OHALAH Membership Application for
RABBI

___________________________________
Print your full name here

INSTRUCTIONS
  • Read the INFORMATION section on page 2.
  • Fill out and sign the application. We need to receive a signed copy of your application in order to process it.
  • Enclose a photocopy or photograph of your smicha document. If you have separate Hebrew and English documents, please enclose a copy of both.
  • Enclose a check in the amount of $100 payable to OHALAH. If your application is not accepted, we will refund your $100.
  • Fill out the supplemental application form if applicable.
  • Enclose two letters of recommendation or have the letters emailed to Doris Turrentine, Assistant to Rabbi Yocheved Mintz at dtohalah@aol.com. These letters are described in section 7 below.
  • Mail all of the above to OHALAH
    c/o Rabbi Yocheved Mintz
    2045 Grouse Street
    Las Vegas, Nevada 89134.

PLEASE NOTE: We cannot process your application until we receive all of the above. Please allow sixty days for processing your application from the date that all of your paperwork is submitted.

Thank you for your application!

Rabbi Yocheved Mintz
President
OHALAH
Association of Rabbis for Jewish Renewal
2045 Grouse Street
Las Vegas, Nevada 89134

INFORMATION SECTION
  1. OHALAH is an association in which rabbis and cantors interested in, and committed to, Jewish Renewal can come together to share learning, chaverschaft, tefillah and opportunities for personal, professional and spiritual growth.
  2. For some, OHALAH also offers a professional organization to address the various needs of its members who are working as leaders within Jewish Renewal and the wider Jewish community. OHALAH is deeply committed to a pluralistic vision of Judaism and invites all rabbis and cantors with an interest in the renewal of Jewish life to consider membership. Rabbis who hold membership in a denominational association, such as the RA, CCAR, RRA or RCA, may ask to be associate members of OHALAH and are expected to comply with the standards and requirements of their denomination with regard to placement and benefits.
  3. OHALAH supports the professional and academic depth and integrity of the rabbinate and has a standing Membership Committee that reviews applications for membership. Those with ordination from one of the following seminaries, programs or yeshivot need to fill out the Application, but NOT the Supplemental Form:
    • Renewal:
      Aleph Rabbinic Program
      P’nai Or Religious Fellowship
      B’nai Or Religious Fellowship
    • Others:
      Abraham Geiger College
      Academy for Jewish Religion
      Academy for Jewish Religion, California
      Hebrew College Rabbinical School (as of Sivan 5768, 2008)
      Hebrew Union College/Jewish Institute of Religion
      Institute for Traditional Judaism
      Jewish Theological Seminary
      Jews College – London College of Jewish Studies
      Leo Baeck College
      Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
      Schechter Institute for Jewish Studies
      Seminario Rabbinico Latinamerico
      University of Judaism
      Yeshivat Chovevei Torah
      Yeshivat Tomchei T’mimim
      Yeshiva University – Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary
  4. Those with ordination from other sources are welcome to apply for OHALAH membership, AND need to fill out both the Application and the Supplemental Form and must attend an OHALAH conference during the time that your application is pending. Every rabbi who holds a valid rabbinic ordination, regardless of whether the ordaining institution is on the above list, is welcome to apply to attend the annual OHALAH Conference and pre-conference Shabbaton held each year in January.
  5. There are certain programs, individuals and institutions that do not offer rabbinic training consistent with the standards and/or values of OHALAH. Applicants with ordination from these sources will not be accepted as OHALAH members. Should you find that your ordination is not acceptable after review by our Membership Committee and Consultants, you are welcome to consult with the Dean of the ALEPH Rabbinic Program or with the admissions office of any of the institutions on the list above to arrange to supplement your learning and training in order to receive ordination from that program. Should you complete such training and receive an ordination from ALEPH or one of the other institutions on the list, you are welcome to reapply for membership in OHALAH.