“You have great students! The two I taught in my UnYeshiva class last year were two of the best students I have ever taught in my career.”
Daniel Libenson, Founder, President, Senior Fellow
Institute for the Next Jewish Future
Online learning has opened the door for many students interested in rabbinical training. But if you are searching for “quickie smicha”, “easy rabbinical training” or “becoming a rabbi without learning Hebrew” then we are the wrong program for you.
A Program Of Substance
Our students spend a minimum of two years deeply involved in Jewish studies. Our core learning through Zoom-based classes and our interactive chat system includes:
- Biblical and Modern Hebrew
- Early and Modern Jewish History
- Bible and Talmud
- Liturgy and Tefillah
- Jewish Ethics
- Practical Rabbinics
- Pastoral Care
Along with this core learning are a minimum of twenty-one credits (21-42 asynchronous, mentor-based and independent study classes) that go farther into Jewish texts, Israeli history, spiritual direction, mysticism, Jewish languages, Holocaust studies, liturgy, gender and LGBTQ+ Jewish thought, and further practical skills such as marriage assessment, psychological first aid and spirituality and health. Some students even choose to begin with these classes in our early admissions program, so they can be more prepared to take the core classes.
Job Taker, or Job Maker?
We want students to thrive in the modern rabbinate. That is why in addition to all these, students take three credits of Innovation — our signature program that teaches students how to take their rabbinical skills and apply them to the creation of their own independent rabbinical services, founding non-profit and for-profit Jewish companies, and so much more. If you’re searching for the bare minimum to compete in the Jewish job market, consider a different program entirely.
A True Community of Educated Learners
From ordained cantors to Jewish CEOs, our students hold years of Jewish educational experience, non-profit management, Jewish communal programming, and more. You will be in a true community that wrestles with what it means to be a rabbi in today’s world. See what a few of our students have to say about the PRS learning experience.
Amazing, Diverse Educators
From Israel to South Africa, New York to Canada, Los Angeles, the Midatlantic and beyond, our diverse educators make Pluralistic Rabbinical Seminary possible. Here are just a few examples of the amazing people who are dedicated to your learning.
Don’t Take Our Word For It
We encourage potential students to do their research, and make sure that PRS is right for them. Rabbinical training should not be an easy-way-out. It should be the kind of rewarding (and challenging) experience that PRS strives for. Reach out to our director, Rabbi Sandy Zisser, to learn more about PRS and whether this program is a good fit for your goals.