The Rabbinical School
The ALEPH Rabbinical School trains rabbis to be community builders, teachers, spiritual leaders and artists of Jewish tradition. The rigorous curriculum engages our dynamic faculty and student body in a full spectrum of rabbinic learning and practice.
Individualized learning with a DOS Director of Studies
Each ALEPH student designs a yearly learning plan under the direct supervision of his or her Director of Studies and the overall supervision of the Academic VA’AD. Because not all learning is necessarily in the format of a formal academic course, we employ the term units of study with the understanding that a unit is the academic or practical equivalent to a semester-length graduate seminar or practicum. The curriculum itself blends a variety of modalities of learning, including our own retreats, seminars and video-conference courses, with other distance-learning programs as well as courses taken in universities, colleges, synagogues, and seminaries, under the supervision of each students Director of Studies.
Sessions with a Mashpia – Jewish Spiritual Direction
As part of the ALEPH Ordination Program, students are required to work with a mashpia (spiritual director) throughout their training. This relationship, known as hashpa’ah, is a traditional form of spiritual guidance in Judaism. The mashpia serves as a mentor and spiritual companion, supporting the student’s personal and spiritual growth as they progress through their studies. Regular meetings with a mashpia allow students to explore their relationship with the Divine, deepen their prayer practice, and navigate the challenges of spiritual leadership. This one-on-one guidance complements the academic coursework and helps integrate spiritual formation into the overall ordination process. The mashpia also models different approaches to spiritual direction, preparing students to potentially offer this service to others in their future roles as clergy or spiritual leaders.
The Curriculum
The ALEPH Rabbinical School curriculum requires a minimum of 60 units of study spanning an array of subjects and disciplines, representing the equivalent of five years of full-time graduate level study, including both academic coursework and the full range of experiences that prepare an individual for spiritual leadership. The combination of a students academic coursework, practica, seminars, and meetings should be the equivalent of 15 semesters of study, including summers.
The ALEPH Rabbinical School academic requirements are comparably rigorous as those of any respected liberal seminary, even as each seminary understandably structures its curriculum to reflect its unique philosophy, emphasizing the style of learning and the content it values most.
Course Distribution Requirements
All coursework is expected to be graduate level. The Course Catalog delineates the required courses and electives available to students. Coursework is distributed across seven areas of learning in order to ensure a relatively common basis of learning, knowledge and textual proficiency among rabbis trained in the ALEPH Ordination Program.
Applying to the ALEPH Rabbinical School
- If you are not yet active in a community or havurah involved with Jewish Renewal, you will want to find out if there is one near you. There are about 50 such groups, many also affiliated with one of the denominations of American Judaism.
- If there is no Renewal-oriented community near you, we invite your participation in other ways. You can get involved in an ALEPH project and you can participate in retreats, workshops, and classes offered by ALEPH, such as the Kallah, and by other centers that are Jewish Renewal adjacent. Attendance at special events sponsored by ALEPH, as well as other Renewal-oriented, rabbis and teachers is also encouraged.
- All applicants to the ALEPH Rabbinic Program are Chai-level members of ALEPH. A Chai member makes at least an $18/month commitment totaling $216/year. This Chai commitment is undertaken as a permanent commitment on the part of each student and musmach. To become a Chai member visit our donation page.
Application Procedure
The application process for the ALEPH program is unlike the application process common in most academic institutions.
The formal written application procedure includes submitting documentation of prior learning and degrees, letters of recommendation, a spiritual autobiography, a Hebrew diagnostic, and a proposed first-year learning plan. However, central to our application process is a period of mutual discernment in which our VAAD, teachers, and students come to know you. At the same time, this period of discernment enables you to consider whether this hevra, this process, and our Renewal-style Jewish community is right for you. By studying together and davvenen together, by being with you on retreats, in classes, in shul, in hevruta, and by conversing and counseling with you over the course of your preparation, we come to a generally mutual decision that you and this program are a good fit, and that you indeed have the skills and resources necessary to succeed.
Because of the decentralized nature of this program, in which students and mentors may live on different continents, we promote a protracted admission process that enables our core faculty and VAAD members to meet with you in different contexts and environments over the course of your preparation. An applicant who is accepted is often already well-integrated into the program at the time his or her acceptance is made formal.
A packet with application materials, as well as detailed information about the program, may be obtained after an initial email exchange with AOP’s Dean of Students and a conversation with one of the rabbinic Directors of Study. If you’re interested in learning more, please complete the Inquiry Form, call the AOP Admissions Office at (215) 247-9700 x216, or send an email to admissions@aleph-ordination.org. There is a $75 application fee payable before receiving the info/application packet. The annual application deadlines are January 15 for starting in the fall semester and September 30 for starting in the spring semester.