Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A Jewish spiritual leader or rabbi, especially of a Hasidic sect.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Judaism The spiritual leader of a Chassidic Jewish community.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Yiddish, from Hebrew rabbî, rabbi; see rabbi.]

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Examples

  • "I believe the rebbe is the Moshiach," says Shifra Hendrie, who initiated a dinner for 3,000 Lubavitch women last January to help promote that belief among Jews and Gentiles alike.

    Doth My Redeemer Live? 2008

  • In the many affidavits filed in the case so far, it appears that most Chabad leaders privately believe that the rebbe was the Messiah.

    Archive 2007-03-01 Howard M. Friedman 2007

  • Nothing is easier -- or more intellectually sloppy -- than to take shots at Chabad for believing that the Lubavitcher rebbe is still alive or for thinking that the rebbe is the messiah.

    The Jewish Week 2010

  • Mr. Heilman and Mr. Friedman explain how the rebbe was a master of spiritual judo.

    The Washington Times stories: Latest Headlines 2010

  • Hasidic Jews differ from other Orthodox Jews in following a single leader, called a rebbe or tzaddik.

    InterfaithFamily.com 2009

  • Kener said he was motivated in part by Rabbi Menachem Shneerson, the late "rebbe" or chief rabbi of the Lubavitcher sect of Hasidic Judaism, who "was known to say that just as a person grows physically, he must also grow spiritually."

    Phillies Zone 2010

  • But like any true rebbe, he has worlds to teach us about ourselves and this life, and we know this much: we are simply not going to get this stuff from anyone else.

    Bradley Burston: Bob Dylan, It Turns Out, Lives in Israel Bradley Burston 2011

  • A zetz from the rebbe, and then the rebbe is gone.

    Bradley Burston: Bob Dylan, It Turns Out, Lives in Israel Bradley Burston 2011

  • In any event, it is similarly odd that many of Boteach's critics who are eager to put him in herem excommunication for having the chutzpah to publish a book about Jesus of Nazareth are the same Chabad Lubavitch members who seem to be placing their bets that the late Lubavitch rebbe is the messiah.

    Rabbi Jason Miller: Jesus, We Can Finally Talk About Jesus Rabbi Jason Miller 2012

  • Like any true rebbe, certainly like Shlomo Carlebach, Bob Dylan is spectacularly flawed.

    Bradley Burston: Bob Dylan, It Turns Out, Lives in Israel Bradley Burston 2011

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