In a special address sent by the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Lau, to the Director of the Examinations Department of the Chief Rabbinate, Rabbi Rafael Mizrahi, the Chief Rabbi writes that it is appropriate to draw the attention of examiners to changing the exams to be more appropriate and worthy of the public taking the exams.
The Chief Rabbi opens the letter: "In preparation for the upcoming rabbinical exams - I took the last questionnaire from the last exams, which were, for example, the test on the laws of Simchat. I sat down to answer it as one of the avrechim and tested myself to see if the test indeed reflects what is required of the test takers.".
His conclusion was that the test did not meet its objectives. "Unfortunately, and after talking to the students who were tested, my bewilderment was added to my bewilderment. The test does not seem to me to have been done in the right way.".
Rabbi Lau lists several examples of this in his letter, including the following example: "5 of the 11 questions - were asked about a single halacha - a ruling written by the Rema on behalf of Mahari Weil (questions 2,3,4,5,11). These rulings are important of course, but they do not appear in Beit Yosef, they do not refer to long passages of the 16th chapter and the Shach's understanding of them.
Since the test focuses on these rulings, it is found that students who have only gone through the books of abbreviations are likely to succeed, while the avrechim who have invested and labored over the Beit Yosef Torah, 16 and 17, and the commentary on the Shulchan Aruch, but have forgotten a line from the Rambam, will fail the test. Is this the intent of the test, or does a rabbi need to be someone who has studied the subject and learned the Toshulchan Aruch in detail?
""I haven't gone through all the questionnaires yet, but it's clear to me that the wording of such a test is inappropriate. The test is supposed to reflect knowledge and depth, and I'm not convinced that this test meets that, and therefore I'll ask you to pass this on to the testing team.".
The rabbi concludes his letter: "I intend to hold an extensive day of discussions with the Chief Rabbinate's team of examiners in order to outline the appropriate and correct direction for the exams.".
Meanwhile, in a conversation with Rabbi Mizrahi, Rabbi Lau ordered that a second date for the Rabbinate exams be held for the benefit of examinees who were drafted for Order 8 following the fighting in Gaza, and who cannot properly prepare for the exams. "They must be given the ability to cope with the fighting and their activities without harassment, and the Rabbinate should hold a second date for such situations.".
Join the Haredim 10 Facebook page >>
Join the X page of Haredim 10 >>
Want more news, videos and stories? Join the Haredim 10 WhatsApp channel >>
