The Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies

M.A. Tracks and Programs

The Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies offers Israel’s largest M.A. program in the field. Graduates of the program will be awarded an M.A. degree in Jewish Studies recognized by Israel’s Council for Higher Education. Classes are held in Jerusalem in Hebrew. For more information in Hebrew and for registration, click here. We also offer non-degree, adult-education courses, online and in-person, in English.

Students in the M.A. program can choose from the following tracks:

• • Jerusalem, Land of Israel Studies – The only academic program in the Jerusalem area that focuses on the history, geography and culture of Jerusalem in particular and of Israel in general. Study tours provide an intimate look at a diverse city held sacred over the generations by members of the three monotheistic religions. The program delves into the historical and social aspects of the Zionist movement and the State of Israel, from the rise of Zionism in the 19th century to the present day.

• • Judaism and the Arts – The only program in Israel that places Jewish and Israeli artists and their work at the forefront of learning, emphasizing the special connection between Judaism and creativity. Students study the roots of Jewish music, architecture, mosaics in the ancient synagogues, spectacular illustrations in medieval Hebrew manuscripts and develop an understanding of the unique style of Jewish and Israeli cinema and theater through the ages. No prior knowledge of the arts is required. It is possible to include practical studio work or complete theoretical studies only.

• • Bible – The Bible is the cornerstone of the Jewish people and Israeli culture. This innovative track introduces the treasures of knowledge and wisdom inherent in the Bible and connects students to the values ​​of contemporary Jewish-Israeli society. The program features lecturers from the fields of Bible, Jewish thought, literature, the arts, history and archeology, as well as leading Israeli writers and intellectuals.

• • Jewish Thought – Life in Israel in the 21st century raises religious, existential and cultural questions about Jewish identity, a Jewish and democratic state, social justice and more. This specialization introduces students to the main streams of Jewish thought that have developed over the generations (including Kabbalah and Hasidic literature) and provides an important resource for understanding, coping and solving existential and everyday problems of Israeli society.

• • Midrash and Aggadah – Meet the sages who lived at the end of the Second Temple period in the Land of Israel and in the Babylonian exile through the study of midrash and aggadah. Students develop the tools for in-depth analysis and critical thinking about these important compilations of classic rabbinic literature.

• • Talmud and Halakhah – The Talmud remains a living and vibrant body of work, the masterpiece of Jewish Sages. This program provides students with advanced tools for critical, in-depth analysis of a wide range of Talmudic and Halakhic literature. The curriculum includes an introduction to both the Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmud as well as seminars on current issues such as education in rabbinic literature, gender and halakhah and medical ethics.

Our students can also major in these special programs:

YAMAH MA Community Leadership Program
YAMAH (Hebrew acronym for Creativity, Educational Leadership, and Jewish Renewal) trains educators to create innovative pedagogies for studying Judaism via encounters between Jewish sources and education. The program diagnoses fundamental issues in Israeli education with modern research tools, focusing on the role of Jewish education in shaping Israeli society. It experiments with creative tools available to educators today — from computer animation through bibliotherapy to musical composition.  The program has fieldtrips in Israel, a study mission to the United States, and exposure to creative educators and groundbreaking models. YAMAH is a joint initiative of TALI and the Schechter Institute thereby enabling students to explore professional development, Jewish education and Jewish studies.

Marpeh Spiritual Care
Is based on Jewish values such as bikkur holim (visiting the sick) gemilut hasadim (deeds of loving-kindness), and grounded in Jewish tradition. Students, including educators, clergy, and health care professionals offer solace and support to people across a wide spectrum of ages, religious backgrounds and cognitive capacities, both in cities and in rural areas. Clients served include Jews and non-Jews, hospital patients and their families, patients in hospice, the frail elderly, Holocaust survivors, Russian immigrants, children with special needs and their parents and many more.

Bibliotherapy Certificate Program
The program opened in the spring of 2024, was created to provide educators with the pedagogic tools to offer their students interactive, engaging learning of the Jewish texts. In large part, this program was created to answer needs and furnish a Jewish education response to the trauma and mental health crises precipitated by the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7th. Bibliotherapy brings Jewish sources to life and gives students a creative opportunity to connect with Jewish stories, themes and messages in a personal, dynamic way. By looking at classic Jewish texts and how they speaks to us today, training in Bibliotherapy is a relevant Jewish framework for addressing these incredibly challenging times. 

Creating Hope – Psychodrama Certificate Program
Creating Hope is a new certification program for professional educators, social workers, educational staff and others to upgrade their professional capabilities with the tools of Psychodrama integrated with the inner life of Jewish texts.

Psychodrama is a group psychotherapy centered on human drama in action. It assists a person create his/her own authentic voice to reveal inner strengths, encapsulating life experiences from relationships in the past, present and the future. The dramatic healing process is constructed in “Psychodramatic stage’s safe space,” enabling a person to move from fragmentation to recuperation and growth.

The person at the center of the therapeutic process, with the group’s help, and under the responsible and professional guidance of a psychodramatist, plays significant characters from their life based on real events. This process is also based on psychodynamic methods and on the Jewish perspective of creating hope, based on the idea of Unity: body/Nefesh/Neshama

Pyschodrama was developed by Jacob Levi Moreno. This program is in collaboration with the Jerusalem Institute for Psychodrama.

Mishlei
Mishlei is a two-year program that culminates in an M.A. degree in Jewish Studies focusing on Talmud and Halakhah, Community Leadership and Jewish Identity. The program strengthens the connection between the academic study of Judaism and practical community work. The diverse student body is a microcosm of Israeli society, with many Mishlei graduates engaged in leadership roles.

Meirav
Meirav is an interdisciplinary M.A. program comprising studies of a variety of Jewish subjects. Meirav, a Hebrew acronym meaning ‘Inter-Disciplinary Jewish Studies’, provides a wide-ranging perspective, utilizing diverse types of Jewish texts written and communicated throughout the generations. The program can be completed in a single or two academic years, using two summer semesters, two regular semesters, and evening off-campus courses via Zoom.

Meirav’s program includes courses in: Midrash & Aggada, History of the Jewish People, Modern Forms of Jewish Identity, Bible, Jewish Thought, Jewish Art History, and Beit Midrash textual study from the Bible to Modern Jewish Literature.

Bible and Society
Designed in coordination with Israel’s Ministry of Education, aims to reverse the trend of declining Bible studies in Israel’s public schools. It offers an attractive interdisciplinary curriculum alongside generous scholarships. Additionally, a robust yearly 9-part Bible study series of lectures and guided tours showcases some of Israel’s leading literary and academic figures.

Judaism and the Arts M.A. program, “Informed Creations” 
Provides an academic platform where Jewish traditional texts meet Israeli contemporary culture in the plastic arts, music and dance. Offered in conjunction with HaKubia Art School, this program combines theory and practice in a dynamic, interdisciplinary curriculum. Schechter faculty present the philosophical, historical and religious underpinnings of Jewish art and the creative process alongside experts in sculpture, drawing, painting, ceramics who provide hands-on workshops.

Research Groups

Zion and the Diaspora in the Past, Present and Future:
Social, Cultural and Educational Aspects

Zion and the Diaspora in the Past, Present and Future: Social, Cultural and Educational Aspects is a joint interdisciplinary research project and think tank, headed by Schechter’s Prof. Yossi Turner and comprised of the highest level of scholars and intellectuals from Israel and the Diaspora. It meets a number of times a year.

The Center for Women in Jewish Law

The Center for Women in Jewish Law has been devoted to researching, publishing and educating the public on the rights of women from the perspective of the Jewish legal tradition. Its publications, including the seven-issue Hebrew-English Jewish Law Watch, and its magnum opus Za’akat Dalot (The Cry of the Wretched): Halakhic Solutions for the Agunot of our Time, has advanced Jewish law advocacy research in the area of agunot (women whose husbands refuse them a writ of divorce). The Center has also published The Status of Women in Jewish Law: Responsa (in Hebrew and English editions), and a series of booklets, To Learn and To Teach (in five languages), which provides a religious/legal basis for egalitarianism within Jewish tradition. Newest publications include Ask the Rabbi, a collection of responsa written by two women rabbis and Taking the Plunge: A Practical and Spiritual Guide to the Mikveh. All books may be purchased online at the Schechter Catalog.

The Center for Judaism and the Arts

The Center for Judaism and the Arts enriches the culture of Jewish life in Israel. Its central educational initiative is the TALI Virtual Midrash website, an electronic collection of fine and folk Art on Biblical themes that has uploaded over 1,100 images related to Biblical subjects and catalogued them in English and Hebrew, with cross reference search capabilities by artist, theme, time period and topical essays. The site was created by Schechter faculty member Dr. Jo Milgrom and by Dr. Joel Duman.

The Institute of Applied Halakhah

The Institute of Applied Halakhah was founded in 1997 in order to create a library of halakhic literature in Hebrew, English, Russian and other languages to help foster the study and observance of halakhah. The Institute publishes responsa, bibliographies, guides to practical halakhah, and books on the philosophy of Jewish law, and also hosts a website in Hebrew and English, Responsa for Today. The Institute’s books can be purchased here.

The Midrash Project

The Midrash Project at the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies is publishing a series of books on midrash, including critical editions of at least eight midrashim. The series is edited by Profs. David Golinkin and Shamma Friedman. Each critical edition presents the midrash based on the best manuscript, and includes selected variant readings, reference to parallel sources in Rabbinic literature, and a critical commentary.

Leadership

* Ex-officio
** Honorary member

Events