Do Rabbis have to be married to become a Rabbi?

Answer 1

No, marriage is not a requirement to get rabbinical certification.

Though marriage is an important part of Judaism.

Answer 2

You can be single and be ordained as a rabbi. But rabbis are usually expected to get married and have families at some point

Answer 3

No. It is seen as a good thing to marry and have children, to further the Jewish race etc but it is not necessary. Most Rabbi's are married but there have been a few notable exceptions. Most have children but again, not all.

Answer 4

It is curious that no Jewish rabbinic writings of the 1st or 2nd century so much as mention a renegade student of Gamaliel who, having studied under the master and vigorously enforced orthodoxy on behalf of the high priests, experienced a life-changing vision on an away mission. Not a word emerges from the rabbis about the star pupil who "went bad", a heretic who scrapped the prohibitions of the Sabbath, urged his followers to disregarded Judaism's irksome dietary regulations, and pronounced the Law and circumcision obsolete. Surely such a renegade could not have completely escaped the attention of the scribes?


How likely is it that Paul really studied under the Pharisaic grandee (Acts 22.3)? Paul clearly had difficulty with the Hebrew language: all his scriptural references are taken from the Greek translation of Jewish scripture, the Septuagint.

How likely is it that, as a young man, Paul – supposedly a Roman citizen and from the Hellenised diaspora – even got the job as chief policeman of the ultra-orthodox of Jerusalem? And if Paul really had secured such a position, he surely would have had far bigger fish to fry than a miniscule "Jesus group" in Damascus. We are told in Acts that the apostles continued to preach in Jerusalem even after the death of Stephen ("They all scattered abroad ... except the apostles." – Acts 8.1,2). So why didn't Paul go for the ringleaders, closer to hand?

"Nothing in his letters suggests that Paul had any official standing in his treatment of Christians ... Hence, in opposition to what Luke says, he could not have used arrest, torture or imprisonment as a means of forcing Christians to recognize that they had been misled." – Murphy O'Connor, Paul, His History, p19

Given that the Jewish High Council (the Sanhedrin) had no authority to empower a heresy hunter to operate in the independent city of Damascus, Paul's road trip is even more implausible.


The above is copypasted from http://www.jesusneverexisted.com/saul-paul.htm A site that perhaps Christians may find offensive, however..I was Googling to try to find another page. I can't find it at present..but it had better resources to show the unlikely nature of Paul having studied under Gamaliel .

Oh, since the term Rabbi did not come to be used until after the destruction of the SECOND Temple in 70 CE..calling anyone Rabbi before that is anachronistic.

Paul was no Rabbi and presenting Christian dogma under a question about Judaism is irrelevant to the question.


Here is the answer to your exact question as answered BY a rabbi at another site : http://www.askmoses.com/article.html?h=181&o=2038341

Does one must be married to qualify as a rabbi?
by Rabbi Simcha Bart

With regards to Torah obligations, rabbis are no different than any other Jew—whichever rules apply to all Jews apply to rabbis as well, and vice versa.

That being said, every Jew is obligated to marry. The first Mitzvah in the Torah is: “Be fruitful and multiply.”


Rabbis are no different than any other Jew—whichever rules apply to all Jews apply to rabbis as well, and vice versaYet if for whatever reason a candidate for the rabbinate hasn’t yet found his soul mate, that doesn’t automatically disqualify him.

[Still it would be up to the individual congregation to decide if they wish to hire someone who hasn’t “settled down” yet.]


Shalom :)

Answer 5

Nope, but if you marry a non-jew you cannot be a rabbi.

Answer 6

Rabbi Shaul (Paul) was taught by Gamaliel from the School of Hillel..... he wasn't married and as those who posted before me said it's not a requirment ;)

Answer 7

nope. while it is a highly commendable act for any jew to be married and have a family, there is no requirement.

Answer 8

While it is not a requirement, it IS stronly encouraged.