a huge amount of material to have mastery over and will take years of dedicated study to achieve. This is generally more than the training of a rabbi or rav of a community.

Poskim play an integral role in Orthodox Judaism.
* Generally, in each generation there may be a handful of poskim who are considered a Posek HaDor ("posek of the present generation"). Their views have enormous impact across the world of Jewry. An example of an Ashkenazi Posek HaDor