Jewish seminary


A Jewish seminary, better known as a rabbinical seminary or rabbinical school, is a Jewish educational institution for the purpose of training rabbis. While rabbis have been part of Judaism for centuries, rabbinical seminaries only became distinct institutions in the early 19th century.

History

Today, rabbinical seminaries differ from other Jewish educational institutions due to the influence of the Haskalah, the Jewish Enlightenment movement. Before this movement, yeshivot granted rabbinical ordination to those who completed an intensive course of study focusing on Talmudic and halakhic literature. The development of rabbinical seminaries was not without controversy as these new institutions were to provide a secular degree alongside rabbinic ordination '', and thus some viewed this as promotion of heresy and assimilation.

Examples

Some Jewish rabbinical seminaries include those listed below; this is not an exhaustive list.
Est.InstitutionMovementLocation
1875Hebrew Union CollegeReformNew York City, NY, US
1886Jewish Theological Seminary of AmericaConservativeNew York City, NY, US
1962Seminario Rabínico LatinoamericanoConservativeBuenos Aires, Argentina
1968Reconstructionist Rabbinical CollegeReconstructionistWyncote, PA, US
1873;
2009		Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary /
Rabbinerseminar zu Berlin		OrthodoxBerlin, Germany
1998Sephardic Rabbinical CollegeN/A - SephardiBrooklyn, NY, US
1984Schechter Rabbinical SeminaryConservative Jerusalem, Israel
1956Rabbinical College of AmericaHasidic Morristown, NJ, US