A Guide to Graduate Schools in Jewish Professional Life
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A Guide to Graduate Schools in Jewish Professional Life Current as of April 2020 Contents Introduction 3 Rabbinical Schools Hebrew College Rabbinical School 5 Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Rabbinical School 10 Jewish Theological Seminary School of Rabbinic Studies 13 Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary of Yeshiva University 18 Reconstructionist Rabbinical College 21 Yeshivat Chovevei Torah 25 Yeshivat Hadar Advanced Rabbinic Training Program 28 Yeshivat Maharat 33 Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at American Jewish University 35 Cantorial Schools Hebrew College - Cantorial Ordination for Spiritual & Educational Leadership 39 Hebrew Union College - Cantorial Ordination & Masters in Sacred Music 43 JTS - H.L. Miller Cantorial School and College of Jewish Music 46 Jewish Education Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education & Administration of YU 50 The Master of Arts in Teaching at Brandeis University 52 George Washington University Master's in Experiential Education and Jewish Cultural Arts 55 Graduate Center for Jewish Education at AJU 57 Rhea Hirsch School of Education/New York School of Education at HUC 60 The William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education at JTS 63 Master of Jewish Education & Master of Arts in Jewish Studies at Hebrew College 68 M.A. in Jewish Education, The Melton Center for for Jewish Education, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem 72 Pardes Day School Educators Program & Master of Jewish Education from Hebrew College 74 Pardes Experiential Educators Program in collaboration with The Davidson School of Education at JTS 77 Jewish Professional Leadership Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership Program at Brandeis University 80 Jewish Communal Leadership Program at the University of Michigan 84 1 Jewish Professional Leadership Program at JTS and Columbia University 88 M.A. in Nonprofit Management & Leadership at the Hebrew University 92 Wurzweiler School of Social Work of Yeshiva University 94 Zelikow School of Jewish Nonprofit Management at HUC-JIR 97 2 Introduction After launching The Nachshon Project, our team saw a need to create a guide to the graduate programs that prepare future professional leaders for the North American Jewish community. This guide is based on up-to-date information about these graduate programs that could help The Nachshon Project Fellows choose where to pursue their graduate education. The following guide includes some of the recommended graduate programs but is not a complete list of opportunities. If you are interested in programs which do not appear in this guide, please do not hesitate to reach out to us with questions. Our hope is that Fellows could use this guide to get an overview of the different graduate programs, how programs differ from one another, and both the qualifications for and costs of graduate education. We hope you will find the guide useful and a basis for future conversation in planning your careers. Please note that while we have made every effort to ensure that the information in this book is current and accurate, it is your responsibility to check all dates, prices, and other information about the programs as information changes faster than we can update this guide. 3 Rabbinical Schools 4 Hebrew College Rabbinical School Boston, MA www.hebrewcollege.edu/rabbinical Program Overview The Rabbinical School of Hebrew College is an innovative and pluralistic rabbinic education program. Hebrew College (HC) brings together people of various commitments, backgrounds, beliefs and life stages to learn with and from each other. The education at HC emphasizes three pillars: the cultivation of an honest expression of Judaism; participation in the community; and a commitment to Torah study and studying texts of tradition in a Beit Midrash setting. The curriculum is designed so that students study one book of Torah in depth each year and have a Talmudic theme each of the years of the program as well. HC offers a strong professional development component to students’ learning. With its neighbors at Andover Newton Theological School, HC has developed an interfaith program that promotes mutual understanding, respect, and responsibility for the world different people inhabit together. Program Details The HC thematic curriculum combines the elements of the university and the yeshiva, enabling students to examine the sources of Judaism both in historical context and from a personal religious perspective. Students are expected to engage questions of critical scholarship as well as questions of meaning and relevance. Academic courses are supplemented by intensive daily preparation in the Bet Midrash, where students spend time in intensive study with chevruta and with faculty supervision. Students graduate with the ability to study Jewish sources in the original text and to think creatively about their contemporary relevance. The core curriculum is built around the two most famous cycles of traditional Jewish learning: Parshiyot ha-Torah and Seder ha-Shas (Order of the Talmud). Torah study, including a range of commentaries from ancient Midrash to contemporary literary analysis, links the five books of the Torah to the five-year course of study. The Jewish Living Core follows (with some adaptation) the order of subjects in the Babylonian Talmud, covering the major areas of Jewish learning central to a text-based rabbinic education. Several other courses are offered each year that relate to the theme of the Core Jewish Living course and there are a comprehensive series of professional development courses and experiences. 5 The program is five or six years* long, depending on the Hebrew background of the student and his or her skill level in sacred texts. Students who require six years of study start with a Mekorot Preparatory year. Mekorot Preparatory Year This preparatory year focuses on acquiring a foundation in Torah and Talmud, with as much emphasis put on the content of the learning as the skills needed to learn. During the application process, applicants will be informed whether or not they will be required to begin their studies with the Mekorot year, or if they can go straight to Shanah Aleph (Year 1). (Those required to do the Mekorot year will have six years of study*, rather than five). Students with at least three years of college-level Hebrew tend to start in Shanah Aleph, while those with less experience with Hebrew tend to be placed in Mekorot. Experience studying texts, as well as general Jewish knowledge and background are also factors in determining placement. *Fellows applying to the Graduate Fellowship should know that the Mekorot year is considered by the Foundation to be a Gap Year, and not the first year of a graduate degree. Therefore, fellows who are required to complete the Mekorot year, must do so during the two Gap Years, in order to still be eligible to apply for the Graduate Fellowship. Fellows would then apply to the Graduate Fellowship prior to Shanah Aleph. Funding begins in Shanah Aleph. Year 1 Berakhot: Prayer and the Traditional Jewish Prayer Book Centers on mastery of the liturgy: its meaning, structure, history, versions, laws and customs associated with prayer. Years 2 - 4 Focus on laws, liturgical practices and key themes of the festivals and their religious significance and interpretations. Students explore the rabbinic conception of the human being, the construction of the court system and ethical and moral dimensions of civil responsibility and religious leadership. Students learn about life-cycle ceremonies, family and marital issues and contemporary questions of gender in Jewish life. Students learn to perform life-cycle ceremonies, to counsel congregants regarding family issues and to deal with “halakhic” questions regarding medical issues and personal status. Year 5 Kodashim: Theological Issues Includes an in-depth exploration of several of the great theologies of Judaism, both classical and modern, provides the basis for students to clarify their own theologies through oral and written work. 6 Specialized Training Gaining practical rabbinic training and experience is an essential component of an HC education. Practical Training: Throughout the program, students take classes on rabbinic leadership, pastoral counseling, life-cycle events, homiletics and prayer-leading skills. Supervised Internships: During the final two years of the program, students have supervised internships in local Jewish institutions, providing them with an opportunity to gain valuable work experience and earn some income. Hebrew College has developed partnerships with many leading Boston congregations from across the religious spectrum, as well as Hillels, day schools and other innovative Jewish organizations. Professional Specialization Students, if they wish, can choose from one of four specialization tracks: ● Certificate in Jewish Music ● Certificate in Organizational Leadership for Rabbis and Rabbinical Students (in partnership with the Boston University Institute for Nonprofit Management and Leadership) ● Certificate in Pastoral Care (in conjunction with Andover Newton Theological School and Hebrew Senior Life) ● Master of Jewish Education Job Opportunities for Graduates Hebrew College has a 95 percent job placement rate. 50 percent of graduating students go into congregational work as pulpit rabbis in affiliated and independent congregations. The other half work as Hillel rabbis and executive directors, hospital chaplains, educators and organizational innovators in institutions across the country. Student