Through a balance of rigorous text-study, leadership training, applied reflective practice, and individualized mentorship, the curriculum cultivates rabbis who lead with depth, clarity, and purpose.
The curriculum includes six main components:
1. Foundations for a Thoughtful Judaism, Hartman’s signature rabbinic curriculum on Faith, Peoplehood, Ethics, and Practice through the study of biblical, rabbinic, medieval, and modern Jewish sources
2. Classical Jewish Textual Tradition, gaining mastery in a chosen discipline of the Jewish intellectual tradition: Tanach with Commentary, Talmud, Midrash, or Machshevet Yisrael (Jewish Philosophy and Spirituality)
3. Thought Leadership, exploring the key challenges and opportunities facing the Jewish people in the 21st century and honing the leadership skills needed to respond effectively
4. Modern Jewish Thought, delving into the most important philosophical and ideological works that have shaped the Jewish people over the last two centuries
5. Spiritual Formation, deepening spiritual growth through spiritual direction, mentorships, and individualized programs of study and practice of prayer, mindfulness, and Jewish ritual
6. Rabbinic Practicum, sharpening the tools and skills necessary to serve as pastoral, educational and spiritual leaders who build communities, lead institutions, and write, teach and preach in the most compelling ways to inspire a thick and meaningful modern Judaism that is a force for good in the world
Curriculum designed in consultation with the Ordination Program Advisory Board:
Rabbi Elka Abrahamson, Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, Alisa Doctoroff, Rabbi Josh Feigelson, Rabbi Ed Feinstein, Rabbi Wesley Gardenswartz, Rabbi Shoshana Boyd Gelfand, Rabbi Bini Krauss, Rabbi Noa Kushner, Rabbi Joy Levitt, Abigail Pogrebin, Rabbi Yael Splansky, and Rabbi David Steinhardt.
