Unfortunately, the misconception exists that “The Rabbis” are a tribunal of sinister hooded men in a torch-lit cave somewhere who mercilessly conspire to control Judaism. This is foolish.

Another popular misconception is that “The Rabbis” is a plural of “Rabbis”--narcissistic nerds who scream from the pulpit in the Temple you go to once a year and make everyone feel guilty. Justifiable, but also foolish.

To give you an idea of the answer’s scope, let me pose a theoretical question: “Who are the justices?” “Well,” you might stammer, “There are all kinds. There are many levels of government, there are judges for different departments and functions, and there are different eras and times throughout history.” Or something like that.

Now back to “The Rabbis.” While there are all kinds of rabbis, “The Rabbis” means Halachic Jewish leadership... throughout history. Halachah is Jewish law, and just as civil law requires judges to interpret it on a case-per-case basis, and always did, halachah requires rabbis.

“The Rabbis” most specifically refers to the sages of the Talmud, an era in which much of the Mishnah and the Torah itself were interpreted to apply to society. In Hebrew, these rabbis are called the “Rabbanan.” The famous Sheva Mitzvot D’Rabbanan--the Seven Rabbinical Mitzvahs--were ratified during this time.

As much as The Rabbis is a term of technicality, it is an appellation of reverence as well, and a label of love

In a more contemporary context, “The Rabbis” is a reference to halachic leadership of today—to the greatest and most widely respected Torah scholars and halachists in modern-day America, Israel and elsewhere. Chief among these was the late great Rabbi Moshe Feinstein of New York, who was the voice of halachah throughout the Jewish world until his passing in 1984. When someone says “The Rabbis ruled that using electricity on Shabbat is considered construction...”, or “The Rabbis are looking into the halachah on cloning...”, he’s usually referring to Rabbi Feinstein and/or his elite circle of peers and protï¿œgï¿œs.

It is critical to note that “The Rabbis” were not The Rabbis because they had beards and were intimate with piles of yellowed books. They were giants of the spirit--people who had no ulterior motives, no six-digit salaries, lived ascetically and put their lives on the line for any other Jew. They were mystics, too--and some were even prophets. Their whole life was about truth and nothing but the truth. As much as The Rabbis is a term of technicality, it is an appellation of reverence as well, and a label of love.

Practically speaking, “The Rabbis” has a grassroots connotation as well. Any Jewish male who studied in yeshivah and received semichah—rabbinical ordination—is a rabbi and is part of “The Rabbis.” Most of the AskMoses chat hosts are rabbis, and, like their non-cyberspace counterparts, they’re there for you. The function of a rabbi—at whatever level—is to answer questions on Judaism, just like the function of a judge—at whatever level—is to lay down the law.

Between them and Rabbi Feinstein’s level is a wide spectrum, from Jewish executives who happen to have semichah to bearded yeshivah teachers, and from part-time or full-time pulpit rabbis to Poskim—decisors—rabbis who not only know the halachah but know how to interpret it.

And now that you know who are “The Rabbis,” let me ask you: do you have a rabbi? If you don’t, you should--but either way, you can always AskMoses.