All Rabbis are NOT Created Equal part 6

The original formula for ordination consisted of the phrase "Yoreh Yoreh, Yadin Yadin" (shall he rule in cases of permissibility and non-permissibility? He shall rule. Shall he judge Jewish criminal and civil law? He shall judge." This formula was maintained in the "new" ordination of the fourteenth century. Eventually, in places that needed a rabbi for purely halachic rulings, with issues of damages and debts being adjudicated in the courts of large cities, ordination of Yoreh Yoreh alone was often given. After a period of general Talmudic study, the candidate would be taught one area of ritual law, usually the laws of Kashrut, which are very complex. Once the candidate could successfully navigate the ins and outs of this area, it was felt that he could, on his own, continue learning and apply the same principles to other areas. This system still exists in Orthodox circles. Most Orthodox rabbis have Yoreh Yoreh smichah, while the more accomplished students also receive Yadin Yadin. It is important to understand that even a rabbi with Yoreh Yoreh has only been trained in one area of halachah, and may have continued on his own...or may not have. Your local Orthodox Rabbi (LOR) may be only barely competent. Communities may accept this status, if they are confident in his integrity that he will bring any questions that arise to an expert. In Israel, the standards for smichah under the auspices of the Chief Rabbinate are far higher, with the candidate required to be be tested in many areas of Jewish law.In the early twentieth century, qualified rabbis were few and far between in the United States. Many communities lacked any kind of Jewish leadership. Prominent rabbis began to issue a sort of honorary smichah, with the title "Rav U'Manhig" (rabbi and leader). No authority to rule in Jewish law was implied. But the candidate was seen as having sufficient knowledge to guide an unlearned community, bringing real questions to more qualified rabbis. As I pointed out in my first installment in this series,  smichah was classically granted by a respected rabbi, with the Yeshiva only giving a preliminary ordination, pending a period of internship, culminating in a recognized ordination. However, this became reversed in twentieth-century America. Rabbis were giving ordination as a favor, or sometimes even for money. There were, to be sure, great rabbis who only ordained students after rigorous testing, but not all were so honest. More and more, the Orthodox community turned away from accepting private ordination, and sought only musmachim (ordainees) of bona fide institutions. Institutions also differed greatly in their standards. One can hear that someone had received smichah from a "good" yeshiva, or one that was "not so good". The problem became worse in the mid and late 1960s, with many "mushroom yeshivot" springing up, with their primary purpose being the evasion of the military draft Many of these automatically gave a smichah after a few years, in many cases without the necessity of the candidate even attending classes. How is a congregation of laymen to know? For this purpose, there is a professional organization called the Rabbinical Council of America. I have many qualms about that organization, but it has served to insure that congregations turning to them for guidance in choosing a rabbi, will get someone who has a decent, if not spectacular, level of knowledge and integrity. Unfortunately, it is run by the same people who run Yeshiva University. Their musmachim are automatically members. Graduates of other Yeshivot need to "know somebody" to get in. So, when we hear someone referring to himself as a "rabbi", we must know if he actually has received ANY smichah, and, if he has, from whom? Has the smichah been granted by a recognized institution? If it is private, on what basis did he receive it? Is it only honorary? Was he tested? Did he purchase it? Most congregations will no longer employ a rabbi without an institutional smichah. But there are outlying, small communities that have no choice. Beyond that, there are "seminaries" in which one can get ordained after a two-week course. This phenomenon is not found in Orthodox communities, but is quite common in small non-Orthodox communities that cannot afford a trained rabbi. There are, however, Orthodox online seminaries, of differing degrees of serious learning. Many of these "rabbis" are making it up as they go along. Still worse, are those "rabbis" ordained for free online by the Universal Life Church. Many of them aren't even Jewish. Charlatans are being exposed and "weeded out", but we have a long way to go. Next, I will discuss the situation of "online rabbis". Stay tuned.