EXOD81 The cults always have a charismatic leader who is the central focus and force in the cult. This concept of one central authority figure who is the leader is alien to Judaism. The relatively modern invention of Rabbi is not a very Jewish idea. From a Jewish, religious perspective, there is nothing that a rabbi can do that any other person can't do. This includes performing weddings and funerals, which need no rabbi in Jewish tradition. The rabbi has no special privileges and no special link with God. The term rabbi merely means teacher. The greatest rabbi, that is, teacher in Jewish history was Moses, who was called Moshe Rabbenu, Moses our Teacher, and not Moses our Leader or Moses the Prophet. And yet, according to the Torah, Moses had a lisp or another type of speech impediment. One explanation is that this teaches us that although Moses was not a charismatic speaker, he was still the greatest teacher. That is not the Jewish way--to get people to follow Jewish tradition because of charisma. It was what Moses said that made him effective. The Torah itself inspired the people and made Moses a great teacher, not Moses' way of speech. Therefore, the notion of following a leader merely because he or she is charismatic, while basic to cults, is alien to Judaism.