Mashpia () or feminine Mashpi'oh lit. "person of influence", pl. Mashpi'im () is the title of a

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 ...

who serves as a spiritual mentor in a Hasidic Jewish

yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...

. This title is also used in Breslov Hasidic movements, who have no rebbe. Previously, those holding this position were referred to as "community rabbis". The related

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

word "mashpian" refers to an " influencer" such as a celebrity or social media promoter.

Mashpi'im in Chabad

Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the first rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch, discussed the role of mashpi'im in the preface to the Tanya, his book on Hasidic philosophy.

References

{{Jewish education Chabad terminology Orthodox rabbinic roles and titles Jewish religious occupations Chabad-Lubavitch (Hasidic dynasty) Hebrew words and phrases