Our Mission:
The mission of Pluralistic Rabbinical Seminary (PRS) is to bring the Jewish community around the world together. Our Vision:
PRS is launching the very best in practical, distance-learning based rabbinical education. PRS is the only rabbinical school with a distinct focus on helping students launch innovative Jewish projects around the world. By simultaneously incubating future rabbis
and future Jewish organizations, we are creating maximum benefit to Jewish life. To train and ordain future rabbis for the future of Judaism.
2. To provide the absolute best distance rabbinical education possible.
3. What makes PRS different?
- Multi-Denominational Smicha: PRS is a pioneer in post-denominational rabbinical training. Our Jewish educators and professionals come from a wide variety of countries, careers, and backgrounds. The smicha committee (bet din) at PRS include Reform, Conservative, and post-denominational rabbis who act as mentors throughout a student’s education.
- High Learning Standards: While many schools do a terrific job of educating students from little-to-no Jewish education into the rabbinate, we are focused on helping students who already have prior academic learning or experience with the education needed to enter rabbinical school at the third or fourth year. Our program is a very rigorous two years of studying text, history, language, and practical rabbinics using distance learning tools that create as much interaction between students and educators as possible. Seeking Non-Traditional Students:
At PRS, we have chosen to position ourselves as the seminary for highly educated, lay Jews who have early stage ideas for how to radically impact the future of Jewish life, and need to be educated into those ideas. This can include current Jewish professionals, “professional volunteers,” second-career rabbis, cantors seeking rabbinical ordination, and more. Our program is ideal for these non-traditional rabbinical students who continue to work full time while studying with us. Beyond the Synagogue and the School:
As part of admission to our program, students must present their idea for a project (non-profit or for-profit) that will dramatically improve Jewish life. Once accepted, the student works on their project while being educated to serve as a rabbi, as well as an organization founder and director. There are many options for rabbinical education and we would encourage students seeking more traditional careers to attend more traditional rabbinical schools.
