If you ever wondered how to judge the success of a rabbi you know how complex the matter can be. What are the criteria the measuring rods by which a rabbi is judged?

But fret no longer. Newsweek magazine on April 2 solved the problem by publishing its annual list of “America’s top 50 rabbis.” The yardstick used is not clear. Was it Torah learning? Apparently that was not a factor since among the jurors there seems to be no one who could measure Torah learning. Was it the ability to uplift and inspire a community to return to Torah learning and living? That too was evidently not an issue since among the jurors there was no one who could appreciate that quality. The magazine’s press release does mention “impact” as a criterion but it is not clear how “impact” was weighed. Was it the size of the rabbi’s institution or the amount of publicity he received? Or was it the rabbi’s popularity which was gained by never taking a stand on anything not previously approved by the New York Times editorial pages? Rabbinic popularity after all is not difficult to attain: never push congregants to live more Jewish lives to perform more mitzvos to refrain from gossip or desecration of the Name of G-d to devote more time to Torah study to give more generously to tzedakah.

One wonders who chose the choosers. There were no rabbis on the committee no Judaic scholars no religious academicians. Instead they were captains of industry — top executives of Time-Warner Sony and CBS. Their only qualification to be judges of rabbis is that they all seem to be Jews. (In which they are very traditional for is it not an old Jewish article of faith that every Jew no matter how unlettered is a rabbinic mayven?)

It is not even certain if any one of the judges is personally an observant Jew or is conversant with any basic Jewish text. How very strange: those who choose prizes for literature are themselves writers; prizes in physics are awarded by other physicists. It is quite correctly presumed that only those who are themselves experts in the field can measure the qualifications of their peers. By what standards are the Newsweek jurors connoisseurs in what constitutes a good rabbi much less a “top” rabbi? On this Newsweek has no comment.

How does one evaluate the success of a rabbi? Much of what a genuine dedicated rabbi does is so far beneath the radar so unseen as to defy categorization. The pasuk in Malachi 2:7 which refers to the teaching role of the ancient Kohein is often the model for the ideal rav: “Ki sifsei Kohein yishmeru daas v’Torah yevakshu mipihu ki malach Hashem Tzevakos hu — For the Kohein’s lips should keep knowledge and they should seek Torah from his mouth for he is the messenger of the L-rd of Hosts.” It is rather unlikely that Newsweek used this verse as their yardstick but what the prophet Malachi is saying here is that the ideal rav is a messenger from G-d Himself has deep knowledge of G-d’s laws and inspires his followers to preserve His Torah. He is in a word a genuine “rabbi ” which of course means “teacher.”

One of the most effective and successful rabbis I know is a living embodiment of this verse. He serves in a remote town with a small synagogue and tiny membership but he devotes his entire life to his flock. He teaches how to read Hebrew how to study Chumash how to practice mitzvos how to daven how best to serve G-d. He uplifts them raises their sights to realize what it means to be a believing learning and practicing Jew. He is not well-known no one outside of his town has ever heard of him but his personal example — and that of his wife —is on such a high level that they are a living sanctification of G-d’ s Name and have brought countless people back to the joys of Torah life. I suspect that in the eyes of his Creator he is a very successful rabbi. But surprise surprise! He failed to make Newsweek’s top 50.

The criteria by which Newsweek’s rabbis were selected are so nebulous and so without substance and the jurors so pathetically unqualified that to be chosen for their list comes close to being an embarrassment while not to be chosen is the real honor. The more I think about it the more am I grateful to be so deeply honored.