ABSTRACT
Being a rabbi means being set apart in the Jewish community to serve as Symbolic Exemplar. Symbolic exemplarhood is crucial for all clergy and no less so for the rabbi. Jewish tradition exerts much effort not to portray the rabbi as a person set apart. Pulpit rabbis, struggling to deal with their symbolic exemplarhood, spend much time and energy pointing out to their congregations that they are “only human.” Yet, the fact remains that rabbis, having set themselves apart, are most certainly set apart by those they serve.
