Question: Is the Rabbi or are the Community Elders the final authority in a synagogue?
We have a situation in our synagogue which has flared up some issues. There are those who feel that the Rabbi should not be the final authority. They feel that the elders should decide issues together and therefore over rule the Rabbi. I am actually doing a study to find out how it is in most synagogues and how scripture can be used to show the true way.
Answer: Thank you for your question about the authority of rabbis. You write that your community has experienced conflict concerning whether "the rabbi should not be the final authority."
The ordination certificate of most rabbis contains the phrase "Yoreh yoreh, yadin yadin," meaning, "His (her) teaching is true teaching and his (her) judgments concerning Jewish law are true judgments." That phrase contains the parameters of rabbinic authority as understood in Jewish tradition. A rabbi is a Jew who has been authorized to teach Torah and to rule on matters of Torah.
When you ask if the rabbi should be considered the final authority in your community, I can only answer that there are some issues on which the rabbi's authority should be given great weight, greater even than the "elders" of your community. On questions concerning Jewish practice and ethics, the rabbi should be given great deference. On questions concerning what is taught from the pulpit during your services, the rabbi's authority is absolute.
That does not mean that the rabbi has the final say on everything in Jewish communal life. Yoreh yoreh, yadin yadin gives the rabbi no authority to select among the qualified candidates for synagogue leadership. It does not give the rabbi the right to determine the timing and strategy of synagogue fundraising campaigns (so long as they are ethical). It does not require the congregation to adhere to the rabbi's positions on political issues facing the community and the nation.
In the Reform Movement, great emphasis is placed on the idea of autonomy. Individual Jews have great latitude to make their own choices -- after appropriate study -- concerning their personal observance of Jewish tradition. The idea of autonomy also should inform the public conduct of Reform services so that individuals can exercise personal choices in public -- such as choosing whether or not to wear a kippah or talit. However, autonomy should not be interpreted as a license for Reform communities to ignore the rabbi on ethical and ritual decisions that affect the entire community.
Most skilled rabbis of all branches of Judaism are aware that authority is best used sparingly and that persuasion is a better tool than decree for most controversies. Rabbis who insist on flexing the muscles of their authority in ways that alienate their communities -- even in the areas of practice and ethics -- will not be able to lead their communities for long. Wise rabbis will put their foot down when important values are at stake, but they also will work in collaboration with their communities to reach decisions that meet the needs of the community wherever possible.
Of course, rabbis are obligated to accept the authority of their rabbis and the authority of Jewish tradition (according to the understanding of that authority within their own branch of Judaism). However, there is no idea in Jewish tradition that the "elders of a community" can overrule the rabbi. In areas in which the rabbi of a place has authority, the rabbi's authority stands. In areas in which the rabbi does not have authority, there is no need to overrule the rabbi.
I hope these comments are helpful.
Best wishes,
Rabbi Jeffrey W. Goldwasser
