Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies, (, ''Machon Schechter'') located in the Neve Granot neighborhood of

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, is an Israeli academic institution.

History

Founded in 1984 by the Jewish Theological Seminary (N.Y.) and Israel's Masorti Movement as a rabbinical seminary known as "The Seminary of Judaic Studies," the Schechter Institute has been located since 1990 in Neve Granot, a neighborhood behind the

Israel Museum The Israel Museum (, ''Muze'on Yisrael'', ) is an Art museum, art and archaeology museum in Jerusalem. It was established in 1965 as Israel's largest and foremost cultural institution, and one of the world's leading Encyclopedic museum, encyclopa ...

. Schechter is the only academic institution in Israel devoted entirely to

Jewish studies Jewish studies (or Judaic studies; ) is an academic discipline centered on the study of Jews and Judaism. Jewish studies is interdisciplinary and combines aspects of history (especially Jewish history), Middle Eastern studies, Asian studies, ...

and to fostering a pluralistic approach to Jewish-Israeli identity through

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

, the arts and community leadership. The Schechter Institute has more than 600 students, 300 in the M.A. programs and 300 in non-degree studies, specializing in ten Jewish study tracks or programs including

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

and

the Arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive range of m ...

Midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; or ''midrashot' ...

and

Aggadah Aggadah (, or ; ; 'tales', 'legend', 'lore') is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, particularly the Talmud and Midrash. In general, Aggadah is a compendium of rabbinic texts that incorporat ...

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definition ...

, and classical Jewish disciplines such as

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

Midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; or ''midrashot' ...

, and

Jewish Thought Jewish thought (, ''Machshevet Yisrael''), also known as Judaic thought or Hebraic thought, is a field of Jewish studies that deals with the products of Jewish thought and culture throughout the ages, and their historical development. The field a ...

. A new program, Meirav, is an inter-disciplinary program combining study of classical Jewish Textual

Midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; or ''midrashot' ...

for an M.A. degree. Its YAMAH Community Leadership M.A. program combines Jewish studies education practices with practical tools for building strong community-based professional leadership. Its Mishlei M.A. program strengthens the connection between the academic study of

and practical community works. Its Marpeh program, unique to Israel, combines

Chaplaincy A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intelligen ...

with a degree in Family and Community Studies. Two new programs

Bibliotherapy Bibliotherapy (also referred to as book therapy, reading therapy, poetry therapy or therapeutic storytelling) is a creative arts therapy that involves storytelling or the reading of specific texts. It uses an individual's relationship to the co ...

and

Psychodrama Psychodrama is an action method, often used as a psychotherapy, in which clients use spontaneous Adaptation (arts), dramatization, role playing, and dramatic self-presentation to investigate and gain insight into their lives. Developed by Jaco ...

place these two forms of therapy within the

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

tradition using Jewish texts as the basis for counselling. The Schechter Institute has 49 full- and part-time faculty members and approximately 2,000 M.A. graduates. Many work in the Israeli school system as principals and teachers, in the Israel Ministry of Education in management positions, including curriculum planning, or in the nationwide Community Center Association. Schechter Institute research centers include the Center for Women and Jewish Law, the Center for Judaism and the Arts, and the Center for Applied Jewish Law, and the

Midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; or ''midrashot' ...

Project which publish several books annually in diverse fields of

. Schechter also co-publishes Nashim, the Journal of Jewish Women’s Studies, in partnership with

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

and

Indiana University Press Indiana University Press, also known as IU Press, is an academic publisher founded in 1950 at Indiana University that specializes in the humanities and social sciences. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana. IU Press publishes ...

. The Schechter campus in Jerusalem, in addition to its graduate school, is home to the Schechter Rabbinical Seminary for ordination of

rabbis A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as '' semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

, TALI Education Fund and Midreshet Schechter. Midreshe Schechter operates Neve Schechter, the Center for Contemporary Jewish Culture in the historic former Cafe Lorenz building in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

Neve Tzedek Neve Tzedek (, ''lit.'' Abode of Justice) is a Jewish neighborhood in southwestern Tel Aviv, Israel. It was the first Judaism, Jewish neighborhood to be built outside the old city of the ancient port of Jaffa. It was founded by a group of 48 J ...

neighborhood. Midreshet Schechter Ukraine operates camps, schools and

synagogues A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

Jewish Community Center A Jewish Community Center or a Jewish Community Centre (JCC) is a general recreational, social, and fraternal organization serving the Jewish community in a number of cities. JCCs promote Jewish culture and heritage through holiday celebrations, ...

s, in conjunction with

Masorti Olami Masorti Olami (also known as the World Council of Synagogues) is the international umbrella organization for Masorti Judaism, founded in 1957 with the goal of making Masorti Judaism a force in the Jewish world. Masorti Olami is affiliated with c ...

Notable faculty

David Golinkin David Golinkin (; born 1955) is an American-born Conservative rabbi and Jewish scholar who has lived in Jerusalem since 1972. He is President of the Schechter Institutes, Inc., President Emeritus of the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies and ...

, Talmud and Jewish Law * Moshe Benovitz, Talmud and Jewish Law * Shamma Friedman, Shamma Friedman at Hebrew Wikipedia Talmud

References

External links

Official website (in English)

Official website (in Hebrew)
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1984 Jewish studies research institutes Conservative Judaism in Israel Judaism in Jerusalem Jewish seminaries Jews and Judaism in Tel Aviv Conservative yeshivas 1984 establishments in Israel

History

Notable faculty

See also

References

External links