Jewish Spiritual Leader Institute Curriculum We offer two sessions per year leading to Rabbinical Ordination. The first session begins in September and the second begins in January. Each student must complete two sessions- one full year of study- to become a candidate for Rabbinical S'micha. We offer a rolling admission policy. You can apply anytime and become a candidate for either session. Upon receipt of your online application, we will invite you to join an ongoing Havurah for a guest visit. It is our goal to build upon your life's learning and provide Jewish training and skills as you study for your Rabbinical Ordination. While our Rabbinical School program does not attempt to provide the depth in subject areas as do mainstream Rabbinical Seminaries, it is our desire to prepare our Liberal Rabbis to meet the needs of the Interfaith and Unaffiliated- more than one-half of the Jewish community throughout the world. We meet weekly as a Havrutah (study group) via Video-conference from Sept. through
July on Tuesday or Thursday evenings. At each weekly session, we ask questions, explore answers and get to know our colleagues while we expand our vision of modern Judaism and the history, scholarship and rituals that created and sustain it. Each student must attend a minimum of forty 2 hour interactive Havrutah sessions. During each session, we focus on Prayer, Divray Torah, Rabbinic Responsa, and Jewish Rituals. Each week, we explore "Halacha," (Jewish Ritual Law) and how it relates to our modern lives. Students are expected to study weekly Torah portions and present Divrey Torah as either a Drashot (scholarly interpretations of religious texts) or Sermons. Each month we also focus on Jewish Life Cycles such as Weddings, Funerals, Bar/Bat Mitzvot, Baby Namings, Brit Milah, Divorce and Conversion. Students practice leading life-cycle ceremonies for the Havrutah. We invite guest Rabbis and lecturers to lead Master Classes. You are expected to attend weekly services at Jewish houses of worship, as well as occasional services at non-Jewish houses of worship. In addition, if you are not currently serving a community, you are required to attend our Online Synagogue, Sim Shalom which offers weekly ONLINE services. Prior to being awarded a "semicha" you must prepare and lead liberal Shabbat Morning & Evening Services, Festival and High Holy Day Services, and you must be able to lead all Jewish Life-Cycle ceremonies. You will need to complete a modern Hebrew Ketubah and transliterate English words. Our students come to us with varying skill sets and life experiences. JSLI welcomes you and views your life experience as an unique opportunity for teaching all of us. We call upon our students to lead Havrutah sessions in their areas of expertise as framed through a Jewish lens. It is a great honor for us all when you share your lifetime of learning with the JSLI community. Upon successful completion of all our requirements and a full year of study, you will be ordained as a Rabbi and given a Semicha. Our JSLI rabbinic ordination will be valid in all 50 States and will allow you to register with applicable City Clerks as necessary to enable you to legally perform wedding ceremonies. All of us at JSLI acknowledge that even after Rabbinic Ordination, our journeys are ongoing and merely the beginning of life-long study. Each August during a Shabbat Retreat (Shabbaton) weekend, we hold an Ordination ceremony in NYC. Families and friends are of course welcome to attend. Due to the popularity of our program, we also offer Ordination ceremonies during a retreat weekend in Florida or New York City in January of each year. In the course of our Online Video Conferences, we will explore all of the subject areas below. A full curriculum will be made available to students accepted by JSLI. Subject Areas: Introductory Mishna & Talmud & Midrash Torah (Chumash) & Leyning the Torah- Trope Prophets (N'vi-im) & Chanting the Haftara- Trope Writings (Megilot) & Chanting Megilot- Tropes The Jewish Holidays and their Rituals Prayer Liturgy & Prayer Melodies (Nusach) for Weekdays, Shabbat, Festivals & High Holy Days Jewish Mysticism- Kabbalah Comparative Halacha (Religious Law)- Topics include Shabbat, (Eco) Kashrut, Brit Milah and Brit Shalom Pastoral Care- Home & Hospital Visits Jewish History The Holocaust & Forgiveness Jewish Denominations- Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist & Renewal Preparing B'nai Mitzvah Students Synagogue Dynamics- Boards, Committees, Staff, Public Relations & Publicity Officiating at Jewish & Interfaith Weddings & Funerals Preparing & Delivering Sermons; Preparing a Hesped (Eulogy) Effective Public Speaking Starting Your Own Jewish Community Annual Summer Retreat and Ordination in late August in NYC Annual Winter Retreat and Ordination in Florida or New York City in January |
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Our Courses |
