Rabbis possess a deep understanding of Jewish texts and traditions so they may use their emotional intelligence to support seekers through life’s challenges and celebrations. They make complex Jewish concepts accessible, and engage diverse audiences by truly mastering the model of genuine commitment to Jewish life in their own behaviors.
In our lifetimes, unlimited knowledge has become completely available to any person, with greater facility than ever before. The spiritual leader’s role, therefore, is to guide seekers through meaningful experiences in their lives woven with both a facile understanding of complex human dramas as well as deeply intellectual connections to timeless wisdom.
AJRCA’s Rabbinical School is built for those who hear that call and are ready to answer it with the rigor and humility the work requires.
Graduates of our low-residency Rabbinical School are ordained as “Rabbi and Teacher in Israel,” and receive a Master of Rabbinic Studies. The program generally requires five years of full-time study; part-time students may complete it in up to 10 years. Successful completion of the master’s program includes coursework, supervised fieldwork, a unit of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE), and a thesis.
The Rabbinical School is a low-residency Master’s program leading to ordination as Rabbi and Teacher in Israel and a Master of Rabbinic Studies degree.
Format: Low-residency hybrid model, online coursework supplemented by three in-person residencies in Los Angeles.
Hebrew Placement: A written placement test and faculty meeting at the start of the program; first-year rabbinical students are expected to enter at level II. Tutoring support is available throughout.
Sequenced text study: Students progress from foundational courses in Talmud, Codes, History, and Mysticism
Supervised fieldwork: Practical training in rabbinic leadership at partner congregations, schools, and institutions, with a Fieldwork Support Seminar providing reflective supervision.
Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE): One required CPE unit completed through AJRCA’s ACPE-accredited program, providing direct pastoral care experience in clinical settings.
Master’s Thesis: Original scholarly work on a topic of rabbinic or Jewish studies scholarship.
Rabbinical students at AJRCA train across the breadth of Jewish text, tradition, and contemporary practice. The curriculum is built around six interwoven areas:
Talmud and Rabbinic Literature: A rigorous, sustained engagement with the foundational rabbinic corpus, beginning with the structure of the:
Torah and Tanakh: Foundational and advanced study of to gain mastery of the Hebrew Bible’s literary and theological dimensions
Jewish Thought and History: The arc of Jewish intellectual life from the Second Temple period through modernity.
Practical Rabbinics and Spiritual Formation: The applied work of the rabbinate. Includes:
Hebrew Language: Sustained Hebrew study from program entry through proficiency, supporting both prayer leadership and primary-source engagement. Advanced courses require Hebrew proficiency.
Contemporary Jewish Life: students are exposed to a variety of timely and salient topics for rabbinic leadership, including approaches to Zionist thought, interfaith relations, and the role of the rabbi in the public square.
Meet the Rabbinical Faculty
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Given their unique transdenominational training, Rabbis, Cantors, and Chaplains who graduate from the Academy work in a variety of denominational and transdenominational synagogues, organizations, and institutions nationwide. The following is a representative list:
Conservative
B’nai Shalom, Vista, CA
Congregation B’nai Israel, Tustin, CA
Sinai Temple, Los Angeles, CA
Temple Ramat Zion, Northridge, CA
Valley Beth Shalom, Encino, CA
Congregation Agudas Achim, Austin, TX
Congregation Ner Tamid of South Bay, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
Temple Beth Sholom, Temecula, CA
Temple Sholom, Greenwich, CT
Congregation Beth Shalom, Corona, CA
Fort Belvoir Congregation, Ft. Belvoir, VA
Temple Ner Tamid, San Francisco, CA
Valley Beth Israel, Sun Valley, CA
Conservative / Reform
Congregation Beth Shalom, Sioux City, IA
Congregation Kol Ami, Salt Lake City, UT
Temple Shalom, Colorado Springs, CO
Humanistic
Adat Chaverim, Encino, CA
Reconstructionist / Renewal
Congregation P’nai Tikvah, Las Vegas, NV
Makom Ohr Shalom, Encino, CA
Wholly Present, A Center for Embodied Spirituality, El Sobrante, CA
Reform
Beth Emet, Evanston, IL
Congregation Beth Israel, West Hartford, CT
Congregation Emeth, Morgan Hill, CA
Jewish Communities of the Desert, Desert Hot Springs, CA
Temple Beth David, Temple City, CA
Temple Beth Israel, Pomona, CA
Temple Emanuel, Beverly Hills, CA
Beit Knesset BaMidbar, Las Vegas, NV
Congregation B’nai Tikvah, Walnut Creek, CA
Congregation Ner Tamid, Henderson, NV
Temple Ahavat Shalom, Northridge, CA
Temple Beth El, Aptos, CA
Temple Beth Tikvah, Wayne, NJ
Temple Emanuel, Pueblo, CO
Congregation Beth Israel, Scottsdale, AZ
Congregation Emanu-El, San Francisco, CA
Congregation Ohr Tzafon, Atascadero, CA
Temple Akiba, Culver City, CA
Temple Beth Hillel, Richmond, CA
Temple B’rith Shalom, Prescott, AZ
Wilshire Boulevard Temple, Los Angeles, CA
Trans / Postdenominational / Unaffiliated / Other
Ahavat Torah Congregation, Los Angeles, CA
Congregation Beth Jacob, Redwood City, CA
Congregation Kehillah of Arizona, Scottsdale, AZ
Congregation N’vay Shalom, Los Angeles, CA
Jewish Community & Learning Center, Sunland, CA
Lev Chadash, Chino Valley, AZ
Oahu Jewish Ohana, Honolulu, HI
Temple Beth El, Santa Maria, CA
Valley Outreach Synagogue, Calabasas, CA
Beth Israel Congregation, Greeley, CO
Congregation B’nai Horin, Los Angeles, CA
Congregation Shir Chadash, Lakewood, CA
Desert Outreach Synagogue, Rancho Mirage, CA
Jewish Community of Ojai, Ojai, CA
Nachshon Minyan, Encino, CA
Open Temple, Venice, CA
Temple Beth Or, Reno, NV
Zimrat Yah, Santa Barbara, CA
Congregation Bet Shalom, Tuscon, AZ
Congregation B’nai Or, St. Croix, U.S.V.I
Congregation Shir Shalom, Sonoma, CA
Fountainview at Gonda, Los Angeles, CA
Jewish Community of Sedona & Verde Valley, Sedona, AZ
Nefesh, Los Angeles, CA
Or Echad, Agoura Hills, CA
Temple Ner Simcha, Agoura Hills, CA
Beit Kulam, Sherwood Forest, CA
Jewish Community High School of the Bay, San Francisco, CA
HomeShul, Agoura Hills, CA
Tarbut v’Torah, Irvine, CA
Congregation Tikvat Jacob, Manhattan Beach, CA
Jewish Day School of Metro. Seattle, Bellevue, WA
Shalom Hartman Institute, Los Angeles, CA
Temple Menorah, Redondo Beach, CA
Jewish Community Center, San Francisco, CA
Melton School of Adult Learning, Los Angeles, CA
Sinai Akiba Academy, Los Angeles, CA
California Lutheran Univ., Thousand Oaks, CA
Sandra Caplan Beit Din, Culver City, CA
Shutafi m, New Mexico Jewish Connections, Albuquerque, NM
Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
California Dept. of Corrections, San Quentin, CA
Covia, Oakland, CA
Jewish Federation & Family Services of O.C., Irvine, CA
L.A. Community Chaplaincy Services, Los Angeles, CA
Meridian Assisted Living, Cheviot Hills, CA
Providence St. John’s Med. Ctr., Santa Monica, CA
Seasons Hospice, Broward County, FL
The Sparta Project, Valencia, CA
Beit T’shuvah, Los Angeles, CA
Cedars Sinai Med. Ctr., Los Angeles, CA
Denver Hospice, Denver, CO
Jewish Healing Center of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Motion Picture & Television Fund, Woodland Hills, CA
Pasadena Jewish Temple & Center, Pasadena, CA
Providence St. Joseph Med. Ctr., Burbank, CA
Skirball Hospice, Encino, CA
Valley Outreach Synagogue, Calabasas, CA
Buena Vista Hospice, Thousand Oaks, CA
Children’s Hospital, Los Angeles, CA
Greater Miami Jewish Federation, Miami, FL
Jewish Home for the Aging, Los Angeles, CA
Madrona Hospice & Palliative Care, Scottsdale, AZ
P.E.C. Hospice, Garden Grove, CA
Providence Tarzana Med. Ctr., Tarzana, CA
St. Paul’s Towers, Oakland, CA
Walter Reed Nat’l. Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD
Academy for Jewish Religion, Los Angeles, CA
University of Arizona, College of Medicine
Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
Yavapai Community College, Prescott, AZ
L.A. Valley College, Los Angeles, CA
Camp JCA Shalom, Malibu, CA
Shalom Institute, Malibu, CA
Professionals, Scholars and mentors who share the journey with you
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