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Once every four years, we celebrate those who have achieved rabbinic ordination—the future leadership of the Orthodox Jewish community

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Sunday, March 7, 2010 • 21 Adar 5770

Chag Hasemikhah Dinner 09

SPOTLIGHT ON...

Gideon Black
Semikhah student

Gideon Black thumbRIETS is a remarkable yeshiva. I am constantly impressed at how it manages to be a makom Torah par excellence and also a home of practical rabbinic training—with these two aspects complementing each other and never diluting the strength of the other.

If a YU education is rooted in a synergy of Jewish values, then RIETS represents the apex of this philosophy.

TORAH FROM RIETS

Hear shiurim by our peerless Roshei Yeshiva at YUTorah.org.

Torah and stained glass

THE RABBI JOSEPH B. SOLOVEITCHIK SEMIKHA PROGRAM

RIETS Students at Chag HaSemikha

The Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Semikha Program offers a four year program of study leading to Semikha Yoreh Yoreh. The first three years involve full-time study, and the fourth year combines daily learning with intensive fieldwork. Throughout the program, students are involved in formal coursework in pastoral psychology, counseling, homiletics, and current issues facing the Jewish community. Located at YU's Wilf Campus in New York City, morning seder, shiur, and most classes take place Sunday through Thursday, 9 am–3 pm, and on Friday mornings. In addition, students may spend a year studying at YU's Joseph and Caroline S. Gruss Institute in Jerusalem. Over the course of semikha, students gain proficiency in the laws of kashrut, niddah, aveilut, eruvin, bishul b’Shabbat, gerut and milah, ishut and other contemporary halakhic topics, while continuing to hone their talmudic and professional skills.

ORDINATION/SEMIKHA

The Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Semikha Program leads to semikha Yoreh Yoreh. Upon completing all the requirements, students are issued a “Semikha Klaf” — the traditional ordination certificate handwritten on parchment by a sofer.

Semikha Yadin Yadin, an advanced ordination that qualifies rabbis as poskim in Even HaEzer and Choshen Mishpat, is offered through an intensive postgraduate study program following traditional ordination.

Every four years, RIETS hosts a Chag HaSemikha to celebrate the completion of a new cycle of musmakhim

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE DURING THE SEMIKHA PROGRAM

RIETS Professional Experience

The professional training curriculum is divided into six tracks of study, each with its own rabbinic advisor:

  • pulpit
  • education
  • community outreach
  • campus leadership
  • hospital chaplaincy
  • Jewish communal services

All students take six core courses in their first two years of semikha. These include a survey of professional opportunities, designed to inspire students to careers in Avodat Hakodesh; a survey of the American Jewish community; two semesters of pastoral psychology; a public speaking course; and a leadership course.

Students in the pulpit and outreach tracks continue their studies at RIETS while students in the other tracks continue their professional training with master’s degrees or additional courses outside of RIETS.

To complete the program, students must intern for three semesters of hands-on practical experience in each student’s professional field of interest. The fourth year is a full-year mentored internship program in a synagogue, school, outreach, administrative, or chaplaincy setting, during which students continue the rigorous Torah studies that remain the rabbi’s principle and classic stock-in-trade.

» Download our course catalogue (PDF) or Semikhah Requirements and Tracks (PDF) to learn more about our programs of study

STARTING SEMIKHA IN THE LAST YEAR OF UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOL

Yeshiva College/Sy Syms School of Business seniors within 12 credits of college graduation may start semikha in their senior year with permission from the Dean of RIETS.

PRE-SEMIKHA PROGRAM

Students with backgrounds in Talmudic study not sufficient for acceptance into the regular semikha program can enhance their skills by joining the pre-semikha program. Participants attend regular Talmud shiurim on their level as well as classes in Machshevet Yisrael.

LUDWIG JESSELSON KOLLEL CHAVERIM

Students with backgrounds in Talmud who want to continue their Torah learning prior to or during graduate or professional school may join the Ludwig Jesselson Kollel Chaverim for a one year program of intensive Talmud study as well as studies related to their professional area of interest. Those who continue in a directed self-study program for an additional three years and complete an approved research project are eligible for the Chaver degree.

SEPHARDIC STUDIES

Sephardic students may take courses in Sephardic Halakha, Hazzanut, and Safrut, and may enroll in shiurim with our Sephardic roshei yeshiva.

The Maybaum Sephardic Fellowship program assists students of Sephardic heritage who plan rabbinic careers in Sephardic communal institutions.