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
-
- 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
Certificate Programs
Community Learning Opportunities (Non-Degree)
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
- 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
"We, like the Israelites, are on the precipice of something new that we can’t quite envision yet, and I believe that va’etchanan holds the key to reimagining our future in a way that will help us move forward into our new landscape with passion, rather than with fear." - The Rabbinical School of Hebrew College Student Yael Werber writes in this week's #SeventyFacesofTorah.
Proud to see synagogue dues expert & #HebrewCollege Dean of Graduate Leadership Programs, Rabbi Dan Judson, featured in this JTA News article on the pandemic's first High Holiday season.
www.jta.org
High Holiday tickets have traditionally brought in much of their revenue. What will happen this year, when many services are virtual?Together we sit on the ground
and mourn for the peace of Jerusalem,
like the treasure we each wanted –
we pulled and we pulled,
you pulled and I pulled,
and yes, of course,
finally we succeeded
in pulling it apart.
We watched together
as it fell to the ground
and smashed at our feet,
tears sprang to my eyes,
tears to yours,
each
separately
longing to undo the moment,
to walk backwards into the past,
to undo the moment,
the moments of pulling,
to walk backwards into the past
to the moment when
we could have shared
or taken turns
or something.
Come my friend
(for haven’t we become friends after all
sharing our intimate
our primal pain)
come my friend,
come sit with me on the ground,
let us heap ashes on each other,
gently tenderly
I will teach you the melody
of my Echa,
together we will sit on the ground
and mourn for the peace of Jerusalem.
– "A Spiritual Life: Exploring the Heart and Jewish Tradition," by Merle Feld, spiritual writing director in The Rabbinical School of Hebrew College
hebrewcollege.edu/blog/tisha-bav/
"Tish‘ah be-Av is upon us again. Oy! What a complicated day! We try to sort out memories of the distant past, feelings about the present, and fears for the future," writes Hebrew College Rector Rabbi Art Green in "Reflections on God, Life, and Love," forthcoming from Yale University Press. "Where does all that leave us today, when we dare to contemplate the present and the future? How is it possible not to notice elements of all of these ancient scenarios playing themselves out again?"
hebrewcollege.edu/blog/tishah-be-av-struggles-with-sacred-space/