Jewish Spirituality

The Mission of the Jewish Spirituality program is to offer graduate level educational opportunities to those providing spiritual leadership both within the Jewish community and beyond. The Doctor of Ministry degree acknowledges the students’ proficiencies and experience, attesting to leadership and expertise in their chosen contemplative, pastoral or communal specializations.  The curriculum, which will be tailored to fit students’ specific needs, focuses on the refinement of applied skills and the pursuit of advanced professional and academic study. These educational goals are accomplished through thoughtful selection, skillful mentoring, and the flexibility of the Graduate Theological Foundation model.   
 
Seeking Redemption in an Unredeemed World: 
Essays in Jewish Spirituality
 
A new anthology of essays in Jewish Spirituality from GTF Books is edited by Rabbi Howard Addison, Gershom Scholem Professor of Jewish Spirituality and Director of the GTF’s Jewish Spirituality D.Min. program. The essays in this volume offer diverse glimpses of how redemption might break through the fissures of our all-too-fractured world. Spanning theology, liturgy and spiritual practice, the arts, sociology and even politics, they open multiple doors through which the spirit of redemption may be glimpsed, welcomed and pursued.
 

To access the Table of Contents, click here.

To access the PDF version of the book, Download PDF?

 
To read more, please visit Amazon for the paperback and the Kindle edition. 
 

Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) 

Description  
 
The Doctor of Ministry is a nationally accepted, terminal professional degree for those serving as religious professionals. This includes Rabbis, Cantors, Educators, Communal Professionals and others providing committed, ongoing spiritual leadership in related contexts. Clergy of all denominations and persons who possess a master’s degree in a field relevant to their desired specialization are welcome to apply.
 
Each degree candidate will be assigned a Graduate Advisor, usually the corresponding Specialization Mentor, from among the Jewish Spirituality faculty.  The candidate’s individual course of study will be developed through dialogue among the student, the advisor and the Director. While attention will be given to creating a well-rounded curriculum, the curriculum will be personalized to reflect the goals of each student.  Students may specialize in Jewish Spiritual Direction, Jewish Pastoral Care, Jewish Meditation, End-of-Life and Bereavement Care or Jewish Social and Ecological Justice. Course units may be acquired by completing online courses, attending applicable graduate level courses at traditional institutions, directed study, or through completion of relevant programs at approved training seminars and institutes. Reflecting the student’s specific interests, the D.Min. Project may take the form of writing a traditional thesis or the development of an in-context activity and study, which may presented in both written and audio\visual form. 
 
This degree is a 36 credit program that may be completed in no less than eighteen months and no more than three years. 
 
  • 30 credits (10 courses)
  • 6 credits (D.Min. Project)

Admission Requirements 

Doctor of Ministry
 
  1. Baccalaureate degree or equivalent
  2. Ordination and\or a Master’s degree in a field related to the desired area of specialization, validated by a transcript.
  3. Five years of accumulated experience in spiritual, religious and\or communal leadership.
  4. The ability to read and\or decode a Hebrew text
  5. Completion of the Application Procedure

Graduate Advisor

Each degree candidate will be assigned a Graduate Advisor, usually the corresponding Specialization Mentor, from among the Jewish Spirituality faculty.  The candidate’s individual course of study will be developed through dialogue among the student, the advisor and the Director. While attention will be given to creating a well-rounded curriculum, the curriculum will be personalized to reflect the goals of each student
 
Program Requirements
 
Doctor of Ministry
 
  1. Students are expected to thoroughly familiarize themselves with the Student Handbook of the year of their acceptance with particular focus on their degree program.  Students are bound by the academic and financial requirements of the Handbook in use at the time of their acceptance.  The current Student Handbook as well as past years’ Handbooks can be viewed here. 
  2. Completion of Ten Units of Study:
    1. Each candidate’s curriculum will be determined through dialogue with the Graduate Advisor and Program Director.  
    2. Once the curriculum has been established, the student will complete Five Course Units offered through the Graduate Theological Foundation, including:
      1. The “Journeys in Jewish Spirituality” online course
      2. Four additional Units of Study chosen according to the students’ interests and professional needs coupled with the recommendations of their Graduate Advisor.
    3. Five Units of Study may be completed through
      1. GTF
      2. Other approved educational institutions, or
      3. The use of transfer credit
  3. Completion of the Doctoral Project, including submission of one electronic copy with the Project Coordinator’s evaluation forms, or completion of the Non Project Option.  
  4. Attendance at the Convocation/Graduation (Non-US residents are exempt from this requirement).

All academic requirements must be met by March 1 of the intended year of graduation.

All financial requirements must be met by April 1 of the intended year of graduation. 

Faculty 
 
Rabbi Howard Avruhm Addison, Director
Gershom Scholem Professor of Jewish Spirituality
– Ph.D. (Graduate Theological Foundation)
– D.Min. (Chicago Theological Seminary)
– D.D. (Jewish Theological Seminary of America)
– M.A. (Jewish Theological Seminary of America)
– M.A. (Hunter College)
– B.A. (University of Illinois)
Profile| Contact
 
Jewish Pastoral Care 
Rabbi James Michaels
Fellow and Rabbi A. Stanley Dreyfus Professor of Jewish Studies
Mentor, Jewish Pastoral Care
– D.Min. (Graduate Theological Foundation)
– Rabbinic Ordination and M.A.H.L. (Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion)
– B.A. (Cornell University)
 
Jewish Meditation
 
Rabbi Jeff Roth
Professor of Jewish Spirituality
Mentor, Jewish Meditation                                 
– D.Min. (Graduate Theological Foundation)
– Rabbinic Ordination and M.A. (Reconstructionist Rabbinical College) 
– M.S.W. (Columbia University)
– B.A. (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee)
 
Jewish Spiritual Direction 
 
Julie Leavitt
Professor of Jewish Spirituality
Mentor, Jewish Spiritual Direction
– D.Min. (Graduate Theological Foundation)
– M.A. (Lesley University)
– B.A. (Macalester College) 
 
Ann Kline, BCC
Professor of Jewish Spirituality
D.Min. Project Coordinator, Group Spiritual Direction
– M.A. (Loyola University)
– J.D. (The George Washington University)
– B.S. (The University of Maryland)
 
End-of-Life and Bereavement Care
Reb Simcha Raphael
Professor of Jewish Spirituality
Mentor, End-of-Life and Bereavement Care
– Ph.D. (California Institute of Integral Studies)
– Rabbinic Pastor (Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi)
– M.A. (Concordia University)
– B.A. (Sir George Williams University)
 
 
Jewish Social and Ecological Justice 
 
Rabbi Arthur Waskow
Professor of Jewish Spirituality
Mentor, Jewish Social and Ecological Justice
– Ph.D. (University of Wisconsin)
– Rabbinic Ordination (Aleph Institute)
– M.A. (University of Wisconsin)
– B.A. (Johns Hopkins University)

Profile| Contact

 
Rabbi Mordechai Liebling
Professor of Jewish Spirituality
– Rabbinic Ordination and M.A. (Reconstructionist Rabbinical College)
– M.A. (Brandeis University)
– B.A (Cornell University)
 
Rabbi Sue Levi Elwell
Professor of Jewish Spirituality
– Ph.D. and M.S. (Indiana University)
– Rabbinic Ordination and M.A.H.L. (Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion)
– M.A. (Brandeis University)
– B.A. (Kalamazoo College)
– Senior Rabbinic Fellow, Shalom Hartman Institute 
 
Herbert Levine
Professor of Jewish Spirituality
– Ph.D. (Princeton University)
– A.B. (Harvard College) 

Courses in Jewish Spirituality 

Additional Courses Relevant to this Degree Concentration
 
Pre-application Assessment
 
Prospective students who would like to have their credentials, experience, and previously completed coursework assessed for degree program eligibility and/or possible transfer credit before formally applying to the Graduate Theological Foundation are welcome to request a pre-application assessment from the Office of the Registrar. This is a free service provided by the GTF. 
Prospective students may submit a letter of introduction and any relevant documentation by email to the Registrar or by mail to our general address. Please indicate in the letter of introduction which degree program and specialization interests you. Documentation for assessment can include:
 
  • Resume or CV,
  • Transcripts (unofficial or official) of coursework whose units have not been applied towards the completion of an academic, professional or clergy degree
  • Confirmation of CEUs or units of CPE completed
  • Verification of professional training institutes and/or continuing education seminars or workshops completed
The review process takes approximately one week, after which time the prospective student will be notified by email regarding program eligibility and transfer credit. The prospective student is then at liberty to determine whether or not to pursue formal application to the GTF.  Pre-application assessments are current only until December 15 of the year in which they were provided. 
 
Contact information for the Office of the Registrar can be found here.
Tuition and Fees
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