Question:

I was wondering whether rabbis are allowed to get married. In my religion the priests do not marry - is it the same in Judaism?

Answer:

I once had this exact conversation with a taxi driver. He was Catholic and asked me if rabbis marry. I told him that not only are rabbis allowed to marry, they are obligated to marry. "Be fruitful and multiply" is a command to all, regardless of career or position in the community.

The taxi driver shook his head and said, "You Jews have got it good. In my community, when someone is dating and confused, or is going through a rough patch in his marriage, or needs guidance on how to discipline their kids, who should we turn to? Our celibate priest? He wouldn't have a clue what it means to have a disagreement with your wife, he's never been dumped and certainly doesn't have a kid that pokes other kids' eyes out. If I have a question in theology, or need to know which prayers to say, then sure I'll go to him. But real life issues - he can't help me!"

This taxi driver's comments brought home for me an important truth. Judaism does not differentiate between "clergy" and "laymen". Whether you are a rabbi or a taxi driver, you are expected to live a "normal" life, to be involved with the struggles and pleasures of the mundane world.

But it works the other way as well. Whether you are a taxi driver or a rabbi, you are expected to make your everyday mundane world a home for G-d. The Torah's ideal is to create a society of holy people. Sanctity and morality are not the domain of rabbis alone - every individual must live to the same standard and each one of us can engage in direct dialogue with G-d and Torah.

The rabbi is just there to help others bridge the needs of the spirit with the realities of life. But he has to do the same in his own life.

Perhaps that cab was a microcosm of an ideal world: What could be more beautiful than a society in which taxi drivers share spiritual wisdom and rabbis change nappies?

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