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
- Adult 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 Schools and Programs
- Rabbinical School
- School of Jewish Music
- Jewish Studies Program
- Shoolman Graduate School of Jewish Education
Degrees Offered
- Rabbinic Ordination
- Cantorial Ordination
- Rav-Hazzan Ordination
- Master of Jewish Education
- Dual Degree: Master of Jewish Education/Master of Arts in Jewish Studies
- Master of Arts in Jewish Studies
Certificate Programs
-
- Jewish Sacred Music
(Currently not accepting applications. New program launch in fall 2020.)
- Jewish Sacred Music
Community Learning Opportunities (Non-Degree)
- Hebrew Language (Ulpan)
- Rabbinical, Cantorial, and Graduate Education School courses
- Ani Kinor – אני כינור: Prayer Leader Summer Institute
CJP Supported Programs
- Open Circle Young Adult Learning Series (Eser)
- 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
- Prayer Leader Summer Institute
- Congregational Education Initiative (CEI)
Teen Learning Programs
- Prozdor & Prozdor Immersive
- Jewish Teen Foundation of Greater Boston (JTFGB)
- Teen Beit Midrash
- Gesher Israel Seminar
- Dignity Project
- 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
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.
Hebrew College on Facebook
Listen to the Wabash Center's Dialogue on Teaching podcast episode "Revelation & Awakening" w/ Shoolman School of Jewish Education at Hebrew College Dean Rabbi Michael Shire.
www.wabashcenter.wabash.edu
Podcasts Wabash Center’s New Podcast Series: Dialogue On Teaching Hosted by Wabash Center Director, Nancy Lynne Westfield, Ph.D. Webinar Producer: Carly Hollensbe Sound Engineer: Dr. Paul O. Myhre O..."As teachers of theology, religion, religious education and thought, we have an added responsibility—and privilege—to create caring communities that recognize the holistic nature of our students’ lives.," writes Shoolman School of Jewish Education at Hebrew College's Dr. Deborah Skolnick Einhorn in this piece via Wabash Center.
www.wabashcenter.wabash.edu
Selected Items Select an item by clicking its checkbox Actions for selected results: Sign-up to receive email alerts when new blogs are posted Read our Blog Series List of Bloggers Write for Us We inv...Kol HaKavod Jewish Teen Foundation of Greater Boston at Hebrew College students! #philanthropy #teenlearning
Hebrew College Teen Leaders Donate $58,000 in Grants
www.jewishboston.com
Hebrew College teen leaders focus on education inequality, substance use disorder, environmental justice and gun violence.Mazel tov The School of Jewish Music at Hebrew College student Rachel Slusky on your Cantorial Capstone Recital!
Soon-to-be-cantor Rachel Slusky's Capstone Cantorial Recital is live now on YouTube: youtu.be/O46TSHEgNNc
Rachel Slusky Cantorial Recital
youtu.be
Welcome to my Capstone Cantorial Recital! Flip through this document for program, notes, and translations: drive.google.com/file/d/1lWEs8YH5Gojkp5_8m...