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What does a rabbi do?

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
What does a rabbi do
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Rabbi responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real rabbi resumes:

  • Face to face visits and prayer services to bolster inmate's emotional strength.
  • Counsele inmates struggling with a variety of problems including: psychological issues, addiction recovery, abuse recovery, and rehabilitation.
  • Visit patients/families identify as appropriate for pastoral services and provide direct spiritual counseling, prayer, and ministry as appropriate.

Rabbi skills and personality traits

We calculated that 35% of Rabbis are proficient in Pastoral Care, Life Cycle Events, and Hillel.

We break down the percentage of Rabbis that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Pastoral Care, 35%

    Planned, hired staff for, and facilitated holiday programming, taught 5th and 7th grades, and offered pastoral care.

  • Life Cycle Events, 15%

    Officiated at the daily, weekly and High Holy Day Services as well as officiating at life cycle events.

  • Hillel, 8%

    Elected in 1995 by the Jewish students of Queen's University to serve as Hillel Advisor.

  • Outreach Program, 6%

    Grant Writing and Program Development: Received a 3-year grant of $45,000 to support innovative communal outreach programs.

  • Adult Education Classes, 6%

    Organized adult education classes ranging from teaching the secrets of the Talmud to Musical/Liturgical arraignments.

  • Spiritual Support, 5%

    Founder and president of 501(c)(3) Congregation providing Spiritual support to those in need.

Common skills that a rabbi uses to do their job include "pastoral care," "life cycle events," and "hillel." You can find details on the most important rabbi responsibilities below.

Most common rabbi skills

The three companies that hire the most rabbis are:

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Compare different rabbis

Rabbi vs. Elder

An associate pastor is a church employee who assists the senior pastor with the church's daily operations. His/Her tasks include managing events for church ministries, supervising church volunteers, and assisting with all church services and ceremonies. The skills that an associate pastor should possess to fulfill his/her responsibilities include knowledge of community outreach and youth development and good public speaking skills. The education requirements to qualify for the position include obtaining a college degree in theology or pastoral counsel.

The annual salary of elders is $2,236 lower than the average salary of rabbis.Even though rabbis and elders are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require pastoral care, community outreach, and worship services in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, rabbi responsibilities require skills like "life cycle events," "hillel," "outreach program," and "adult education classes." Meanwhile a typical elder has skills in areas such as "vital signs," "blood pressure," "caregiver," and "home maintenance." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Elders tend to reach lower levels of education than rabbis. In fact, elders are 18.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 2.0% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

Rabbi vs. Children's minister

On average, children's ministers earn a $10,980 higher salary than rabbis a year.A few skills overlap for rabbis and children's ministers. Resumes from both professions show that the duties of each career rely on skills like "pastoral care," "capital campaign," and "worship services. "

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, rabbi responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "life cycle events," "hillel," "outreach program," and "adult education classes." Meanwhile, a children's minister has duties that require skills in areas such as "outreach events," "bible studies," "vbs," and "children birth." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

Children's ministers earn lower levels of education than rabbis in general. They're 5.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 2.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Rabbi vs. Children's pastor

On average, children's pastors earn higher salaries than rabbis, with a $10,084 difference per year.By looking over several rabbis and children's pastors resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "pastoral care," "worship services," and "god." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from rabbi resumes include skills like "life cycle events," "hillel," "outreach program," and "adult education classes," whereas a children's pastor is more likely to list skills in "child care," "kids," "curriculum development," and "outreach events. "

Most children's pastors achieve a lower degree level compared to rabbis. For example, they're 14.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 4.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Rabbi vs. Associate pastor

Associate pastors average a higher salary than the annual salary of rabbis. The difference is about $11,640 per year.While both rabbis and associate pastors complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like pastoral care, outreach program, and prayer, the two careers vary in some skills.

Even though a few skill sets overlap between rabbis and associate pastors, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a rabbi might have more use for skills like "life cycle events," "hillel," "adult education classes," and "spiritual support." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of associate pastors require skills like "oversight," "youth ministry," "youth program," and "public speaking. "

In general, associate pastors earn the most working in the education industry, with an average salary of $40,672. The highest-paying industry for a rabbi is the education industry.In general, associate pastors hold similar degree levels compared to rabbis. Associate pastors are 0.4% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 1.4% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of rabbi

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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