Schechter Rabbinical Seminary

About the Institute

Schechter Rabbinical Seminary (SRS) is training the next generation of Jewish leaders who will inspire and influence Israeli society, as well as raise a committed Jewish voice for religious pluralism and tolerance. SRS graduates lead communities throughout Israel and Europe in the spirit of enlightened, intellectually engaged Judaism.

Contact Us

4 Avraham Granot St., Jerusalem, Israel
+972-74-7800712
Students
Ordination ceremonies
Rabbis (37 women, 76 men)

Programs

Ordination Program

The three-year study program at the Schechter Rabbinical Seminary trains an alternative spiritual and religious leadership for Israeli society – steeped in traditional Jewish sources, yet attuned to modern interpretations and a pluralistic worldview. Through study and practical internships, students at the Schechter Rabbinical Seminary are training to serve synagogues, youth groups and school communities throughout Israel. The curriculum stresses, in addition to Talmud and Jewish Law, a broad range of Jewish Studies and Jewish philosophy.  Students also study Jewish education and psychology, participate in workshops on management and administration of congregations and other institutions.

Torat Chaim-Jerusalem and Meitivey -Tel Aviv

Torat Chaim in Jerusalem and Meitivey in Tel Aviv provide an intensive, non-academic study opportunity in a Beit Midrash atmosphere combining traditional learning with an open and critical approach to the sources, one full day per week. The program is designed for Israeli men and women of all religious backgrounds and levels of observance. Studies include Talmud learning in hevruta, introduction to the Jewish bookshelf and study of the weekly Torah portion from various perspectives (midrashic, Hasidic, critical, etc.).

Ashira Tehillot: Training Shlichei Tzibbur

Ashira Tehillot engages composers, musicians, song leaders and shlichei tzibbur in a learning process that enhances musical creativity of prayer and encourages Jewish renewal throughout Israel. A unique, dynamic program, Ashira Tehillot focuses on the composition and structure of liturgical music and the meaning and power of prayer, and provides guidance in musical arrangement and performance.  Ashira Tehillot offers three tracks: Ashkenazic, Sephardic, and Contemporary Liturgy. The program is comprised of fifteen weekly meetings where students study both theoretical and practical aspects of prayer. 

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.

Partnerships

Derachim: Promoting Tolerance Online

The Derachim (Pathways) New Media Project for Pluralism and Tolerance produces short videos of Israeli opinion makers discussing their Jewish identity utilizes popular social networks to dispel myths and prejudices rampant on the internet. Reaching over 90,000 people on Facebook, the project disseminates pluralistic Judaism, showing that there is more than one way to be Jewish.

B’tzavta

Through a partnership among the Schechter Rabbinical Seminary, the Masorti Foundation’s Adraba Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities, and AKIM Israel, B’tzavta enables cognitively disabled adults to connect to their Jewish heritage through Bet Midrash style learning. One-hour biweekly study sessions offer learning of foundational Jewish texts. Eight study groups with over 100 participants meet across Israel, partaking in values-based discourse, providing them with a unique learning opportunity, while rabbinical students develop expertise in working with this important population.

Overseas Rabbinical Students

Schechter Rabbinical Seminary is a global hub of learning, reinforcing Jewish peoplehood and connectivity. Rabbinical students from JTS study side-by-side with SRS students at Schechter. In addition, rabbinical students from the Seminario Rabinico in Buenos Aires study full-time in the one-year overseas program at SRS.

Leadership

Executive Committee

  • Ilana Laderman Mushkin, Chair, Board of Trustees, Israel
  • Mariano Ptascinsky, Chair
  • Julian Levy, Treasurer
  • Prof. Ari Ackerman
  • Ahmi Ben Yehudah
  • Moshe Cohen
  • Ofer David
  • Prof. David Golinkin
  • Sophie Fellman-Rafalovitz
  • Eran Levita
  • Ilana Laderman Mushkin
  • Rabbi Nathalie Lastreger
  • Rabbi Peretz Rodman
  • Rabbi Benjamin Segal

Trustees

  • Ilana Laderman Mushkin, Chair, Israel
  • Prof. Hanan Alexander, Israel
  • Rabbi Mauricio Balter, Israel
  • Rabbi Gary Charlestein, USA
  • Rabbi Alan Cohen, USA
  • Diane Friedgut, Israel
  • Barbara Goldstein, Israel
  • Dr. Yizhar Hess, Israel
  • Gealia Lapidot, Isarel
  • Paul Robbins, USA
  • Saul Sanders, USA
  • Rabbi Phil Scheim, Canada
  • Prof. Shuly Schwartz, USA
  • Rabbi Ariel Stofenmacher, Argentina
  • David Weimann, Israel
  • Ed Zinbarg, USA

Honorary Trustees

  • Prof. Ismar Schorsch

Ex Officio

  • Michal Makov-Peled, Executive Director, Schechter Institute
  • Rabbi Chaya Rowen Baker, Dean, Schechter Rabbinical Seminary

* Ex-officio
** Honorary member

Dr. Reb Mimi Feigelson

Mashpiah Ruchanit (Spiritual Mentor), Senior Lecturer of Rabbinics and Hasidic Thought, SRS

A ‘Rabbi’ is not a profession. It is a calling, and it is the manifestation of the way a person walks in the world and serves God. I teach in the beit midrash environment and mentor one-on-one in the setting most appropriate for the spiritual process to flourish.

Rabbi Chaya Rowen Baker

Dean, the Schechter Rabbinical Seminary

"I see Torah study as combining serious scholarship with existential insight, inspiring a commitment to Halachah and to creative renewal. We want to give Beit Midrash graduates the ability to build and strengthen vibrant Jewish life in Israel, one that is honest and committed, and integral to advancing pluralism in the diversity that is Israel."

Rabbi Irina Gritsevskaya

Director of Midreshet Schechter Ukraine and Midreshot Schechter, SRS Graduate, 2018

Judaism is not black and white. It’s a rainbow of color. I am humbled and honored to be the educator bringing this message to the Jewish communities of Ukraine at such a crucial juncture in their history.

Rabbi Yerach Meiersdorf

Rabbi, SRS Graduate, 2017

The ladder from Jacob’s Dream comes to mind when I contemplate my role as rabbi. As a spiritual leader, my job is to feel the presence of the ladder next to each and every person, to give them a hand, to help them climb up the rungs, and to encourage them to do so.

Osnat Bensoussan Farouz

CEO of a software development company; Student, Ashira Jewish Music program

Our group connected to each other and to Judaism through a profound shared experience of our sacred Jewish texts. Ashira’s faculty has brought music and Judaism together in a way that has truly elevated me.

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