Fast Facts
We are on a quest to create a kind of Judaism that is spiritually compelling and intellectually honest, deeply rooted in the sources of tradition, and driven by a spirit of religious creativity and the constant question of how the new Judaism will emerge.
Rabbi Arthur Green, Rector of the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College
Founded
Hebrew College was founded in 1921.
Affiliation
Hebrew College is a pluralistic institution, open to all forms of Jewish expression, commitment and practice. We welcome diverse perspectives on any given Jewish topic, both to encourage a dynamic exchange and to foster respect for other points of view. The College is not formally affiliated with any religious institution or denomination.
Location and Campus
Hebrew College is located in the Greater Boston area — one of the leading regions of Jewish innovation and entrepreneurship and home to Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP), a progressive federation encompassing a wide range of Jewish religious and social-justice institutions, affiliated and independent congregations, day schools and supplementary Jewish schools that are at the forefront of Jewish education. The Hebrew College campus, designed by Moshe Safdie and Associates, sits on nearly 7 acres on a hillside in Newton Centre, MA and is composed of four interconnected buildings, totaling 72,000 square feet.
Hebrew College offers formal academic classes on campus. Informal community classes and programs take place on campus, as well as at synagogues and other off-campus locations. Matriculated Hebrew College students are permitted to take academic courses on the campus of educational partner Boston Theological Interreligious Consortium (10 Theological Institutions in Boston Area), and can transfer credit towards a Hebrew College degree. Matriculated Hebrew College MJED students who are also enrolled in the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies take courses both at Hebrew College and at Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies (Jerusalem).
Status
A private, not-for-profit, graduate degree-granting institution, Hebrew College offers programs leading to rabbinical and cantorial ordination, master’s degrees and a joint doctoral degree with Lesley College and provides non-degree community adult, youth and professional development study opportunities.
President
Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld
Annual Budget
$10.6M (FY2017)
Note: Requests for the College’s audited financial statements should be directed to the President’s Office.”
Students
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- Graduate Degree/Certificate:164 — 65 full-time and 99 part-time
- Non-degree: 225
- Community Learning: 1,530
- Teen Learning: 217 — 104 Prozdor, 67 Makor, 62 JTFGB
- Wexner Fellowships (12-year total): 17
Alumni
- Rabbinical student placement rate: 94%
- Cantorial student placement rate: 97%
- Master of Jewish Education – Pardes program placement rate: 100%
- Rabbis working in pulpits: Reform movement synagogues (28%), Conservative movement synagogues (28%), independent synagogues (28%), Reconstructionist movement synagogues (13%), Renewal movement synagogues (2%)
- Number of states where rabbinical & cantorial alumni work: 22
- Number of countries where alumni work: 4
- Alumni employers: synagogues, Jewish day schools, Hillels, Jewish communal/nonprofit organizations, assisted living/hospital chaplaincy;
- Alumni positions: spiritual leaders (rabbis, cantors, rav-hazzanim), executive directors, pastoral counselors, scholars, educators and heads of school, musicians, artists, social activists, community organizers
- Loan default rate: 3.3% (source: Dept. of Education)
Faculty and Staff
- Full-time faculty: 7
- Adjunct faculty: 98
- Full-time staff: 40
- Part-time staff: 19
Gann Library
90,000 volumes
Graduate Degrees Offered
- Rabbinic Ordination
- Cantorial Ordination
- Rav-Hazzan Ordination
- Master of Jewish Education
- Master of Arts in Jewish Studies
Community Education Opportunities (Non-Degree)
CJP Supported Adult Programs
- Open Circle Jewish Learning
- Me’ah: Classic & Me’ah Select
- Parenting & Grandparenting Through a Jewish Lens
Professional Development: Centers & Institutes
- Miller Center for Interreligious Learning & Leadership
- The Hebrew College Innovation Lab
- Early Childhood Institute
- Congregational Education Initiative (CEI)
Teen Learning Programs
- Prozdor & Prozdor Immersive
- Jewish Teen Foundation of Greater Boston (JTFGB)
- Teen Beit Midrash
- Gesher Israel Seminar
- Kivunim (gap-year)
Accreditation
Hebrew College is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE).
College Partners
- Bishvil-Haivrit Program
- Boston Theological Interreligious Consortium (BTI)
- Boston College School of Theology and Ministry
- Boston University School of Theology
- Camp Yavneh
- Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP)
- Kivunim Gap-Year Program
- Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies
- Massachusetts Board of Rabbis
On Torah Commentary
Watch, listen and read the words of Torah emerging from the students, faculty and alumni of our school. May they draw you more deeply into sensitive listening, probing questioning and humble speaking of Torah and Jewish living.
Publications
Hebrew College on Facebook
“We have a limited time in this world. How do you want to be living?” asks #HebrewCollege Dean of Students Rabbi Daniel Klein in today's The New York Times. #RoshHashanah www.nytimes.com/2020/09/18/us/rosh-hashana-yom-kippur-coronavirus.html?smid=tw-share
A Holiday Season of Renewal in a Year of Uncertainty and Loss
www.nytimes.com
The Jewish High Holy Days in the U.S. look different during a pandemic. They feel different, too.SHANA TOVA! As we greet 5781 with the sweetness of new beginnings, allow us to wish you a happy and healthy new year.
Hebrew College inspires and empowers learners of all ages to be creative participants in the unfolding story of the Jewish people. This year enliven your heart, mind, and soul with wisdom rooted in our sacred traditions. We invite you to visit hebrewcollege.edu to sign up for a virtual event, take an online class, enjoy pre-recorded talks, read the Hebrew College High Holiday Companion, and listen to our new Hebrew College "Speaking Torah" podcast.
Your support allows us to fulfill our sacred mission of Ahavat Torah, love of learning, and to make it available to all who seek it. As you invest in your Jewish discovery and expression, please invest in Hebrew College and make a gift that is meaningful to you: hebrewcolleg.edu/give-now. Thank you!
(Cover art: "Awareness - a pathway with Middot" by Deborah Feinstein ©2020)
In the first episode of #HebrewCollege's new podcast "Speaking Torah," Joy Ladin guides us through #HCRS alum Rabbi Gray Myrseth’s work "Two Ways to Tell a Story," taking us on a powerful journey built equally upon continuity and disruption, from Moses shattering the 10 Commandments, to their own journey to find a self that they could inhabit fully, without fear. Listen now! hebrewcollege.edu/blog/two-ways-tell-story/
How does one worship alone? How have people of different religions embraced faith during this pandemic? How have sacred texts provided comfort in these times of isolation? #HebrewCollege’s new Arts Committee will tackle these questions in a photography show planned for Spring 2021: “Isolated Faith Expressed” curated by Brenda Bancel. We'd love to see your photos. If you're interested in submitting your High Holiday photos for consideration in the exhibit, please send them to arts@hebrewcollege.edu.
hebrewcollege.edu/blog/faith-in-isolation/?utm_source=e-newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=...
Today for #ElulTogether, Rabbi Josh Breinde`09l offers "The Traveller's Heart." youtu.be/3Gakb0r-0lY We're in this together!
Hebrew College Elul Together: Josh Breindel - The Traveller's Heart
youtu.be
Elul Together: Preparing for the High Holidays in a Time of Upheaval hebrewcollege.edu/elultogether Elul, the month leading up to the High Holy Days, is trad...