the first rabbi lacks true-torah-knowledge, or smacks of heresy and lack of emunas chachamim.

    #1741468
    ☕ DaasYochid ☕
    Participant

    Unommin, you are being ridiculous. There are no rabbis today who posses “true-Torah-knowledge” according to your definition, therefore they must often do further research, in matters both wordly and heavenly.

    #1741472
    Neville ChaimBerlin
    Participant

    Unom:
    I suspect you might be joking anyway, but the OP wasn’t talking about going to the gadol hador and being referred to a specialist. She was clearly talking about asking your LOR a shailah for which he is not qualified. That’s a very common occurrence depending on where one lives.

    #1741485
    Lightbrite
    Participant

    Neville ChaimBerlin, thank you!

    Okay you answered my question 🙂

    #1741517
    Old Crown Heights
    Participant

    – a shailah for which he is not qualified

    Conversion, Divorce, Medical Ethics … are three fields that come to mind for which you will likely get a referral (or have your questioned escalated) to a specialist rabbi.

    #1741520
    Gadolhadorah
    Participant

    First of all, a true Gadol is considered as such in part because of their humility and self-awareness of areas where they feel they have achieved true expertise, and likewise, those where others may have the requisite expertise in complex matter to paskin with confidence. While there is no “online directory” of which rabbonim are expert in every subject matter that might require consultation, invariably, your local rav/posek can provide guidance as to where you can find that expertise and also some logistical information on how to make contact (since most do not just have a cellphone number you can call or text and many don’t do email).

    #1741564
    akuperma
    Participant

    In any area of expertise, intelligent people “refer” to those with specialized expertise. That is not a hiddush. Anyone in any field will over time tend to develop specialized expertise. That’s how the world works. The cooks in the neighborhood will know who is best at pastry, and who makes the best cholent. The gardeners know who can plants the best roses, and who raises the best tomatoes.

    The title of “rabbi” has only a single “rank”. It’s a degree that at most is equivalent to a first undergraduate degree (a newly “graduated” rabbi is qualified to teach high school student. There are no “Jewish” equivalents of masters, doctorates, etc. And depending on their interests and career tracts, there are Talmidim Hachamim who never worry about semicha. It’s not a structured system similar to the goyim’ s degrees.

    #1741653

    unommin: Thers a known story that a yid approached R’ Moshe Feinstein about davening for him for a medical condition & R’ Moshe answered that there was a yid in Manchester (i.e. R’ Yaakov Segal who can help him). Many years ago I had a shailoh regarding using my oven on yom tov and I asked the neighborhood poseik who told me to ask the appliance repairman and listen to what he tells you on how to use it.

    #1741999
    Neville ChaimBerlin
    Participant

    “It’s not a structured system similar to the goyim’ s degrees.”

    Maybe not officially, but clearly we have pulpit Rabbis, poseks, dayans, Rosh Yeshivas, etc.

    In Chareidi circles, rabbis will say “I can’t answer this question because I’m not a posek.” The MO world doesn’t really seem to have this concept.

    #1742020
    apushatayid
    Participant

    “an expert in matters both worldly and heavenly.”

    heavenly matters?

    #1742366
    countermissionary
    Participant

    Need counter-missionary help then contact Rabbi Michael Skobac and Rabbi Tovia Singer.

    #1742404
    Avi K
    Participant

    Unommin, don’t give up your day job.

    #1742430
    rational
    Participant

    If we are are moving towards (or have been there for some time) super-specialized rabbinics, maybe the standard semicha יורה יורה באיסור והיתר should be replaced. There can be מתרץ קושיות רע”א אבל אין לי מושג בפסולי ס”ת , or the like.
    It’s very honest when a Rosh Yeshiva doesn’t consider himself a posek, but it’s not a good policy. I wonder how many would be willing to accept a person who says “I’m a Rav. I’m not a lamdan or posek, I don’t know whether we say Av Harachamim today, and I don’t even read Hebrew, but I don’t need to. I specialize in hashgachas for frum cruise-ship voyages”. Slippery slope.

    #1742767
    charliehall
    Participant

    “That Gadol can tell you about taaroovos or economics or medicine. ”

    Unless the Gadol has a medical degree he can’t tell you about medicine. For over a thousand years, since Rav Sherira Gaon, we have been forbidden to use talmudic medicine.

    #1742799
    follick2
    Participant

    Not every member of the Sanhedrin was qualified to rule on calendar issues. Only those with specialized knowledge.

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