Rabbi Tarfon and the Elders were reclining in the loft of the house of Nit’za in Lod, this question
was asked of them: Is study greater or is action greater?
Rabbi Tarfon answered and said: Action is greater.
Rabbi Akiva answered and said: Study is greater.
Everyone answered and said: Study is greater, as study leads to action.
תַּלְמּוד גָּדֹול , שֶׁהַּתַּלְמּוד מֵבִיא לִידֵי מַּעֲשֶׁה.
–B. Kidushin 40b
The William H. Fern Program in Field Education supports RRC rabbinical students in gaining the skills, experience and discernment they need to become the rabbis they want to be. With a rich and ever-growing array of internship opportunities, RRC supports students in their learning and service through individualized advising, a robust curriculum in practical rabbinics and attentive supervision.
Internship opportunities reflect the diversity of paths and settings in which Reconstructionist rabbis serve, including congregations, college campuses, schools and camps, hospitals, social justice organizations, arts initiatives, and more. RRC faculty and administrators cultivate a wide network of Jewish professional connections and are continually developing new internship opportunities to support students’ interests and aspirations. Faculty work with students to help them discern their own vocational paths.
Rabbi Rayna Grossman (RRC ’17), Director of Field Education, explains that students can travel to anywhere in the country to do their internships.
Throughout their time at RRC, students learn through both study and action. The foundational years of the program are centered in the classrooms and Beit Midrash (study hall) of the RRC campus. During these years, students pursue internships in the evenings and over the weekends. In the final two years of the program, this balance shifts. The Advanced Fieldwork Program immerses students in robust work settings that could be anywhere in the world. During these two years, students are able to pursue their advanced coursework remotely.
Some students have managed to turn their advanced fieldwork positions into full-time employment following graduation.
The RRC curriculum builds synergies between study and action. Even as classes in Jewish studies and in practical rabbinics prepare students for their internships, experiences in the field enrich and enliven studies within the classroom. Through their fieldwork, RRC students gain formative experience and make an impact on the Jewish and wider worlds before graduating.
Selected Recent Internships
Congregational Placements
In congregational internships, students experience the day-to-day rhythm of the congregational rabbinate and learn how to lead flourishing communities. Students play meaningful roles leading services, offering pastoral care, and creating programing.
Sample of recent placements:
Am Haskalah, Bethlehem, Pa.
CBST Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, New York, N.Y.
Germantown Jewish Centre, Philadelphia, Pa.
Kehilat HaNahar, New Hope, Pa.
Kol Tzedek, Philadelphia, Pa.
Kolot Chayenu, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Mishkan Shalom, Philadelphia, Pa.
Malkhut, Astoria, N.Y.
Nahalat Shalom, Albuquerque, N.M.
Havurah Shalom, Portland, Ore.
Ohev Shalom, Wallingford, Pa.
Mishkan Ha’am, Hastings-On-Hudson, N.Y.
Hill Havurah, Washington, D.C.
Campus Placements
Campus interns build expertise in engaging students, fostering Jewish presence on campus, developing leaders and strengthening Jewish student identity. Among their many experiences, students with campus Internships facilitate Jewish learning, plan and oversee programming, act as a pastoral presence and lead social justice organizing.
Sample of recent placements:
Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pa.
Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pa.
West Chester University, West Chester, Pa.
Haverford College, Havertown, Pa.
University of Delaware, Newark, Del.
Temple University, Philadelphia, Pa.
Chaplaincy and Clinical Pastoral Education Placements
In chaplaincy internships, students learn to provide pastoral care for a wide range of populations. Some students serve in traditional chaplaincy settings such as hospitals and senior living communities. Increasingly, community organizations also look for Jewish chaplains who can tend to the needs of underserved populations such as immigrant communities, people living with HIV-AIDS and boarding home residents. We offer course credit for Clinical Pastoral Education.
Rabbinical student Anne Prusky on why RRC’s approach to CPE training drew her to the college.
Sample of recent placements:
Einstein Medical Center, Philadelphia, Pa.
Jewish Theological Seminary, New York, N.Y.
Lankenau Medical Center, Wynnewood, Pa.
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa.
San Francisco Night Ministry, San Francisco, Calif.
CPE Sites:
Lions Gate Retirement Center, Voorhees, N.J.
Spring Mill Pointe, Philadelphia. Pa.
Organizational Placements
Interns at Jewish community organizations plan and implement programming and education, engage in community organizing and provide spiritual support for activists. At the same time, they observe and experience firsthand the many facets of non-profit leadership.
Sample of recent placements:
Dayenu (remote)
Tribe 12, Philadelphia, Pa.
Interfaith Philadelphia (Interfaith community work for in Philly)
Never Again Action (Social Justice – remote)
Poor Peoples Campaign Faith Leaders team (Philadelphia)
Bruchim (Remote)
Educational/Camp Placements
In education placements, students lead religious school or adult education classes and tutor b’nei mitzvah students. Frequently, our students serve as synagogue education directors, provide family education or oversee children’s services. In summer camp settings, students play an integral part in cultivating intentional, creative and joyful communities – leading services, planning activities and serving as a pastoral presence.
Sample of recent placements:
Beth David Reform Congregation, Gladwyne, Pa.
Germangtown Jewish Centre, Philadelphia, Pa.
Beth Tikvah B’nai Jeshurun, Erdenheim, Pa.
Ohev Shalom, Wallingford, Pa.
Kol Tzedek, Philadelphia Pa.
Camp Havaya, South Sterling, Pa.
Kol Tzedek, Philadelphia, Pa.
Ramah Day Camp, Melrose Park, Pa.
