At the end of May Hebrew College will celebrate its 18th (חי / chai) Rabbinical Ordination ceremony. Our graduating class of 16 dynamic ordainees, our largest cohort to date, will bring the total number of Hebrew College-ordained rabbis to 202, another milestone in the life of our program. "As we approach ordination, we reflect on the transformative time we’ve spent at Hebrew College," the ordainee cohort shared in their recent graduate message. “We have been nurtured by extraordinary teachers and mentors and empowered to integrate our own voices with the voices of the tradition." Our new rabbinic class will join a cohort of dynamic leaders serving in congregations, schools, chaplaincies and community organizations all across North America and Israel. "This is simply an extraordinary group. We are sending a cadre of wonderful rabbis into the world and they are truly spreading out — California, Iowa, Washington D.C., Minneapolis, Columbus, Atlanta, Colorado, etc., as well as Israel," says Hebrew College Provost Rabbi Dan Judson. "That geographic diversity is mirrored in the different jobs that our graduates will be doing — college chaplains, teen educators, young adult engagement, assistant rabbis, and spiritual leaders of congregations." 

Pictured above l-r, front row: Lisë Stern, Sarah Rovin, Sara Klugman, Anna Wolfe, Abi Oshins. Middle: Risa Dunbar, Talia Young, Max Davis, Julia Spiegel, Jayce Koester. Back: Sam Tygiel, Alex Goldfarb, Carrie Watkins, Josh Greenberg, David Magazine Malamud. Not pictured: Nicole Golomb.

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Hebrew College celebrates six outstanding graduates who will receive their Masters in Jewish Education (MJEd) and three graduate certificate recipients, emerging with a depth of content knowledge and pedagogical training to bring Jewish learning to life in schools and communities across the country. “I am constantly applying what I learn in school to my work and vice-versa, which challenges me to bring deeper meaning into my work,” says impending graduate Dalilah Cohen, who works with Jewish teens in Milwaukee. Hebrew College has been in the business of training Jewish educators since our doors opened in 1921, and we are proud of these new graduates for continuing that legacy. “These inspiring Jewish education leaders are ready to innovate and shape the field with vision, creativity, and mastery,” says MJEd Program Senior Advisor Susan Morrel. “The future of Jewish education is bright!”

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"Hebrew College's Ulpan program exceeded my expectations. Anyone interested should know there is no pressure, no stress, just the satisfaction of immersing yourself in the wonderful culture and language of Hebrew. It’s so rewarding! I had some Hebrew background in 1970-1971 during a 6 month stay in Israel and the beginner Ulpan course reawakened some of the vocabulary, but what I learned that helped me the most was using the masculine, feminine form of verbs and nouns, the pronouns and plurals. In addition, [my teacher] gave us numerous ways to understand and remember the structure of Hebrew language as well as cultural highlights. There was never a dull moment. He made us all shine!" 

— Fran Cean, Hebrew College Ulpan Student

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A vow (neder) is a speech act which “gets something done” (J. L. Austin). It is conditional, formulated as an “if…then…” promise. For example, Hannah vows that if she is granted a male-child, then she will dedicate that son to the service of God (1 Samuel 1:11). A neder entails a promise to sacrifice or dedicate the value of something in exchange for God’s special regard; it is a way of bargaining with the divine. But what happens when one breaks the promise? Or God withdraws? Perhaps this is why Yom Kippur opens with the annulment of all our vows and oaths in Kol Nidrei—a prelude to atonement, wiping the slate of our word-debts clean.

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