The ALEPH Ordination Program trains rabbis, cantors, rabbinic pastors and mashpi’im (spiritual directors) to be community builders, teachers, spiritual leaders, counselors, liturgists and artists of the Jewish tradition. Each program’s unique curriculum engages our dynamic faculty and student body in a full spectrum of Jewish learning and practice.
Click here to meet our graduating class of 2023
Click here to watch the Hashpa’ah 6th Cohort Graduation • Saturday, Jan 7 • 8 pm Mountain Time
Click here to watch the Smicha/Ordination Ceremony • Sunday, Jan 8 • 3 pm Mountain Time
Click here to access the Smicha Ceremony Program Guide
Built upon the pioneering work of the visionary catalyst of Jewish Renewal, and ALEPH founder, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi z”l, the ALEPH Ordination Program trains students from diverse backgrounds and every denomination to serve the global Jewish community.
Engagement in Jewish Renewal’s unique approaches to spirituality, celebration, prayer, learning and tikkun olam brings ALEPH students and graduates to the forefront of Jewish creative life. Together, in our learning and our practice, we re-enliven our personal connection to the Divine by infusing ancient Jewish wisdom with a modern, egalitarian and socially progressive consciousness. Our work reflects our deep desire to heal our planet, to build new models of community, to live a deeply spiritual Jewish life, to serve the Jewish people and to reach towards God.
The ALEPH Ordination Program offers a comprehensive curriculum of study and practica for rabbis, cantors, rabbinic pastors and mashpi’im, embracing both traditional modalities of learning and prayer and the exploration of new learning, ritual, art, music, and prayer experiences. ALEPH students are expected to demonstrate a high-level of Jewish literacy and personal integrity, textual skills and interpersonal skills, and to demonstrate a capacity to work with individuals and groups in a way that models a life path of personal growth and self-awareness.
Students completing this program will be empowered and compassionate Jewish teachers and leaders, artists, healers, and spiritual guides.
Four Paths to Ordination
Training rabbis to be community builders, teachers, spiritual leaders and artists of Jewish tradition. The rigorous curriculum engages our dynamic faculty and student body in the full spectrum of rabbinic learning and practice.
For those whose spiritual gifts draw them to serve in fields often associated with the pastoral dimension of rabbinic work, this program stresses rigorous mentorship and a curriculum of pastoral counseling, spiritual direction, chaplaincy and liturgical skills.
Cultivating mastery of Jewish liturgy and inspired leadership of prayer grounded in traditional nusach and hazzanut, Ashkenazi and Sephardi/Mizrachi musical traditions, skilled musicianship, sophisticated Jewish literacy and pastoral training.
A three-year training program for clergy and lay leaders leading to certification as Spiritual Director, and for clergy an advanced ordination as Mashpia Ruchani.
