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Does your community need a Rabbi?

Jewish Law and the Community
Students explore the complex legal and ethical problems in modern congregational life through selected readings in modern responsa literature and classic Jewish sources

Jewish Education in the Diaspora
Many communities expect the Rabbi and his wife to play active, creative roles in Jewish education. Their responsibilities may include teaching Hebrew or Jewish history in the classroom, planning holiday celebrations, advising youth group leaders, and organizing adult study and discussion groups. The training programme places special attention on adult education and the intellectual roots of modern Jewish identity.

Rabbinic Rhetoric
This course builds skills for preparing and presenting sermons, lectures and extemporaneous public speaking. Students practice the Shabbat drasha, develop their voice through exercises, and learn to use the computer as a resource for research. Individual videotaped sermons are used as the basis for expert critique and group discussion.

Counseling and Communication Skills
This course includes an introduction to family psychology and counseling techniques. Through lectures and role-playing exercises, the rabbi and his wife examine the pastoral role from "cradle-to-grave" and learn to support families in crisis and transition. A special effort is made to develop the skills required for empathic listening.

Community Organization
Students learn to map their communities, set priorities and build consensus and coalitions for change. Using case studies drawn from actual rabbinic practice, students analyze and discuss the craft of leadership.

Practical Rabbinics
This sampler course provides hands-on exposure to key elements of rabbinic praxis: the ketuba and marriage ceremony ; the Chevra Kadisha; divorce procedures; industrial kashruth; scribal arts; and procedures in the beth din.

Womens Studies
The year-long evening course for Rabbinic wives examines their varied public and personal roles. The "Rabbanit" is expected to be an expert organizer in communal life, professional teacher, sensitive counselor, accomplished hostess, dedicated mother and devoted spouse. The parallel curriculum for women draws on many of the same topics included in the Rabbi's course, with examples and exercises focused on the responsibilities of the Rabbi's wife. Certain subjects are presented jointly to both the Rabbi and his wife.

Jewish law and the home
Counseling and communication
Jewish education (includes joint classes)
Public speaking (includes joint classes)
Community organization (includes joint classes)

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