About RTI
The Rabbinic Training Institute is the premier continuing education program for Conservative and Masorti rabbis in the field, bringing participants together for five days of intellectual, professional, personal, and spiritual growth. RTI is offered by JTS in cooperation with the RA and is open to all Conservative rabbis.
RTI will be held from Sunday, January 11 to Thursday, January 15, 2026 at the Pearlstone Center in Reisterstown, MD.
Five Days of Learning
A deeply stimulating and nurturing experience, RTI prepares participants to return to their communities rejuvenated in mind, heart, and spirit, and with new skills to serve as even more thoughtful and capable leaders.
Meeting at an offsite retreat center from Sunday to Thursday, RTI participants engage in text study and professional skill building with a faculty of world-renowned scholars and consultants, while also reflecting with peers on individual and shared experiences. The program offers:
- Torah lishmah
- Professional skills courses
- Facilitated groups for personal and spiritual reflection
- Meaningful davening and divrei Torah
- Yoga, meditation, art workshops, and private massage (optional)
- Supportive and fun hevreschaft
View a sample schedule for RTI
RTI 2026 Courses and Faculty
Below is a listing of RTI 2026 courses, taught by expert teachers and consultants from JTS and leading organizations.
Text Study
“Thinking With/In Midrash: Midrash as Theory and Practice”
with Dr. Gwynn Kessler (’01), Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Religion, Swarthmore College
“Does Democracy Have a Home in Jewish Soil?”
with Rabbi Gordon Tucker, Vice Chancellor for Religious Life and Engagement, JTS, Rachel Brodie z”l Memorial Scholar
“Prophets of Justice: The Jewish Past and Global Future of International Law”
with Dr. James Loeffler, Felix Posen Professor in Modern Jewish History, Johns Hopkins University
Professional Development
“From Survival to Sustainability: Wellness Skills for Personal & Community Resiliency”
with Rabbi Francine Roston (’98), Rabbi Emerita, Glacier Jewish Community/B’nai Shalom
“Fundraising Fireside Chats: Four Quick Wins for Busy Rabbis”
with Jessie Katz, Founder, Ziv Philanthropy
“Healing the Existential Crisis of Compassion Fatigue”
with Mary Jo Barrett, MSW, Executive Director, Center for Contextual Change, & Dr. Linda Stone Fish, MSW, Professor Emerita of Marriage and Family Therapy, Syracuse University
“Antisemitism, Democracy, and Rabbinic Leadership”
with Becca Israel and Kevin Rachlin, The Nexus Project
Personal/Spiritual Development
“Who Am I? Where Am I? When Is It? Our Journeys of Intrinsic Maturity”
with Mary Jo Barrett, MSW
“Supporting Each Other”
with Linda Stone Fish
“Ten Pieces of Wisdom”
with Rabbi Jack Moline (’82), Senior Rabbi, B’nai Torah Congregation
“Spiritual Writing”
with Rabbi Vanessa Ochs, Ph.D., Professor Emerita, Department of Religious Studies, University of Virginia
“Love is the Answer: Mindfulness Meditation to Care for Our Hearts & Souls”
with Rabbi Francine Roston (’98), Rabbi Emerita, Glacier Jewish Community/B’nai Shalom
Fees and Registration
The registration fee of $1250 covers tuition and study materials, double-occupancy accommodations, and all meals throughout the institute. Single rooms are available for an additional fee. Please note that there is limited availability for single rooms.
Scholarships
Scholarship funds are available for rabbis who cannot afford the full cost of RTI. If you would like to inquire about a scholarship for RTI, please email rti@jtsa.edu.
What People Are Saying
“RTI is the best professional development I do all year. It nourishes my body, mind, and soul. It provides me with tools to serve my congregation and the Jewish people better. An amazing time of learning, living, and being.”
“As rabbis we teach and preach about the need to create sacred space for our congregants, yet overlook that need for ourselves. RTI fulfills that need, and I return each year from RTI spiritually and emotionally rejuvenated and invigorated.”
“RTI is an invaluable opportunity to personally connect with colleagues as they are, with all of our rabbinic masks taken off. We cut straight to the tachlis, the practicality, and strive to help one another in whatever stage we are at in our careers and in our mindset or emotional state.”
Contact Us
RTI is directed by:
Rabbi Ayelet Cohen, Pearl Resnick Dean of The Rabbinical School and Dean of the Division of Religious Leadership, JTS
Tani Schwartz-Herman, Program Director, Division of Lifelong Learning and Professional Studies, JTS
In consultation with Rabbi Ilana Garber, Senior Director of Rabbinic Leadership, RA
For more information and/or to apply for a scholarship, please contact us at rti@jtsa.edu.
