PRS is closed for Shabbat, Jewish holidays, and American federal holidays. The full list of school closing dates during the 2023 academic year can be found at the end of this page.
2023 Calendar
Y1 = 2023-2025 COHORT
Y2 = 2022-2024 COHORT
Quarter 1: January 3 – February 28
Y1: Of Prayer and Prayerbooks (Jewish Liturgy I) – Rabbi Josh Cahan
- Required books
- Entering Jewish Prayer: A Guide to Personal Devotion and the Worship Service by Reuven Hammer
- Recommended books
- Ritual: A Very Short Introduction by Barry Stephenson
- Ritual Theory, Ritual Practice by Catherine Bell
Y1: Contemporary Ethical Dilemmas – Rabbi Jill Levy (Tuesdays at 8 PM Eastern)
- Required book
- The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Ethics and Morality edited by Elliot N. Dorff and Jonathan K. Crane
Y2: Derech Shir with Hadassah Wrightman or Modern Hebrew with Danny Mond (Tuesdays at 8 PM Eastern)
- Derech Shir required books
- None
- Modern Hebrew required book
- The First Hebrew Primer: The Adult Beginner’s Path to Biblical Hebrew, 3rd Edition | Hebrew Edition by Ethelyn Simon, Linda Motzkin, Irene Resnikoff
Y2: Practical Rabbinics – Rabbi Noam Raucher
- Required books
- Discover Your Conflict Management Style by Speed B. Leas
- Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In by Roger Fisher, William L. Ury, and Bruce Patton
- The Director Had a Heart Attack and the President Resigned: Board-Staff Relations for the 21st Century by Gerald Bubis
Quarter 2: March 14 – May 16
Y1: Jewish History: The Roots of Modern Jewish Civilization I – Ariel Simon
- No required books
Y1: Jewish Theology – Rabbi Noam Raucher (Mondays at 8 PM Eastern)
- No required books
Y2: Giving Meaning to Meaningful Moments (Liturgy II) – Rabbi Josh Cahan
- Required books
- The Jewish Way: Living the Holidays by Irving Green
- The Schechter Haggadah: Art, History and Commentary by Dr. Joshua Kulp
- Entering the High Holy Days: A Complete Guide to the History, Prayers, and Themes by Reuven Hammer
Y2: Pastoral Care through Psalms, Meditation, & Midrash (Pastoral Care II) – Rabbi Fredda Cohen (Tuesdays at 8 PM Eastern)
- Required book
- Jewish Pastoral Care: A Practical Handbook from Traditional & Contemporary Sources edited by Rabbi Dayle A. Freedman (same book as Pastoral Care I)
Quarter 3: May 30 – July 25
Y1: People of the Book: The Torah – Content and Context; Text and Texture – Danny Mond
- No required books
Y1: Classical Hebrew – Hadassah Wrightman(Twice a week for first 4 weeks) or Danny Mond (Tuesdays at 8 PM Eastern)
- Classical Hebrew I required book
- Prayerbook Hebrew the Easy Way by Joseph Anderson, Linda Motzkin, Jonathan Rubinstein, and Laurence Wiseman
- Classical Hebrew II required books
- None
Y2: Talmud II – Rabbi Eric Wasser
- No required books
Y2: Homiletics – Rabbi Nachshon Siritsky (Tuesdays at 8 PM Eastern)
- Recommended book
- Jewish Preaching in Times of War, 1800 – 2001 by Marc Saperstein
Quarter 4: Sept 5 – October 31
Y1: Talmud I – Rabbi Eric Wasser
- Required book
- Halakhah: The Rabbinic Idea of Law by Chaim M. Saiman
Y1: Pastoral Care I – Rabbi Fredda Cohen (Tuesdays at 8 PM Eastern)
- Required books
- Jewish Pastoral Care: A Practical Handbook from Traditional & Contemporary Sources edited by Rabbi Dayle A. Freedman
- The Practice of Pastoral Care: A Postmodern Approach by Carrie Doehring
- Professional Spiritual & Pastoral Care: A Practical Clergy and Chaplain’s Handbook edited by Rabbi Stephen B. Roberts
Y2: G-d’s Mouth to Our Ears – Torah Interpretation through the Ages – Rabbi Jill Levy (Tuesdays at 8 PM Eastern)
- Required book
- Back To The Sources: Reading the Classic Jewish Texts edited by Barry W. Holtz
- Recommended book
- My People’s Passover Haggadah: Traditional Texts, Modern Commentaries Volume 2 edited by Lawrence A. Hoffman and David Arnow
Y2: Jewish History: The Roots of Modern Jewish Civilization II – Rabbi Sandy Zisser
- No required books
Mini-mester Learning: November 7 – November 26
ALL COHORTS – Seminary-wide Torah Study with Rabbi Sandy Zisser (Tuesdays at 8 PM Eastern)
Take advantage of an opportunity to meet across cohorts and learn with Rabbi Sandy. Students will receive elective credit for this live study.
Smicha Date: December 3, 2023
PRS Closed Dates 2023
January 1-2 – New Year’s Day (observed)
January 16 – Martin Luther King Jr Day
February 20 – President’s Day
April 6-7, 12-13 – Passover
May 26 – Shavuot
May 29 – Memorial Day
June 19 – Juneteenth
July 4 – Independence Day
July 27 – Tisha B’Av
September 4 – Labor Day
September 25 – Yom Kippur
November 23 – 24 – Thanksgiving
December 25 – Christmas (as this is a federal holiday)