Semikhah

Semikhah (Hebrew: סְמִיכָה) 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 semikha 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. The title of "rabbi" has "proliferated greatly over the last century". Nowadays, semikhah is also granted for a comparatively limited form of ordination, bestowing the authority to apply Halakha in specific Jewish settings rather than across the Jewish people writ large. In Jewish religious movements other than Orthodox Judaism, rabbinical education often emphasizes the modern roles of rabbis, such as preaching, teaching, counseling, and pastoral work. In recent times, relatedly, some institutions grant ordination for the role of hazzan (cantor), extending the "investiture" granted there from the 1950s. Less commonly, since the 1990s, ordination is given for the role of lay leader—sometimes titled darshan. Ordination may then also be specifically termed סמיכה לרבנות ('rabbinical ordination'), סמיכה לחזנות ('cantorial ordination'), or הסמכת מגיד ('maggidic ordination').