Judaism: ranks and lineage

IColours

Colour used for this page of the library: Tekhelet blue #2A4B8D. Every colour code is approximate, since most paths name their colours without publishing codes.

Principal colour the colour of the path

Place of worship real sanctuaries

Ritual colours by occasion and season

Mourning and avoided colours

IIRanks

Judaism has no global central authority. A rabbi is a teacher and legal decisor, not a priest, and receives semikhah from a yeshiva, a kollel or another rabbi. Each movement (Orthodox, Conservative, Reform) has its own standards. The Chief Rabbinate of Israel has authority only within Israel. Vietnam has Chabad centres in Hồ Chí Minh City and Hà Nội.

1. 1
   Chief Rabbi (only in Israel and some countries) HaRav HaRashi (הרב הראשי), Rishon LeZion cho vị Sephardi · Chief Rabbi

   The Chief Rabbinate of Israel has an Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi and a Sephardi Chief Rabbi, elected for 10 year terms, who preside in rotation. Their authority lies within Israel. They are not global Jewish leaders.

2. 2
   Rabbi (teacher), including the roles of Dayan (religious court judge), Posek (legal decisor) and Rosh Yeshiva (head of an academy) Rav (רב), Rabbi (רבי) · Rabbi

   A teacher and community leader, not a priest. Standing comes from learning and acceptance by the community. There is no church chain of command. Semikhah Yoreh Yoreh grants authority to rule on everyday law (kashrut, Shabbat). Yadin Yadin grants authority to judge property disputes.

3. 3
   Hazzan (Cantor, prayer leader) ḥazzan (חזן) · Cantor

   Leads the congregation in prayer through song, trained in sacred music. Until 2012 the Reform and Conservative movements used the word 'invested' rather than 'ordained' to distinguish cantors from rabbis.

4. 4
   Kohen (hereditary priestly line) kohen (כהן) · Kohen, Priest

   Men descended in the male line from Aaron. Today in Orthodoxy they are called first to the Torah, give the Priestly Blessing and perform the redemption of the firstborn (pidyon haben). The Reform movement does not recognise a distinct status. It is a hereditary status, not a rank of command.

5. 5
   Levi (Levite line) levi (לוי) · Levite

   In Temple times they assisted the Kohanim and were responsible for song and ritual music. Today it is a hereditary status, called second to the Torah.

Followers: Jews, adherents of Judaism. No grades of believers by faith. There are three hereditary statuses: Kohen, Levi, Yisrael. The main movements are Orthodox, Conservative and Reform.

IIIForms of address

IVVestments by rank

Flat drawings made from the descriptions in the sources, with no people shown. Colours are approximate.

VLine of succession

Judaism has no single global head. Tradition tells of a chain of Torah transmission from Moses through Joshua, the elders, the prophets and the Great Assembly to the Tannaim, the Amoraim and later legal decisors. It passed through learning, not ordination. In modern times Israel has a Chief Rabbinate with two parallel Chief Rabbis, one Ashkenazi and one Sephardi, elected for 10 year terms.

Chain of Torah transmission and rabbinic eras

1. By tradition, c. 2nd millennium BCAbraham אַבְרָהָם

   First patriarch, party to the covenant with God, forefather of Israel.

2. By tradition, c. 13th century BCMoses מֹשֶׁה

   Greatest prophet, received the Torah at Sinai, start of the chain of transmission.

3. By traditionJoshua יְהוֹשֻׁעַ

   Received the Torah and ordination from Moses, led Israel into Canaan.

4. c. 5th century BCEzra and the Great Assembly עֶזְרָא, כְּנֶסֶת הַגְּדוֹלָה

   After the Babylonian exile Ezra restored Torah teaching, the Great Assembly carried the chain.

5. 1st century BC to early 1st century ADHillel and Shammai הִלֵּל, שַׁמַּאי

   Last of the zugot pairs, founders of the houses of Hillel and Shammai.

6. Died c. 80Yohanan ben Zakkai יוֹחָנָן בֶּן זַכַּאי

   Founded the academy at Yavne after the Temple's destruction in 70 CE.

7. #Tannaim · c. 50 to 135Rabbi Akiva רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא

   Leading Tanna who systematised the oral law, martyred under Rome.

8. #Tannaim · c. 135 to 217Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi (Yehuda HaNasi) רַבִּי יְהוּדָה הַנָּשִׂיא

   Redacted the Mishnah around 200 CE, closing the Tannaitic era.

9. #Amoraim · Early 3rd centuryRav (Abba Arikha) and Shmuel רַב, שְׁמוּאֵל

   Opened the Amoraic era in Babylonia, heads of Sura and Nehardea.

10. #Amoraim · Died c. 279Rabbi Yohanan bar Nappaha רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן בַּר נַפָּחָא

    Leading Amora of the Land of Israel, basis of the Jerusalem Talmud.

11. #Amoraim · c. 352 to 427, Ravina died c. 500Rav Ashi and Ravina רַב אָשֵׁי, רָבִינָא

    Redactors of the Babylonian Talmud, closing the Amoraic era.

12. #Geonim · 882 to 942Saadia Gaon סַעֲדְיָה גָּאוֹן

    Gaon of Sura, translated the Bible into Arabic, pioneer of Jewish philosophy.

13. #Rishonim · 1040 to 1105Rashi רש״י, רַבִּי שְׁלֹמֹה יִצְחָקִי

    Foremost commentator on the Torah and Talmud, from Troyes, France.

14. #Rishonim · 1138 to 1204Maimonides (Rambam) רַבִּי מֹשֶׁה בֶּן מַיְמוֹן, רמב״ם

    Author of the Mishneh Torah and the Guide for the Perplexed, formulated the 13 principles.

15. #Acharonim · 1488 to 1575, 1530 to 1572Joseph Karo and Moses Isserles יוֹסֵף קָארוֹ, מֹשֶׁה אִיסֶרְלֶשׂ

    Karo wrote the Shulchan Aruch, Isserles added Ashkenazi glosses, forming the common code.

16. #Acharonim · 1698 to 1760, 1720 to 1797Baal Shem Tov and the Vilna Gaon ישראל בעל שם טוב, הגאון מווילנה

    Founder of Hasidism and leader of its Misnagdic opponents, two great streams of East European Orthodoxy.

17. Since 1921, currently Kalman Ber and David Yosef since 2024Chief Rabbinate of Israel (the two present Chief Rabbis) הָרַבָּנוּת הָרָאשִׁית לְיִשְׂרָאֵל

    No worldwide head exists. The representative body today is the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, with authority inside Israel.

Full list at the source

Ashkenazi Chief Rabbis of Israel

1. #1 · 1865 to 1935, in office 1921 to 1935Abraham Isaac Kook אַבְרָהָם יִצְחָק הַכֹּהֵן קוּק

   First Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Mandatory Palestine, founder of the Chief Rabbinate.

2. #2 · 1888 to 1959, in office 1936 to 1959Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog יִצְחָק אַיְזִיק הַלֵּוִי הֶרְצוֹג

   Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi at the founding of the State of Israel.

3. #3 · In office 1964 to 1972Isser Yehuda Unterman אִיסֶר יְהוּדָה אוּנְטֶרְמַן

   Third Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi after a vacancy.

4. #4 · 1917 to 1994, in office 1972 to 1983Shlomo Goren שְׁלֹמֹה גּוֹרֵן

   Former Chief Rabbi of the IDF, then Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi.

5. #6 · Born 1937, in office 1993 to 2003Yisrael Meir Lau יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵאִיר לַאו

   Holocaust survivor, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi, later Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv.

6. #8 · Born 1966, in office 2013 to 2024David Lau דָּוִד לַאו

   Son of Yisrael Meir Lau, previous Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi.

7. #9 · In office since 2024Kalman Ber קַלְמָן מֵאִיר בֶּר

   Current Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi, elected 2024 for ten years.

Sephardi Chief Rabbis of Israel (Rishon LeZion)

1. #1 · 1856 to 1939, in office 1921 to 1939Jacob Meir (Yaakov Meir) יַעֲקֹב מֵאִיר

   First Rishon LeZion of the Chief Rabbinate under the Mandate.

2. #2 · 1880 to 1953, in office 1939 to 1953Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel בֶּן צִיּוֹן מֵאִיר חַי עוּזִיאֵל

   Sephardi Chief Rabbi at the founding of Israel.

3. #3 · In office 1955 to 1972Yitzhak Nissim יִצְחָק נִסִּים

   Third Sephardi Chief Rabbi.

4. #4 · 1920 to 2013, in office 1973 to 1983Ovadia Yosef עוֹבַדְיָה יוֹסֵף

   Most influential Sephardi halakhic authority of the 20th century, father of two later Chief Rabbis.

5. #7 · Born 1948, in office 2003 to 2013Shlomo Amar שְׁלֹמֹה מֹשֶׁה עַמָּאר

   Sephardi Chief Rabbi, later Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem.

6. #8 · Born 1952, in office 2013 to 2024Yitzhak Yosef יִצְחָק יוֹסֵף

   Son of Ovadia Yosef, previous Sephardi Chief Rabbi.

7. #9 · Born 1957, in office since 2024David Yosef דָּוִד יוֹסֵף

   Rishon LeZion, current Sephardi Chief Rabbi, elected 2024.

A venerated figure: the library shows no portrait, only the name inside a round seal.

VIOrdination and transmission

Semikhah originally means laying on of hands. Tradition tells of a chain of Torah transmission from Moses through the generations. Classical semikhah was broken around 360 to 425 under Roman pressure. Semikhah today is a certificate of learning granted by a yeshiva, a kollel or a rabbi, with no central body. Kohen and Levi are hereditary statuses, not conferred by ordination.

1. Studying Torah, Talmud and law at a yeshiva or kollelRequirement: Depends on the school and the movementRite: no source found on a common rite
2. Receiving semikhah Yoreh YorehRequirement: Passing examinations in everyday law (kashrut, Shabbat)Rite: Certificate granted by an institution or a rabbi
3. Receiving semikhah Yadin Yadin (where applicable)Requirement: Studying civil and property lawRite: Qualified to serve as a Dayan

VIIWhere the sources disagree

• The exact shade of tekhelet is still debated: blue or blue violet, and whether the Hexaplex trunculus snail fits all the rabbinic descriptions of the ḥillazon. The hex #2A4B8D is only an estimate.
• A tallit need not have blue stripes. Ashkenazim usually have black stripes and Sephardim usually all white. The old basis 'blue and white prayer shawl' is partly correct. It should say that blue stripes are one variant and the origin of the blue and white pairing.
• The Israeli flag was inspired by the tallit, and the word tekhelet on the flag is understood in different ways (deep sky blue or indigo). The flag is a national symbol, not a religious one.
• Kohen and Levi are hereditary statuses, not ranks like Christian clergy. They are placed in pham_trat only to complete the framework.
• mau-that.json records the bimah and Torah ark as wood colour #A57C52 with silver objects. The myjewishlearning source only says Torah arks come in many styles and materials and gives no wood colour. The wood colour should be treated as an estimate.
• Shabbat colours and a standard Vietnamese form of address for a Rabbi: no source found.
• The dates of Abraham, Moses and Joshua follow tradition only. History cannot fix them.
• The chain in Pirkei Avot is the tradition of rabbinic Judaism. Karaites do not accept the oral law. The Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist movements have no line of succession and do not accept the authority of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel.
• The Hasidic dynasties (Chabad, Satmar, Belz, Ger and others) each have their own succession of Rebbes, not fully listed here.
• There are no authentic contemporary images of Rashi, Maimonides, Karo or the Baal Shem Tov. The common portraits are later imaginings and are not used.
• The licence of the Yisrael Meir Lau image is recorded as Copyrighted free use on its Commons page. The date of the Shlomo Amar image is unknown.
• No source found on an organised, recognised Jewish community in Vietnam, so no Vietnam line is created.

VIIISources

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