Maran () is a Jewish honorific prefix for exceptionally respected

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

s. It is an alternate form of

Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...

''mar'', meaning "master" (compare '' rav'', ''rabban''). Maran is especially preferred among

Sephardic Jews Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

, and commonly used in reference to Joseph Karo. When used without further qualification, "Maran" typically refers to Karo. Amongst contemporary rabbis,

Ovadia Yosef Ovadia Yosef (, ; September 24, 1920 – October 7, 2013) also known as Maran (Hebrew language, Hebrew: מרן) "Our Master", was an History of the Jews in Iraq#Otoman rule, Iraqi-born Talmudic scholar, hakham, posek, and the Sephardi Jews, Sephar ...

is most closely associated with Maran. Within their respective communities, rabbis like Yosef Shalom Elyashiv,

Elazar Shach Elazar Menachem Man Shach (, Elazar Shach; January 1, 1899 O.S. – November 2, 2001) was a Haredi rabbi who headed Lithuanian Orthodox Jews in Israel and around the world from the early 1970s until his death. He served as chair of the Counc ...

and Joel Teitelbaum may be called "Maran" in combination with other titles.

References

Orthodox rabbinic roles and titles Aramaic words and phrases Religious honorifics {{Judaism-stub

See also

References