Fitness for the Rabbinate
What makes a successful rabbi?
The answer has changed with the evolution of Jewish communities. In pre-modern times, rabbis were expected primarily to adjudicate matters of Jewish law. In the decades after World War II, rabbis were often judged solely based on their sermons. The Reconstructionist movement has always had a much more holistic conception of the rabbinate. The RRC rabbinical program supports students in identifying their distinctive leadership strengths and vision, preparing them to serve in a wide variety of roles.
While there are many ways to “rabbi,” at RRC, we have identified core qualities that are the foundation for ethical, effective rabbinic leadership. These qualities help outline what we describe as the “fitness for the rabbinate.”
They include:
- Dedication to the Jewish people and rootedness in Jewish tradition;
- Spiritual maturity and depth;
- A commitment to ongoing self-care and personal growth;
- Psychological stability and self-awareness, including the capacity to self-assess and recognize personal; limits and to establish and maintain appropriate boundaries;
- Strong interpersonal skills;
- The capacity to function well under conditions of high stress and uncertainty
- Good judgment, flexibility and creativity;
- Integrity, humility, gentleness, courage, kindness, reliability and other traits of fine moral character.
Graduation from RRC requires completing substantial academic requirements and mastering objective professional skills. However, becoming a rabbi is about more than gaining knowledge and skills. Graduates are also expected to exhibit fitness for the rabbinate while remaining true to who they are. We support students in cultivating the qualities of fitness for the rabbinate over the course of their rabbinical studies and revisit them periodically on the journey to graduation.
RRC has a special and weighty responsibility to those whom our graduates will serve, as well as to the Reconstructionist Jewish community and society. It is with this responsibility in mind that we identified the qualities of fitness for the rabbinate and adopted them as criteria for graduation. Holding to this vision of what makes a successful rabbi is an important way we prepare students to lead, to teach, to pastor and to serve.
