rebbe

noun

reb·​be ˈre-bə How to pronounce rebbe (audio)
: a Jewish spiritual leader or teacher : rabbi

Examples of rebbe in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The Hasidic group has been reckoning with an internal dispute since the rebbe died in 1994. Katherine Rosman, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2024 Mainstream Lubavitcher leadership is committed to carrying out the rebbe’s teachings and vision. Katherine Rosman, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2024 And, third, the disputes surrounding the rebbe from Crown Heights are strikingly similar to those which surrounded the rebbe Yeshua, or Jesus, when his followers first pressed his claim: was this messianic pretension a horrific blasphemy or a final fulfillment? Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2023 And the rebbe was raised in Dnipro. Washington Post, 15 Apr. 2022 On the night of Monday, Aug. 19, 1991, the Lubavitcher rebbe was returning home from a visit to a cemetery. Elliot Kaufman, WSJ, 20 Aug. 2021 Not long after my Senate confirmation, a number of passengers who had travelled from J.F.K. to Frankfurt on Lufthansa were not allowed to board their connecting flight to Budapest for the yahrzeit of an important rebbe. Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 16 Sep. 2022 The oral transmission made the rebbe, a living person who could teach the law, necessary. Rabbi Avi Weiss, Sun Sentinel, 22 Aug. 2022 While the role of the Chassidic rebbe in many Chassidic sects is outsized, Sefat Emet, who was the third Gerer Rebbe, downplayed his own spiritual powers. Rabbi Avi Weiss, Sun Sentinel, 9 May 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rebbe.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Yiddish rebe, from Hebrew rabbī rabbi

First Known Use

1881, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of rebbe was in 1881

Dictionary Entries Near rebbe

Cite this Entry

“Rebbe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rebbe. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

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