Alissa Wise′s journey to rabbinical school began with social activism that included antipoverty work and tenant organizing in New York City. Learn more...
Ari Hendin
Ari Hendin was raised non-Jewish and worked as a psychologist in private practice. Learn more...
Ben Davis
Ben Davis, a conservatory-trained musician, found that music became his entry point for a deep connection to Judaism. Learn more...
Brian Fink
RRC student Brian Fink is only in his 20s, but he already has had a lifetime of experience in social justice work. He sees some parallels between outreach to the homeless and rabbinic chaplaincy. Learn more...
Darby Leigh
The New York Times called him "a virtuoso of an exuberant actor." Alternative rock musician Perry Farrell invited him to perform on stage with Jane′s Addiction. Learn more...
David Teutsch, Ph.D.
His background as a rabbi and his expertise in organizational ethics uniquely qualify David Teutsch to counsel organizations on leadership and ethical issues. Learn more...
Helen Plotkin
Helen Plotkin, who speaks Mandarin Chinese, sees a natural flow between her interest in ancient Chinese texts and her love of Jewish texts. Learn more...
Hevrutah and the Bet Midrash
The story of the great Rabbi Yochanan and his beloved study partner, Resh Laqish, illustrates the value of hevrutah, a partnered approach to text study practiced at RRC. Learn more...
Isabel de Koninck
Isabel de Koninck, a second-year rabbinical student at RRC, is not only a talented student, but also an accomplished athlete. Learn more...
Jacob J. Staub, Ph.D.
Jacob J. Staub, Ph.D., has been instrumental in bringing the discipline of spiritual direction to RRC. Learn more...
Jarah Greenfield
In the summer of 2005, Jarah Greenfield found herself in the middle of a hot-button debate on government-sanctioned torture, a controversy that pitted the Bush administration against members of Congress on both sides of the aisle. Learn more...
Joel Hecker, Ph.D.
Joel Hecker, Ph.D., is an Orthodox Jew and a scholar of kabbalah. He brings a serious and scholarly point of view to an area of text study in danger of becoming trivialized by pop culture. Learn more...
Lori Hope Lefkovitz, Ph.D.
Lori Hope Lefkovitz, Ph.D., is fond of telling her students that the most important work we do in the present is to discover the story that we need to tell about our past. Learn more...
Marsha Silberstein
Step by step, for the first 40-some years of her life, Dr. Marsha Silberstein, an anesthesiologist, followed a steady and very successful course. But somewhere in the back of her mind, she always wanted to be a rabbi. Learn more...
Nancy Fuchs-Kreimer, Ph.D.
When the emir of Qatar decided to invite Jews for the first time to an international conference of Christians and Muslims, Nancy Fuchs-Kreimer received the call. Learn more...
Rabbi Dayle A. Friedman
How can we meet the spiritual needs of Jewish people facing transitions, frailty and loss? Rabbi Dayle A. Friedman, a U.S. pioneer in the field of spiritual care for the elderly, recently posed that question in a new context --Israel. Learn more...
Rabbi Ira Stone
"If we all know what's good, why don't we do it?" This question goes beyond the rhetorical for Rabbi Ira Stone, a congregational leader, RRC adjunct professor, poet and Mussar scholar. Learn more...
Rabbi Kevin Bernstein
He was a veterinarian before he came to RRC. Now he uses his surgical skills in other ways. Learn more...
Rabbi Me'irah Iliinsky
As a child, Me'irah Iliinsky drew pictures of dancers in her mother's ballet studio. Today, she uses verses from the Torah for artistic inspiration. See her work Learn more...
Rabbi Michal Woll
Rabbi Michal Woll had been a bioengineer and a physical therapist. Yet she knew she was on her way to something else. Learn more...
Rabbi Nancy Epstein
Long before Rabbi Nancy Epstein began studies at RRC, she had accumulated a wealth of Jewish experience. Learn more...
Rabbi Shira Stutman
Rabbi Shira Stutman entered RRC after a year of travel through Southeast Asia and South America, not knowing that she would bear two children and bury her father while studying for the rabbinate. Learn more...
Rabbi Vivie Mayer
At age 15, when Vivie Mayer first thought about becoming a rabbi, she assumed it would be impossible. Little did she know that she would one day lead a congregation and then teach other rabbis. Learn more...
S. Tamar Kamionkowski, Ph.D.
When Tamar Kamionkowski, Ph.D., came to RRC in 1996 as an adjunct professor, she was immediately attracted to the caliber of the students Learn more...
Sarra Lev, Ph.D.
Sarra Lev hears her motherīs voice when she teaches her Talmud class Learn more...
Steven Goldstein
Why would a lawyer and Emmy award-winning television producer decide to become a rabbinical student? Learn more...
Courses in the Department of Practical Rabbinics-such as Tachlis Jewish Education and Congregational Studies-use an integrated model of classroom learning and supervised fieldwork. These courses help cultivate skills for successful careers in Jewish leadership. All of our students complete eight of these courses. Or you may also choose to specialize, earning the following:
This specialization is available in consultation with the directors of practical rabbinics and the campus rabbis program. For the campus specialization you must complete a prescribed set of practical rabbinics courses and three full years of supervised campus work in at least two locations, and participate in the Campus Supervision Group.
Our graduates have served major colleges and universities, leading their campus Hillel organizations. Our students regularly work in placements on many different local campuses, from Haverford and Bryn Mawr Colleges to the University of Pennsylvania to Ursinus College.
Certificate in Aging
The Rabbinic Education on Aging Program (REAP) of Hiddur: The Center for Aging and Judaism of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College provides our students with awareness of and skills related to aging. REAP offerings are open to all students. Or, you may choose to concentrate in this area, earning a certificate agingby completing a prescribed set of practical rabbinics courses.
In addition, you must complete two full-year, clinically supervised, approved internships serving elders at least 10 hours per week, or one full-year and one summer clinical internship program with an equivalent number of hours. You also must participate in a monthly REAP seminar for at least two semesters; here, students serving elders in various settings reflect on their work, develop new models of serving and engaging elders, and shape their theology and ideology of aging.
Certificate in Community Organization
In consultation with the directors of practical rabbinics and community- organization specialization, our students interested in serving in Jewish federations, Jewish community centers or other community organizations may choose to specialize in community organization.
To specialize, you must complete a prescribed set of practical rabbinics courses, plus two directly related to the field of community organization. You also must complete three full years of supervised internship work (a year can be replaced by 10 full-time weeks in the summer). You are required to participate in a community organization supervision group while working in internships.
Certificate in Congregational Life
In consultation with the director of practical rabbinics, our students interested in pursuing a career in the congregational rabbinate may choose this specialization. Our schedule permits you to travel as often as weekly to student positions around the country, and many students have formed close relationships with the congregations they serve early on.
The requirements include a prescribed set of practical rabbinics courses that help you craft the complex skill sets you need for effective pulpit work; a unit of Clinical Pastoral Education also is recommended.
As a student specializing in congregational life you are required to complete two years in a field placement (or one year each in two placements) as a student rabbi in a congregation. While serving in pulpit positions, you will be required to participate in RRC's pulpit supervision group.
