hebrew college rabbinical school brochure

Rabbinical SchoolRabbinic leadership for a pluralistic world

בית המדרש לרבנים של המכללה העברית 2

“

”

ContentsRabbinical School Leadership 2

Making an Impact 4

A Contemporary Approach to Learning 8

Community Connections 18

At a Glance 20

Admissions and Financial Aid 22

Ten Best Things about Hebrew College 24

We live in a changing Jewish world. Patterns of Jewish

identification and involvement are shifting. Old paradigms are

being called into question. Individuals are searching for new

ways of connecting to one another and to Jewish life.

A vibrant Jewish future is dependent on rabbis who can:

» Speak a contemporary spiritual language that is both

authentic and accessible.

» Teach a Judaism that is relevant to the great challenges

facing humanity in this century.

» Create vibrant and welcoming communities where all

types of Jews and their families can feel at home.

The Rabbinical School of Hebrew College is uniquely

positioned to meet this need. Our approach brings together:

» Serious Jewish learning in a beit midrash setting

filled with openness and excitement for reimagining

Judaism for our times.

» Cultivation of a vibrant pluralistic community with

support for each individual’s quest to find an honest,

authentic expression of Judaism.

» Academic rigor with a commitment to spiritual growth.

Join us as we help shape a Judaism for the twenty-first

century.

Rabbinic Leadership fora Pluralistic World


When you walk into the Rabbinical School, you immediately feel the sense of vitality, purpose, and joy in the air.

Classroom conversations weave together inquiry of heart and mind. The beit midrash hums with the voices of students from diverse backgrounds, wrestling with old texts and new questions. Our

prayer services each morning represent a wide range of approaches to spiritual practice. These are the shared experiences and values

that our graduates bring to the communities they serve.

RABBI SHARON COHEN ANISFELD Dean, Rabbinical School

“

”

R ABBINICAL SCHOOL LE ADERSHIP

The Rabbinical School of Hebrew College 3

We are on a quest to create a kind of Judaism that is spiritually compelling and intellectually honest, deeply rooted in the sources and tradition, and driven by a spirit of religious creativity and the constant question of how the new Judaism will emerge. Future rabbis need to feel authentic as spokespersons for the tradition, yet they also want to contribute to it, rather than feeling confined or limited by it. Our focus on the future and the combination of text-based education with our openness and creativity make us truly different.

RABBI ARTHUR GREEN

Rector and Founding Dean, Rabbinical School

Pluralism requires a passionate commitment to particular ideas and values. At the same time, it calls upon us to listen thoughtfully and, if necessary, critique, with genuine covenantal concern, those religious ideas we find problematic or unacceptable. The rabbinic tradition asks us to open our hearts and minds to the perspectives of others, to enter into a deep dialogue, as we clarify and construct our own convictions. Our pluralistic community thrives on compelling conversations.

RABBI DANIEL L. LEHMANN President, Hebrew College ”

“

“

”

”

R ABBINICAL SCHOOL LE ADERSHIP


Reshaping Day-School Curricula

Sara Meirowitz ’13 Co-director, Beit Midrash, Gann Academy Waltham, Massachusetts

Sara Meirowitz is on the vanguard of day-school education. At Gann Academy, a pluralistic Jewish high school outside Boston, Meirowitz is a core part of

the Judaic studies team that is pioneering a new approach to Jewish learning. As co-director of the school’s beit midrash program, she is helping to implement a revamped curriculum that provides students with a base of meaningful Jewish literacy while giving them the flexibility to pursue their Jewish passions. Meirowitz brings to the position a strong background in traditional text study, honed through more than two decades of study in day schools, adult-learning programs, and rabbinical school. A graduate of Yale University, she is a gifted writer, editor, teacher, and poet. She spent several years studying in yeshivot in Israel and teaching in Jewish institutions in Israel and the United States.

Making an ImpactAlumni create, sustain change around the world


Advancing Social Justice

Margie Klein Ronkin ’11 Director of Clergy and Leadership Development, ECCO Lynn, Massachusetts

Margie Klein Ronkin is one of the country’s leading young Jewish advocates for social activism and community building. In 2005, she founded the Moishe/Kavod House in Brookline, Massachusetts, a community of 600 Jews in their twenties and thirties dedicated to progressive social change. Ronkin also founded and led the get-out-the-vote organization Project Democracy. Today, she serves as director of clergy and leadership for the Essex County Community Organization and as spiritual leader of Congregation Sha’arei Shalom in Ashland, Massachusetts. Ronkin describes her work as creating “authentic relationships,” and supporting others to do the same. “It is through these relationships that we find God,” she says, “and where, I would argue, we find the power to transform ourselves and the world for the better.”

On the Frontlines of Palliative Care

Joel Baron ’14 Hospice Chaplain, Hebrew SeniorLife Dedham, Massachusetts

After a successful career in publishing, Joel Baron is devoting the second phase of his work life to comforting end-of-life patients and their families. As a hospice chaplain at Hebrew SeniorLife in Dedham, Baron provides spiritual and emotional support to the sick and dying. He likens counseling his patients to “standing on holy ground.” Baron also serves as program director of Hebrew College’s new certificate program in hospice care, launched in 2014 as part of the school’s expanded focus on clinical pastoral education. Prior to becoming a rabbi, Baron, a native of Cleveland and the grandson of a rabbi, enjoyed a long and distinguished career in scientific and medical publishing; he formerly served as publisher and chief executive officer of the New England Journal of Medicine and other renowned journals before forming his own consulting firm.


Filling a Void in Israel Lila Veissid ’11 Rabbi, Kibbutz Ha-Ma’apil Hadera, Israel Lila Veissid is playing an important role in the revitalization of Jewish life and promulgation of liberal forms of Judaism in Israel. As the first congregational rabbi of Kibbutz Ha-Ma’apil, Veissid is helping this formerly

secular kibbutz in central Israel encounter and embrace all aspects of Jewish tradition and culture. She leads Shabbat and holiday services, teaches classes on Judaism, and facilitates life-cycle rituals—activities largely new to the kibbutz’s 800 members. Veissid says she derives her greatest reward from pastoral counseling, which she calls “spiritual accompaniment.” Veissid is also an active member of Zayit, a local Jewish-renewal organization that engages people of the Hefer Valley in projects of learning and celebration.

Expanding Our Global Reach Chaim Koritzinsky ’08 Rabbi, Congregation Ruach Ami Santiago, Chile

With educational and spiritual journeys to the former Soviet Union, Israel, and now South America, Wisconsin native Chaim Koritzinsky is symbolic of the Rabbinical School’s

global reach. As the first rabbi of Ruach Ami, the only egalitarian and pluralistic Jewish religious and cultural institution in Santiago, Chile, Koritzinsky has helped grow the community from a handful of founding families in 2007 to more than 100 families today. “Ruach Ami was born with the mission of offering an alternative to those seeking to reconnect or deepen their connection with Judaism and the Jewish community,” explains Koritzinsky. “It has become the home for hundreds of Jews seeking an authentic and spiritual encounter with the tradition and with progressive Jewish values.”

MAK ING AN IMPACT


Engaging College Students Getzel Davis ’13 Associate Rabbi and Jewish Educator, Harvard Hillel Cambridge, Massachusetts Getzel Davis stands at the forefront of a national movement that seeks to welcome college students more fully into Jewish living. With passion and wisdom honed during his years at Hebrew College, Davis reaches out to non-Orthodox students and those who have yet to find their way to Judaism. “My goal,” he says, “is to regularly interrupt people’s lives with moments of meaning, connection, and liberation.” That could mean teaching classes with clever names like Shal-Om and Jew Curious, or counseling students in need. The work is most rewarding, he says, when he helps students “take risks to aid in their own growth and to strengthen the good of the world.”

Reinvigorating Synagogue Life Sonia Saltzman ’08 Rabbi, Temple Ohabei Shalom Brookline, Massachusetts A native of Chile with a background in finance and international affairs, Sonia Saltzman is helping to reinvigorate synagogue life in Greater Boston. Upon ordination, she served for three years at Sha’arei Shalom in Ashland, Massachusetts, where she oversaw an ambitious transition process, including extensive new programming and relocation. Today, Saltzman is bringing that same energy and transformative creativity to Temple Ohabei Shalom in Brookline, the oldest established synagogue in Massachusetts. She has introduced spiritually vibrant Shabbat services, new adult-learning opportunities, and meaningful social-action programs. “I believe in the wisdom and beauty of Judaism,” she says, “and hope to inspire others to deepen their relationship to Jewish tradition.”

MAK ING AN IMPACT


The Rabbinical School curriculum is a rigorous academic program that leads you on a five- or six-year journey of growth and acquisition of knowledge. Its thematic and practical approach nourishes your mind and spirit as you prepare to serve in the world as a rabbi.

You’ll graduate having encountered the essential texts for today’s rabbinate, the skills for lifelong learning and leadership, and a love of Talmud Torah.

Torah and Rabbinics: The core curriculum is built around the two foundational texts of Jewish tradition, the Torah and the Talmud. Each year, you’ll study one book of the Torah in depth, examining a range of commentaries from ancient Midrash to contemporary literary analysis.

The Talmud sequence covers major topics relevant to serving as a rabbi today, and features courses in theology, halacha (Jewish law), and practical rabbinics connected to the theme.

Jewish Thought and History: A Jewish Thought sequence introduces you to some of the major thinkers and trends in Jewish thought, from the rabbinic period up to today. Core classes and electives offer opportunities for intensive exposure to the mystical tradition.

Innovative CurriculumExploring core texts, gaining practical skills

A CONTEMPOR ARY APPROACH TO LE ARNING



Laying the Foundation

Rabbi Jane Kanarek, associate professor of rabbinics and associate dean for academic development, is on the leading edge of rabbinic and feminist scholarship. She is currently writing a commentary on Babylonian Talmud Tractate Arakhin for the Feminist Talmud Commentary project. “I deeply believe that in order to create rich and vibrant Jewish communities and cultures, our rabbis need to be

steeped in Jewish texts to understand the older worlds that have helped make us who we are,” she says. “Our rabbinical school gives students that foundation.”

Hebrew: In the preparatory and first years, you will take intensive Hebrew courses that are integrated with core text classes so that you gain the knowledge and skills to learn sacred texts in the original Hebrew.

Professional Development: A series of practical rabbinics courses and internships prepares you to serve as a rabbi in a variety of settings. See pages 14–15 for more information.


The beit midrash, or study center, is the heart of the Rabbinical School. It is a place of engagement—with Jewish tradition, with one another, with ourselves.

Talmud Torah: LearningUsing ancient books and modern laptops, students in the beit midrash immerse themselves in sacred texts, developing the skills and habits to make engagement with our inherited tradition a part of their lives in school and beyond. All questions are welcome as you seek wisdom that will help you on your path toward an authentic personal expression of Judaism—and the ability to lead others on this journey as well.

As co-directors of the beit midrash, Rabbis Shayna Rhodes and Allan Lehmann guide students through every aspect of their religious journey. “We are helping people who care deeply about matters they consider vital to the world and who want to ground that caring in the millennial Jewish conversation that is to be found in the texts of the beit midrash,” Lehmann says. Adds Rhodes, “All along the way, students are encouraged to take risks and leave their comfort zone.”

Guiding the Journey

Joining the ConversationBeit midrash serves as the center of learning, community, and prayer



Kehillah: CommunityWe gather in the beit midrash to study together, engage in communal prayer and celebration, and share the rhythms of the Jewish year and of one another’s lives. Our students and faculty call this sacred space their second home and see themselves as a community—both within and beyond the walls of the classroom and the beit midrash.

Tefillah: PrayerIn this spacious, light-filled room, we begin each day with vibrant tefillah that is both rooted in Jewish tradition and brimming with innovation. Students learn to tend to their own n’shamot (souls), cultivating Judaism as a spiritual practice, so they can sustain themselves as spiritual leaders and authentically guide others.


Hebrew College rabbinical students are encouraged to cultivate a personally nourishing and sustaining spiritual practice that is rooted in Jewish tradition. For us, this is the basis of being a spiritual guide and companion for others.

We have created a dynamic, meaningful prayer community in which we welcome and encourage engagement with traditional Jewish liturgy and prayer forms, as well as experimentation and creativity.

Some mornings, our shacharit (morning prayer service) includes a full, traditional liturgy. Other mornings, it is an innovative take on Jewish prayer, experimenting with liturgy, music, silence, and/or movement. Students form smaller prayer groups, based on goals and interests, that both pray together and meet weekly to reflect on their practice.

Our tefillah program is truly a communal endeavor that supports the cultivation of your practice and prepares you to lead others into prayer.

SpiritualGrowthNurturing the heart, mind, and soul


A founding faculty member of the Rabbinical School, Rabbi Ebn Leader has gained an international reputation as a Jewish spiritual teacher in the neo-Hasidic tradition and an authority on Jewish prayer. “You cannot be a spiritual leader without being invested in your own spiritual practice,” Leader says. “And investment means radical honesty and constant practice.”

Fostering Spiritual Renewal


Developing Deeper MeaningWe offer two other optional and fully funded opportunities that support your spiritual growth.

Ikvotecha (Spiritual Direction)During monthly meetings with their mashpia (spiritual director), students reflect on their spiritual life, personal theology, and religious practice through conversation, meditation, written reflection, and artistic expression. Ikvotecha helps students cultivate a stance of openness to the fullness of life, deeper awareness of moments of holiness, and greater ability to be in silence and offer spontaneous prayer.

Rabbinic Writing Institute Students have the opportunity to explore writing as a spiritual practice with author and teacher Merle Feld. During monthly meetings, Feld helps students develop and examine their own inner lives through writing. Under Feld’s guidance, students also learn to be more effective spiritual leaders as she draws on her wisdom and years of teaching experience to help them with their personal and professional challenges.



Whether you’re interested in working in a congregation or Hillel, hospital or clinical setting, communal organization or educational institution, Hebrew College prepares you for the varied nature of rabbinic work in the twenty-first century. We’re also here to guide and advise you along the path to finding and sustaining a meaningful and fulfilling career.

Practical Training: During your course of study, you will take classes on rabbinic leadership, pastoral counseling, education, life-cycle events, homiletics, and prayer-leading skills.

Supervised Internships: During the final two years of the program, you will have a supervised paid internship each year at a local Jewish institution, giving you the opportunity to gain valuable work experience with mentorship from seasoned rabbis. Hebrew College has developed partnerships with many leading Boston congregations across the religious spectrum, as well as with Hillels, day schools, and other innovative Jewish organizations.

Professional Specializations: Students can gain greater expertise in specific areas, choosing from among four specialization tracks:

• Certificate in Jewish Music/Joint Cantorial Ordination • Certificate in Organizational Leadership for Rabbis

and Rabbinical Students• Certificate in Pastoral Care• Master of Jewish Education

Professional DevelopmentAcquiring the critical skills for today’s rabbinate



Clinical Pastoral Education: Developing the capacity to sit with people in need is one of the most important skills an aspiring rabbi must learn. At Hebrew College, every student is fully funded to take one unit of CPE, an intensive interfaith professional-education program for current and future clergy.

Rabbi Dan Judson, who is helping to frame the national debate on congregational membership and dues, serves as the Rabbinical School’s full-time director of professional development and placement. “Many of the institutions that have hired our rabbis have done so because they needed someone who could be dynamic and pluralistic, someone who could lead traditional prayer one

evening and contemporary alternative prayer in the morning,” he says. “They wanted someone who had a facility with classic Jewish sources and brought the wisdom of our tradition, and who understood how to make that wisdom relevant to folks.”

A Place(ment) for Everyone



Personal knowledge of and experience living in Israel is a critical component of Hebrew College’s rabbinic education.

You and your classmates will spend Year 3 in Israel, where you’ll cultivate a personal relationship with the land and its people, and engage with the complexities of contemporary Israeli history, thought, and society. Through a combination of Hebrew language instruction, intensive text study, mifgashim (encounters) with Israelis, special seminars and tiyyulim (trips), and volunteer work in Israeli communities and organizations, you’ll gain a new appreciation for the joy, wonder, and complications of Israeli culture.

The classes are designed specifically to maintain continuity with the Hebrew College curriculum and community, yet give you the flexibility to study at a variety of approved Israeli institutions. In an Israel seminar, you’ll learn alongside some of the country’s leading thinkers and activists from across the religious, cultural, and political spectrum, gaining greater insight into Israeli life and acquiring a deeper appreciation for the important role it plays in today’s rabbinate.

Experiencing Israel FirsthandBuilding connections, engaging complexity


Encountering Other Faith Communities

Hebrew College believes that the training of contem-porary religious leaders should include regular and substantive encounters with students and teachers from other religious communities.

Through our partnership, programs, and classes with our neighbor, Andover Newton Theological School, as well as our membership in the Boston Theological Institute—an association of ten university divinity schools, schools of theology, and seminaries in Greater Boston—you’ll have the opportunity to make interfaith engagement a core part of your rabbinical school experience.

In 2014, Hebrew College and Andover Newton hired Celene Ayat Lizzio to serve as the schools’ inaugural Islamic studies scholar-in-residence and share in the leadership of the institutions’ groundbreaking interreligious leadership education efforts.

Pho

to b

y Yo

nit

Sch

iller


Celene Ayat Lizzio, Jennifer Howe Peace, and Or Rose direct the Center for Inter-Religious and Communal Leadership Education, a joint initiative of Hebrew College and Andover Newton Theological School.


Community ConnectionsSupporting one another and nurturing a vibrant community is key to the Hebrew College experience and approach. Each week, we gather as a school to celebrate the successes and share the challenges people are experiencing.

Class cohorts also meet weekly to take the measure of their studies and their lives. Beyond the school week, we cultivate a joyous collective responsibility for one another, celebrating Shabbat, holidays, and other s’machot (joyous occasions) in one another’s homes.

We are guided by the belief that you don’t make the journey to ordination alone. You travel as a community, each individual cherished, celebrated, and encouraged to flourish. This commitment sustains and supports you during your time in school, and serves as a model for what is possible in your future work as a rabbi.

All Are WelcomeHebrew College is committed to welcoming and affirming LGBTQ Jews in our community and encouraging a strong alliance to LGBTQ Jews and causes. We are a thriving, diverse community of people at different stages in their lives, who have different learning styles, political views, religious commitments, and practices.

A City Steeped in Rich Jewish Life

Hebrew College is located in Newton Centre, just outside Boston, one of the leading regions of Jewish innovation and entrepreneurship. Home to the progressive federation Combined Jewish Philanthropies, Boston is endowed with a wide array of Jewish religious and social-justice institutions. Congregations—both affili-ated and independent, established and start-up—abound. Day schools and supplementary Jewish schools are on the forefront of Jewish education. Hebrew College has developed strong ties with many of these institutions, giving students ample opportunities for internships during school and career options upon ordination.

Home to more than sixty colleges and universities, Boston has earned a reputation as the nation’s premier academic hub. And with its myriad arts and cultural offerings, thriving nightlife, and scenic beauty, the city is a great place to live and learn.

Pho

to b

y B

ill D

amon


ALUMNI

At a Glance

95%

How Our Alumni Serve

Job Placement Rate

Where Our Alumni ServeCalifornia ColoradoConnecticut Florida Illinois Indiana Maryland MassachusettsMichigan

Minnesota New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York OhioPennsylvania Texas Vermont

Washington, D.C. Wisconsin

InternationalBrazil Canada Chile Israel

HillelsPastoral

Care

Jewish Communal Leadership

Pulpits

Jewish Education


Age Range

Family Background

Reform 33%

Conservative 31%

“Just Jewish” 14%

Orthodox 8%

Reconst./Renewal 8%

Jews by Choice 6%

Jewish Educational BackgroundSupplemental Religious School 70%

Israel Trip 54%

Camp Experience 51%

Youth Group 47%

Day School 32%

Gender Male 44%

Female 50%

Gender 6% Nonconforming

STUDENTS

At a Glance

22 64

44% 50%

6%

33%

14%

31%

6%8% 8%

Median Age: 27

Is Hebrew College Right for You?The Rabbinical School of Hebrew College strives to bring together a richly diverse group of students who are prepared to traverse a rigorous and inspiring path of rabbinic education.

We look for individuals who have an unquenchable thirst to learn from the wisdom of Jewish tradition; a drive to fashion an authentic personal relationship to Judaism; a passion to engage with people, practices, and ideas from across the Jewish spectrum; and a commitment to serving the Jewish people.

Applicants must be Jewish by birth or conversion. Hebrew College admits qualified students without regard to age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, race, color, or nationality.

Financial AidHebrew College is committed to making rabbinical school affordable for our students. Each year, we give a significant amount of need-based tuition assistance. Most students who apply for financial aid receive support—many at our highest level, a 30 percent reduction in tuition.

The Rabbinical School also awards merit-based fellowships to incoming students. Recipients generally receive $10,000 to $15,000 per year for the first three years of their program. These fellowships are competitive and are allocated on the basis of academic achievement, leadership potential, and demonstrated commitment to the core values of the Rabbinical School. Many students also avail themselves of government loans.

Come See for Yourself We invite you to experience firsthand the energy of our community and the quality of our program by visiting our beautiful Newton Centre campus whenever school is in session. In addition, the Rabbinical School traditionally hosts two overnight open houses each year—one in fall and one in spring.


Admissions and Financial Aid Timeline

Priority application due date . . . . . . . . . Mid-January

Interviews with faculty . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mid-January to late March

Financial aid application due date . . . . Mid-February

Admissions decisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Within two weeks of interview

Financial aid award date . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mid-April

Accepted student response due . . . . . . Early May

For more information about the application and admissions process, visit the Rabbinical School website: hebrewcollege.edu/rabbinical.


1. Beit midrash as a center of learning.

2. Emphasis on spiritual practice and growth.

3. A diverse, inclusive, and supportive community.

4. World-renowned faculty who are devoted to rabbinic education.

5. Preparation to thrive in many different rabbinic roles.

6. Graduate placement rate of 95 percent.

7. Opportunity to set agenda and shape landscape of twenty-first-century Judaism.

8. Culture of creativity and joy.

9. Robust interfaith opportunities.

10. Proximity to Boston and rich Jewish life.

The Ten Best Things about Hebrew College

We asked faculty, students, and alumni to name their top ten reasons for choosing or recommending the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College. Their answers appear below.

Founded in 1921 to train Jewish educators and leaders, Hebrew College has evolved into a national institution dedicated to pluralistic Jewish learning and leadership within an environment of open inquiry, intellectual rigor, personal engagement, and spiritual creativity.

In 2003, recognizing the need for rabbinic leadership in an age of greater complexity and fluidity in Jewish identity and engagement, Hebrew College opened a pluralistic rabbinical school. Our pioneering approach prepares rabbis to serve in the exciting landscape of Jewish leadership today.

Hebrew College also includes courses of study in cantorial education, Jewish music, Jewish education, and Hebrew language, as well as community programs in youth and adult education. The Rabbinical School works synergistically with these programs, which provide enriching learning experiences and professional opportunities for rabbinic students. Through all of our efforts, we empower and inspire individuals to contribute their voices and vision to the Jewish community and to bring Jewish values to bear on the critical issues of our time.

Hebrew College: A National Leader in Pluralistic Education


Rabbinical School of Hebrew College160 Herrick RoadNewton Centre, Massachusetts 02459

[email protected]/rabbinical

Design: John Brandon Miller Creative.

Photography: Heratch Ekmekjian, Tom Kates, Mike Lovett, Peter Vanderwarker.

hebrew college rabbinical school brochure

Documents

new judaism

vibrant jewish future

rabbinical schoolpluralism

reimagining judaism

kind of judaism

vibrant pluralistic

jewish life

serious jewish learning