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 2027 will take place from January 10-14, 2027 at the Pearlstone Retreat 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
Faculty and Courses
The expert teachers and consultants who guide participants come from JTS and leading organizations devoted to personal development and organizational change. Below is a listing of faculty and courses for RTI 2027.
Text Study
“Inspiring Things I’ve Learned in Writing a Commentary on Exodus”
Rabbi Pamela Barmash, Professor of Hebrew Bible and Biblical Hebrew, Washington University and Chair, Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, The Rabbinical Assembly
“What We Talk About When We Talk About Young Jews: A Journey through the American Jewish Century”
Dr. Sandra Fox, Robert S. Rifkind Chair in American Jewish History, JTS
“Textual Proficiency Matters, and So Does Your Halakhic Philosophy”
Rabbi Gordon Tucker, Vice Chancellor for Religious Life and Engagement, JTS
Professional Development
“Speaking with Moral Clarity: On Leading with Conviction Without Losing Your Community (or Your Job),” RA Track
Rabbi Elan Babchuck, Executive Vice President at Clal, the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership
“How to Write a Teshuvah: An Introductory Workshop”
Rabbi Pamela Barmash, Chair, Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, The Rabbinical Assembly
“Prepare the Soil, Plant the Seeds: Bringing Jewish Mindfulness Practice into Your Rabbinate”
Rabbi Jordan Bendat-Appell, Senior Core Faculty, Institute for Jewish Spirituality
“The Future is Relational: Relational Development for Rabbis”
Assael Romanelli, PhD, LCSW, MFT
Personal/Spiritual Development
“Who Am I? Where Am I? When Is It? Our Journeys of Intrinsic Maturity”
Mary Jo Barrett, MSW
“The Torah of Jewish Mindfulness”
Rabbi Jordan Bendat-Appell, Senior Core Faculty, Institute for Jewish Spirituality
“Supporting Each Other”
Dr. Linda Stone Fish, MSW, Professor Emerita of Marriage and Family Therapy, Syracuse University
“The Fear that We Fear” (Deut. 28:67)
Rabbi Jack Moline, Rabbi Emeritus, Agudas Achim Congregation
“Feeling Free Together: Making Space for Reflection and Exploration”
Assael Romanelli, PhD, LCSW, MFT
Fees & Registration
The registration fee 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.
- Early-bird rate: $1,250 (through November 1)
- Regular rate: $1,300 (November 2/space permitting)
*Please note that payment for RTI 2027 will be accepted by credit card only.
The actual cost to JTS is approximately $2,400 per RTI participant. Donations to help offset this shortfall are greatly appreciated. You will have the opportunity to make a donation during checkout.
Scholarships
Need-based scholarshipsare available for rabbis who cannot afford the full cost of RTI.
To request a need-based scholarship: please contact rti@jtsa.edu before registering. Once the amount of your scholarship is determined, you will receive a custom promo code to use when you register. Please note that scholarships are for double-occupancy rooms only.
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
Cantor Rabbi Shoshi Levin Goldberg, Director, H. L. Miller Cantorial School, 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.
