David Friemann, MA Apr 21, 2013:

well, call it a happy accident. I'll revel in the thought of having made a useful contribution beyond the linguistic. have a great sunday evening!

Eleanore Strauss Apr 21, 2013:

@David Friedmann Last comment....I forwarded this to my brother...you have no idea how much richness and joy this link contributed. Thanks again.

Edith Kelly Apr 19, 2013:

rabbinic judge not sure at all. Even at that time, even dayanim (the plural of dayan) would have been a rabbi, i.e. a fully fledged one. I have never heard of an assistant rabbi. I would say "reb", an honoury job title, you cannot go wrong there, or simply rabbi, whether having a "smicha" or not.

Eleanore Strauss Apr 19, 2013:

@David Yes, it really is. I just read the document quickly and it added a great deal to my knowledge of the man and the times...I was too young at the time to really appreciate it all and the historical context. Thanks again.

David Friemann, MA Apr 19, 2013:

@ElliCom seriously? It's a small world, but THAT is eerie. In a good way, of course. Well, even though I had no idea it would be interesting to anyone besides the asker, I hope you enjoy "my find".

Eleanore Strauss Apr 19, 2013:

@David Friemann Very interesting. Thank you for posting the link to the biography of R. Shimon Schwab, the Rabbi in the community where I grew up - a man I knew well in my childhood in New York. Fascinating.

Eleanore Strauss Apr 19, 2013:

historic context The term is refers to practices that no longer exist in this form. They are in the context of how the Rabbinate and the community were organized. Old documents refer to a Dayan in Hebrew. The strict interpretation of dayan is judge, which means someone qualified to be a judge in a rabbinic court. Later it was used as a term to also indicate the level of learning and experience of a Rabbi or rabbinic scholar. The courts were used extensively and are still today in some measure. It appears that the duties of the Assistant Rabbi in some communities included that of being a judge. This required qualifications beyond those of a rabbi.

David Friemann, MA Apr 19, 2013:

so it seems... we're back where we started. My guess is that the two offices are not mutually exclusive, so an assistant rabbi can also be a judge of a rabbinic court...

franglish Apr 19, 2013:

In May 1931, the young, newly ordained Rav took his first rabbinical position, that of "Rabbinatsassessor" (Rabbinical
Assistant) to Rav Yonah Mertzbach, in Darmstadt, Germany.
http://www.stevens.edu/golem/llevine/rsrh/bio_r_s_schwab.pdf
After his death, the office of rabbi remained empty for an extended period. In the interval, the functions of the rabbi were performed by the assistant rabbi (Rabbinatsassessor) Nathan Holzmann (died 1884) and Samuel Fraenkel (died 1878).
kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/Ostrow.../History-Freimann.html

David Friemann, MA Apr 19, 2013:

http://www.judengasse.de/dhtml/P141.htm

"Rabbinatsassessor, d.h. Richter am Rabbinischen Gericht"

David Friemann, MA Apr 19, 2013:

this old newspaper implies that "Rabbinatsassessor" is some kind of subordinate to a "full-fledged" Rabbi:
http://www.compactmemory.de/pdfview/pdfview_page.aspx?ID_0=7...

David Friemann, MA Apr 19, 2013:

this link:
http://www.talmud.de/cms/Jung_und_Juedisch_2001.318.0.html

suggests that a Rabbinatsassessor creates Schi'urs, or lessons on scripture and its interpretation. That doesn't say much about his status in the community, though. I'll stay on it.

longstocking Apr 19, 2013:

assessor to/of the rabbinate at Assessor is used in English - see OED: A person who sits as assistant or adviser to a judge or magistrate; esp. a skilled assistant competent to advise on technical points of law, commercial usage, navigation


"Assessor to the rabbinate": http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/2108-auerbach