Mag's great-grandfather probably *was* a rabbi; I'm wondering if his last name was Cohen or a variation thereof.  The Cohen line is a traditional line of rabbis in the Jewish tradition, and they are assumed to have been descendants of the priestly tribe of Levi.

Of course rabbis weren't ordained as such as there were no divinity schools for them.  I believe they were designated as such by virtue of coming from a line of rabbis (as the Cohens) or by their wisdom and study of Torah.  Thus there were no salaries paid for their services per se, and they were supported by goods and services provided by the local communities.  But I still can't understand how a community would let a learned man such as Mag's ancestor and his family want for food, etc., unless he wasn't really a rabbi.

Kat

-------Original Message-------
From: "Cleveland, Kyle E." <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: 08/01/03 09:08 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Old Orthodox Traditions; was RE: Did I delete something important              ? Genia

>
> That makes sense if he was a rabbi, as the tribe of Levi was to be given a
share of the others' sustenance so they could attend to their priestly
duties, right?  So the tradition must have shifted over the centuries to
include those in the community who daven as a "vocation".  Is that a
reasonable inference?

Kyle

-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, July 31, 2003 5:46 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Did I delete something important? Genia


As Meir said, Kyle, Praying in Shul was an accepted lifestyle in those
days,
some were supported by their wives' families,  others by the community,
but
if
you lived in a poor one, you went hungry. What year was this... Well,  it
had
to be between 1890, and 1910 as my dad was born in 1923 and his oldest
sister
was 14 years ahead of him. (grandma thought dad was just a tumor!)  anyway
my
dad was born in the States.

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