Expert: Ovadiah ben Avraham - 4/16/2009

Question
What is the difference between a posek and a rabbi?

Answer
Zack,

A Rabbi is a religious leader in Judaism who generally leads a congregation and make legal decisions concerning the operation of the synagogue and concerning maters of family law for his or her congregation.

A Posek is a legal expert, generally in a specific area such as medical ethics.

All poskim are generally Rabbis whereas all Rabbis are not poskim.

To add to the confusion, posek is also used as a verb and indicates a halachic decision made by either a Rabbi or Posek.

Think of it this way: A Rabbi's decisions effect his or her own congregation whereas a posek's decisions often effect the entirety of Judaism.

Hope this helps. Shalom!