About This Course
America’s states have been described as “laboratories of innovation”. So too could be said for America’s Progressive Jewish movements.
In this course, we will learn from rabbis in Reform, Conservative, Jewish Renewal, Reconstructionist, Secular Humanistic and Post-Denominational communities. They will share the history and ideas of their respective movement, and show how post-denominational rabbis can incorporate their perspective into their rabbinate.
The course would include the following for each movement in Judaism represented:
- An archive of live talks given in 2021
- Supplemental recordings from YouTube
- Readings from books, handouts, power points, etc.
- Quizzes on the talks and the materials
- Two papers in units when quizzes are not required
This course is half credit.
Please note that there are some quality issues with the audio live talks. We recommend listening to these with earbuds.
Course Objectives
The goal is for students to understand the following:
- The historical background and ideas of the movement, especially as it has changed over time
- An example of differences in approach to issues of Jewish life or otherwise
- How our instructors as an individual think of themselves in the context of the movement. What does it mean to them? How are they a living expression of it?
- Examples of the values the movement has and how students can integrate them into their lives and future rabbinate
Meet Your Instructors
Rabbi Patrick Beaulier
Rabbi Patrick Beaulier is the Executive Director and President of the Board for PunkTorah, the parent organization of Darshan Yeshiva and Pluralistic Rabbinical Seminary. For his role at Pluralistic Rabbinical Seminary, Rabbi Patrick is Director of Innovation, focusing on helping students prepare for their rabbinic careers. Rabbi Patrick is also the co-spiritual leader of Kehillah, a pop-up Jewish community in Richmond, VA. Rabbi Patrick received his smicha from Rabbinical Seminary International and his Bachelor of Science with a focus on Business Administration from the City University of Seattle. Rabbi Patrick developed the Innovation & Synagogue Engagement Program in 2020 and is now the educator for Homiletics and Practical Rabbinics.
