The foundation and center of the ALEPH Ordination Programs (AOP) is the Mystery we name God. We understand Judaism to be the individual and collective responses of Jews throughout our history, both in thought and deed, to the ongoing manifestations of the Divine. In studying religious texts, Jewish history, and the visions and values of our spiritual leaders, we are concerned with how the Divine has been and is now being revealed through Jewish experience. And we are equally concerned with how we as individuals and as communities respond to Divine revelations in our solitude, in our relationships and in our work.
The ALEPH Ordination Program has four paths:
The Hashpa’ah Training Program (Spiritual Direction Training)
We expect students to become masters of tradition, in continuous dialogue with our ancestors. But we keep in mind the teaching of the Baal Shem Tov:
According to the Baal Shem Tov’s teachings, the order of “Eloheinu velohey avoteinu,” (our God and the God of our fathers) and now adding “imoteynu” (our mothers) in the Amidah prayer reflects the spiritual principle that our first concern is with how we experience the Divine. We have faith that the still, small Voice will direct our students in each present moment as we continually experience Divine direction, im b’kolo tishma’u (if we choose to hear). We pray that they listen and, in their pursuit of Torah, learn how they are being called to the task of integrating spiritual and moral treasures from our heritage into their own lives, that they become messengers to those who seek to drink from the Living Water. AOP students are highly motivated individuals who wish to ground their personal spiritual practice in a deep commitment to the Jewish path.
The AOP offers a comprehensive curriculum of study and practice embracing both traditional and innovative/experiential learning modalities. Our students are expected to demonstrate a high level of Jewish literacy and personal integrity, and to model a life path of personal growth and self-awareness. Students completing our programs are Jewish teachers, leaders, artists, healers, and spiritual guides at once empowered and compassionate.
AOP: Cultivating Spiritual Leaders for a Renewed Judaism
Since the founding year of 2000, the AOP has trained more than 200 rabbis, cantors, rabbinic pastors, and spiritual directors from diverse backgrounds and nearly every denomination. These leaders are dedicated to revitalizing Judaism and serving the global Jewish community.
The AOP Academic Community
20
Years and
Counting
282
Alumni
212
Rabbis
33
Cantors
37
Rabbinic
Pastors
Intensive, Low-Residency Adult Learning Programs
AOP is not a brick and mortar institution. Our students come from throughout the US, as well as Canada, South America, Israel, and Europe. All our programs blend a variety of modalities of learning, including our own video-conference courses and retreats, other distance-learning opportunities, private tutorials, and also coursework undertaken in universities, colleges, synagogues, and seminaries to which a student has access all under the supervision of the student’s Director of Studies (DOS).
AOP offers 12 to 14 live video-conference courses per semester, which fulfill a significant percentage of the curriculum requirements. Each student is paired with a Director of Studies, who supervises the academic aspects of the student’s ordination studies.
Thus each student’s program of study is customized, but each student fulfills the curriculum requirements with ongoing supervision and guidance.
Our live online classrooms employ state-of-the-art videoconferencing for full-semester courses, which, along with intensive hevruta study, are the main mode of interactive learning throughout the year.
Students also come together on-site for the residential components of our program. Our summer intensive retreats and our winter shabbaton/conference offer our students the opportunity to regularly gather together as a learning community. Because our students are spread over several countries and even continents, our retreats and gatherings are a significant feature of our program.
Residential Components Retreats and Conferences
The ALEPH Kallah
Talmidim attend up to two weeks of learning in early July each year. The ALEPH Kallah is a week-long public festival of Jewish Renewal-style learning, davvenen, art, music, theater, workshops, and concerts — a fabulous gathering for anyone interested in Jewish Renewal. Courses can be taken for AOP credit at Kallah.
Attendance at Kallah is presumed for all our talmidim, as Kallah is a primary opportunity to experience a gathering of Jewish Renewal activists from around the world, to learn with an array of the most talented Jewish Renewal teachers, and is a prime location for our own students to rise into prominence and leadership. While attendance at every Kallah is not required, it is in the best interest of our students to be at Kallah as often as possible to learn, teach and become an active participant in the larger, international Renewal fellowship.
Intensive Study Week, aka Smicha Week
Purposefully scheduled immediately adjacent to Kallah or a regional Kallah is the Ordination Program Intensive Study Week, often called “Smicha Week”. Talmidim in all programs are required to attend this core residential event, created specifically for them. It is scheduled back-to-back with Kallah or an additional retreat in order to make attending both in tandem logistically convenient. Students can earn up to two AOP credits equivalent to two full-semester courses during this one-week retreat.
OHALAH Shabbaton and Conference
Our winter gathering is OHALAH Shabbaton and Conference, which typically takes place during the first or second week in January. This gathering brings Renewal rabbis, cantors, rabbinic pastors and students from around the world to OHALAH: Agudat HaRabbanim L’Hithadshut HaYahadut – Association of Rabbis/Cantors/Rabbinic Pastors for Jewish Renewal. This professional association conference is preceded by a shabbaton planned by AOP students. The Sunday before the conference is also the date of our Smicha Ceremony – the ordination of our graduating students. Matriculated students and clergy can attend the full conference. Serious applicants can be invited to attend the Shabbaton and the ordination/smicha ceremony.
The Davvenen Leadership Training Institute/DLTI
The Davvenen’ Leadership Training Institute/DLTI is a core feature of our program and a requirement for all rabbinic, rabbinic pastor, and cantorial students. This two-year training program brings together clergy, students, and lay leaders of all backgrounds for four intensive weeks of skill-building (July and February) in the high art of leading public prayer.
Ethics
The role of clergy requires the highest ethical standards in our relationships with individuals, congregants, and the larger community. All ALEPH teachers and students comply with the ALEPH ethics code. When students become student members or full members of OHALAH or the RPA ( the Jewish Renewal rabbinic, cantorial and rabbinic pastor professional associations) they are likewise also subject to these ethics codes. ALEPH graduates remain subject to the ALEPH ethics code post-graduation.
Announcements
Date: May 16, 2024
Inaugural Governors Appointed to the ALEPH Ordination Program
Philadelphia, PA: In a significant move to strengthen the oversight and operations of the ALEPH Ordination Program (AOP), nine individuals have been appointed to the inaugural ALEPH Ordination Program Governors (AOPG). The inaugural group include: Rabbi SaraLeya Schley, Rabbi Jeff Roth, Rabbi Jeremy Parnes, Neil Markowitz, Reb Cantor Lisa Levine, Rabbi Dan Goldblatt, Rabbi Rachel Dorit Goldberg, Hazzan Devorah Tucker Fick, and Rabbi Laura Duhan-Kaplan. Interim Dean Chuck Silverstein will serve as ex-officio member.
The AOP Governors will be primarily responsible for ensuring the academic quality and rigor of the seminary as well as overseeing policies and procedures and general financial matters. AOP Governors members were selected through an open nomination process and approved by the ALEPH Board of Directors. Members of the BOG are appointed to an initial three-year term ending July 31, 2026, with four of five remaining for another year.
Contact:
Dr. Charles Silverstein, Interim Dean ALEPH Ordination Program charles@aleph.org
Meet the AOP Governors: Download the Full Press Release [PDF]