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We train young Rabbis and their wives for service in Diaspora Communities.
Participants in our programme receive special training in the areas of public speaking, counseling and communication skills, education and outreach, youth work and community organization.

Graduates of the programme have served or are now serving in Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, England, France, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, Venezuela and Zaire.

Our students are modern, orthodox Rabbis generally ordained by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. They have completed service in the Israeli Defense Forces.

Our students are chosen on the basis of personality as well as scholarship. We seek students with concern for the needs of all Jews, without regard to age, background or ideology.

Our students are committed to the strengthening of the Jewish people and its connection to the State of Israel.

We offer a one-year professional training course for young Rabbis and their wives. Our programme syllabus includes fundamentals of community organization, communication skills, education and outreach, public speaking, practical rabbinics, and a special course in Jewish law and modern communal life.

The curriculum includes more than 500 hours of instruction. After an initial two-week summer inter-session ("bain ha-zmanim") during which students meet daily, classes meet every Tuesday during the academic year.

We place special emphasis on the varied roles of the Rabbi's wife as professional partner, educator, family counselor and community organizer in her own right. Throughout the year, weekly evening classes for Rabbinic spouses focus on the skills and knowledge required for these facets of service in the Diaspora. Once a month, evening classes are devoted to special seminars for both the Rabbi and his wife.
The programme includes lectures, workshops, seminars, special symposia, Shabbat retreats and field trips.

Rabbi Reuven Kruger directs the programme. He is a graduate of the training programme who served as Rabbi in Quito, Ecuador from 1988-1991. He is also Rabbi of the "Young Israel" Synagogue in Ramat Poleg, Netanya.
Mrs. Adi Samson co-directs the programme and directs the training programme for rabbinic wives. She also coordinates contact with Rabbis and their families serving abroad.
Staff and visiting lecturers are senior professionals with exceptional teaching skills as well as practical field experience.

The course seeks applications from candidates with the following qualifications:

• Rabbinic ordination
• Army service
• Commitment to serve abroad for at least two years

Applicants to the programme (both the Rabbi and his wife) are requested to fill out detailed questionnaires and submit copies of all relevant degrees, professional certificates, and recommendations. Qualified candidates will be invited to an interview with staff psychologists. Finalists are interviewed by the Programme Admissions Committee.

Successful candidates are eligible for financial support during the course of study provided they enter into a binding commitment to serve in a community to be selected by the Programme Secretariat.

Knowledge of a foreign language and previous experience in education and/or youth work are useful. Whenever necessary, we provide intensive language instruction.

The decision to serve overseas requires a spirit of adventure as well as a desire to serve Jews residing in small or isolated communities. The programme staff has accumulated a wealth of experience in helping families understand the benefits and risks.  

Interested individuals are invited to arrange a preliminary interview with Rabbi Reuven Kruger or Mrs. Adi Samson through the offices of Yad Avi Ha-Yishuv, 16 Ibn Gabirol, Jerusalem.

Telephone:972-2-5617106, fax:972-2-6510028, e-mail: rabbis@netvision.net.il

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