Our Educational Philosophy

A New Kind of Rabbi

A Rabbi today must possess the ability to relate to and inspire a broad spectrum of people with different needs.

A Rabbi must command sufficient Torah knowledge to justify recognition as a Rabbinic and Halachic authority. Aside from the overall expectation that a Rabbi be learned, we live in a generation where more and more people possess a Torah education, while many people lack even a basic Torah education. To relate to the complete spectrum of Jews, a Rabbi’s teaching must be sophisticated, academic and intellectually sound and be inspiring and meaningful to an academically educated public.

A Rabbi must be more than a Halachic authority; he must inspire the heart. The ability to serve as a spiritual resource in the personal dimension of people’s lives is critical to his success as a positive Torah influence in the lives of the Jews in his community. A Rabbi must be trained in pastoral counseling as well, equipped with the appropriate counseling tools necessary for assisting people in their time of need.

Most important, a Rabbi must be able to relate to people on a personal level, radiating warmth, and demonstrating an authentic interest in their lives and needs. A Rabbi must demonstrate through his behavior that people matter.

These skills can and must be taught. A program that presents a new paradigm and approach to training Rabbis and leaders is long overdue. That program now exists at Sulam Yaakov.