Paradigm Shift – The Role of a Rebbe – Student Booklet

Paradigm Shift

The Role of a Rebbe

This class addresses a question that has vexed Jews since the day that Moshe approached a motley crew of Hebrews slaving beneath the harsh Egyptian sun and said, “Follow me!”

What is ideal Jewish leadership? What makes a good Jewish leader? A rabbi is just one example of a leader. In addition to religious leadership, there is political leadership and social leadership, and any number of instances where a man or a woman rises up and shows the way.

We may refer to him as a rebbe, a leader, a master. But what—in Jewish thought and history—makes him who he is?