The ALEPH Ordination Program trains students from diverse backgrounds and every denomination to serve the global Jewish community. We are still accepting applications for January 2024.
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 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.
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.
Focused Learning Areas
Based on Jewish Renewal Principles
Liturgy
Experiential Mysticism, Kabbalah
Pastoral Care
Earth-Based Judaism
Meditation, Chant, Nigguns
Spiritual Direction – Hashpa’ah
Beloved Land – Israel and Palestine
I am proud to be an AOP student. Our program is unique in the way that it centers spirit and growth. Rooted in neo-hasidic principles of mystical encounter and psycho-spiritual Torah, the full-person training offers the opportunity to build deep connections with lineage holders of Reb Zalman’s Renewal vision as well as with leading scholars and teachers from diverse Jewish communities. The student body is richly intergenerational and international, and the mix of online learning and in-person retreats allows for a balance of school, work, and family responsibilities without sacrificing friendships and connection. My emerging ministry has been shaped significantly by powerful experiences of learning and growth with my AOP teachers, Renewal elders, and my AOP chevra. I am so grateful to be a part of this very warm and wise community.
Jericho Vincent, AOP Senior Rabbinical Student, Founder and Spiritual Leader Temple of the Stranger
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 a Certificate of Completion as Spiritual Director, and for clergy an advanced ordination as Mashpia Ruchani.
Earth Based Judaism
Cultivating A Gaia Consciousnessconnecting to our roots
More Information Coming Soon
