A Jewish seminary, better known as a rabbinical seminary or rabbinical school, is a Jewish educational institution for the purpose of training rabbis. (In some cases, a "Jewish seminary" may also refer to a cantorial school.[1]) While rabbis have been part of Judaism for centuries,[2] rabbinical seminaries only became distinct institutions in the early 19th century.[3]
History
editToday, rabbinical seminaries differ from other Jewish educational institutions due to the influence of the Haskalah, the Jewish Enlightenment movement.[4] Before this movement, yeshivot granted rabbinical ordination to those who completed an intensive course of study focusing on Talmudic and halakhic literature. The development of rabbinical seminaries was not without controversy as these new institutions were to provide a secular degree alongside rabbinic ordination (semikha), and thus some viewed this as promotion of heresy and assimilation.[5]
Examples
editSome Jewish rabbinical seminaries include those listed below; this is not an exhaustive list.
| Est. | Institution | Movement | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1875 | Hebrew Union College | Reform | New York City, NY, US |
| 1886 | Jewish Theological Seminary of America | Conservative | New York City, NY, US |
| 1962 | Seminario Rabínico Latinoamericano | Conservative | Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| 1968 | Reconstructionist Rabbinical College | Reconstructionist | Wyncote, PA, US |
| 1873;
2009 |
Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary / | Orthodox | Berlin, Germany |
| 1998 | Sephardic Rabbinical College | N/A - Sephardi | Brooklyn, NY, US |
| 1984 | Schechter Rabbinical Seminary | Conservative (traditional) | Jerusalem, Israel |
| 1956 | Rabbinical College of America | Hasidic (Chabad) | Morristown, NJ, US |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Cantor | Berklee". www.berklee.edu. Retrieved 2024-09-12.
- ^ Ulmer, Rivka (2010-09-13). Rabbinic Judaism (Report). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/obo/9780195393361-0103.
- ^ Diner, Hasia; Krah, Markus; Rabin, Shari; Schwartz, Yitzchak; Thulin, Mirjam; Czendze, Oskar; Schmidt, Imanuel Clemens; Cooperman, Jessica; Gallas, Elisabeth; Rürup, Miriam; Heyde, Jürgen; Meyer, Thomas; Ries, Rotraud; Ullrich, Anna; Geißler-Grünberg, Anke (2021). "PaRDeS: Journal of the Association for Jewish Studies in Germany = Foreign Entanglements: Transnational American Jewish Studies". PaRDeS: Journal of the Association for Jewish Studies in Germany (27): 53–54. doi:10.25932/publishup-51933. ISSN 1614-6492.
- ^ Bowker, John (2003-01-01), "Rabbinical seminaries", The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acref/9780192800947.013.5898, ISBN 978-0-19-280094-7, retrieved 2024-09-12
- ^ Werblowsky, R. J. Zwi; Wigoder, Geoffrey, eds. (1997). The Oxford dictionary of the Jewish religion. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 569–570. ISBN 978-0-19-508605-8.