The Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies

The Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem is dedicated to the advancement of Conservative Judaism and religious pluralism in Israel and Europe. Schechter currently engages over 35,000 Israeli and European Jews in an open Jewish academic and educational discourse.

The Schechter Institute campus is home to four educational enterprises:

Schechter Rabbinical Seminary

The Schechter Rabbinical Seminary is Conservative Judaism's rabbinical school in Jerusalem where many students from Israel, Europe, and the Americas are trained for spiritual and communal leadership. It offers a full spectrum of courses in Bible, Talmud, Midrash, halakhah, Jewish history, Jewish philosophy, Zionism, and prayer, as well as interpersonal and pulpit skills. Most recently, the school, along with the National Association of Jewish Chaplains, has initiated a two-year course in pastoral care and crisis intervention, the first formal chaplaincy program in Israel. After four years of study that include fieldwork, internships, and placement, graduates receive an MA in Jewish Studies and rabbinic ordination.

Programs for Overseas Students and Rabbis
The Schechter Rabbinical Seminary runs academic programs for overseas rabbinical students from around the world. The Morris and Nellie Kawaler Year in Israel Study Program is intended for rabbinical students from The Jewish Theological Seminary who are required to spend a year studying in Israel. Similar programs are conducted for rabbinical students from both the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles and the Seminario Rabínico Latinoamericano in Argentina.

The Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies

The Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies is an Israeli graduate school dedicated to developing educational leadership through a unique interdisciplinary Jewish Studies MA program that is recognized by the Council for Higher Education in Israel. Close to 500 Israeli Jewish educators from all religious backgrounds specialize in Jewish studies that combine art, women’s studies, family and community studies, teaching, informal education, and  the classical Jewish disciplines such as Bible, Talmud, Midrash, and Jewish thought. Most recently, two new MA programs in Contemporary Jewry and Sephardic Studies have been established. The Schechter Institute has more than fifty-five full- and part-time faculty members, including some of the foremost scholars in the State of Israel.

The 800 MA graduates are working in Jewish education throughout Israel in classrooms, the Ministry of Education, and the nationwide Community Center Association.

Course Offerings
For a complete course catalog listing more than 200 Schechter Institute courses, visit the SIJS or the Hebrew website.

Research Institutes and Publications
Three research centers bring the academic achievements of the Schechter Institute to the public at large. The purpose of the Institute of Applied Halakhah is to produce a library of halakhic literature for the worldwide Conservative/Masorti Movement. Recent publications include Insight Israel, Malki Bakodesh, Responsa, Halakhic Studies, and The Status of Women in Jewish Law: Responsa and The High Holy Days. Visit Responsa for Today, a site that features responsa written by Conservative/Masorti rabbis in conjunction with the institute.

The Center for Women in Jewish Law is devoted to researching, publishing, and educating the public on the rights of women from the perspective of the Jewish legal tradition. Through the publication of Za’akat Dalot (The Cry of the Wretched): Halakhic Solutions for the Agunot of Our Time and seven issues of Jewish Law Watch, the center is advancing Jewish law advocacy research in the area of 'agunot (chained women), who have not been able to receive a get from their husbands. A new popular series, "To Learn and to Teach," published in five languages, devotes each issue to a specific topic on the status of women in Jewish law.

The Center for Judaism in the Arts initiated a first of its kind MA track in Judaism and the Arts. In addition, the center is building an interdisciplinary website for the TALI Education Fund and researches and publishes TALI textbooks that combine Judaism and the Arts for elementary age students.

Schechter publishes at least five new books per year including Nashim: A Journal of Jewish Women’s Studies and Gender Issues together with the HIRIJW at Brandeis University. It also publishes one series of books with Am Oved and another with Yediot Aharanot Press. Visit our bookstore.

TALI Education Fund

TALI (Hebrew acronym for "Enriched Jewish Studies") is a nationwide network of 170 Israeli public schools and kindergartens offering pluralistic Jewish studies. The TALI Education Fund (TEF) of the Schechter Institute is the professional lifeline for 1,700 TALI teachers and principals. TEF provides TALI schools with textbooks, teacher training, school rabbis, and pedagogic counseling, all of which create a Jewish environment for the school community. This rapidly expanding program which integrates Jewish studies with the values of tolerance, pluralism, and Zionism, now encompasses over 30,000 students. Visit Tali.

Midreshet Yerushalayim: Israel

Midreshet Yerushalayim in Israel offers Russian-speaking immigrants a unique opportunity to study Jewish culture and history in an open, noncoercive fashion. A national network of Jewish learning centers and MILI young adult clubs, some run in conjunction with Israeli Masorti congregations. Midreshet Yerushalayim introduces Jewish life to more than 1300 Russian-speakers through programs based on a strong commitment to Zionism and high academic standards. Visit Midrechet Yerushalayim.

Midreshet Yerushalayim: Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union

Since 1990, Midreshet Yerushalayim has provided Jewish educational programs in eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Operating TALI schools, cultural and family centers, teacher training seminars, and the Ramah-Ukraine summer camps for children and families in the Ukraine, Midreshet Yerushalayim is empowering Jewish communities with knowledge and pride. In Budapest, students at the University of Jewish Studies are taught by visiting Schechter faculty.