Semikhah
Sign in to saveSemikhah () is the traditional term for rabbinic ordination in Judaism.
Article
18 sectionsContents
- Etymology and related terminology
- Concept
- Varieties of ordination
- Modern ''semakhot''
- Ordination ceremony
- Contemporary usage
- Status of current rabbis
- Ordination of cantors
- Modern lay leader ordination
- Classical ''semikhah''
- Hebrew Bible
- Mishnah and Talmud
- Post-Talmudic: The decline of classical ''semikhah''
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Further reading
- External links
Semikhah () is the traditional term for rabbinic ordination in Judaism.
The original semikhah tradition is that of the formal "transmission of authority" from Moses to Joshua described in Numbers 27:23; the Talmud records Chazal debating the process in tractate Sanhedrin 13b. This form of semikhah ceased between 360 and 425 CE. Since then, semikhah has continued less formally; throughout Jewish history, there have been several attempts to reestablish the classical semikhah.