#TrendingJewish 23: Forming Rabbis

About this Episode

Bryan and Rachael sit down with Elsie Stern, Ph.D, vice president for academic affairs at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. Stern, who is the daughter, granddaughter, sister and sister-in-law of rabbis, discusses her surprisingly circuitous route to leading a rabbinic training program. Stern explains that rabbis are formed rather than made, and that while some methods to training rabbis are constant, others are being reimagined. Stern also recounts her fascination with the Bible, how it’s been transmitted through the ages and how it is taught and understood in Jewish settings today. “Judaism is what happens at the intersection of Torah and the Jews. Torah is always there as material for us to draw on, and in every generation, the folks who are Jews are changing. It's when those two come together that the Judaism at any moment is born.”

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This podcast is produced by Reconstructing Judaism. Visit us at ReconstructingJudaism.org.

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Episode Links

• About the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College — In an increasingly diverse Jewish world, we’re a progressive seminary that prepares students from all walks of life for the rabbinate.
• Our Approach to Rabbinical Formation — At the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, we train rabbis to bring the wealth of Jewish tradition to help contemporary Jews and communities make meaning of their lives, draw closer to the sacred, and work toward a more peaceful and just world.