During the middle Ages when the community was organized by the gemeinde – as independent self-sufficient associations when the old rabbi died, the community leader had to approach the local ruler to ask permission to appoint a new leader.
When apprised of the situation, the local ruler responded, “Well, I suppose you need a rabbi to marry off all your new couples. As he knows all the formulas and traditions, you must have a rabbi.
- “To tell the truth, we can do that without a rabbi. Any layman can conduct the service.”
“Well, I suppose you must have a rabbi for all the new births for the brises and various ceremonies that Jews have.”
-“Sire, we have other trained people in the community to do those jobs.”
“Then you must need a rabbi for the deaths. After all, when someone passes away you must have someone to tell you what to do.”
-“That is not entirely true because we can do that fine ourselves.”
“Why then do you need a rabbis?”
-“To be honest I’ve been asking that same question for thirty years.” -Micha Koenig
-“To be honest I’ve been asking that same question for thirty years.” -Micha Koenig
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