As the Jewish world changes and our clerical roles contract, expand, and evolve, cantors often find themselves wishing they had the tools to fulfill all that is being asked of them as spiritual leaders.

AJR proudly offers cantors a streamlined but rigorous opportunity to add rabbinic ordination to their already impressive mastery of nusah, tefillah, and Jewish leadership. This track of the Rabbinic Program is for those invested and/or ordained cantors who are looking for more than just continuing education – it is designed for those seeking intensive pursuit of an additional respected degree.

Rabbi Luis Cattan

“My journey as a rabbi began about thirty years ago and could have never been materialized if it wasn’t for AJR’s Cantors to Rabbis program”
– Rabbi/Cantor Luis Cattan (’00),
Immediate Past President, Cantors Assembly

Course Requirements

The requirements for the Cantors to Rabbis Track depend upon whether the student earned their cantorial ordination at AJR or elsewhere and whether they already hold a Master’s Degree in Jewish Studies (or a related field) or not. In addition, students are responsible for taking the comprehensive exams required of rabbinical students and for fulfilling the requisite Ritual Skills requirement.

Course requirements assume significant competency in areas such as Hebrew, Liturgy, and Professional Skills. Proficiency will be evaluated on an individual basis. Students may be required to take additional courses.

Students matriculating into the Cantors to Rabbis Track who did not earn their cantorial ordination at AJR but who already hold a Master’s Degree in Jewish Studies (or a related field) are required to complete a minimum of 60 credits (including 6 credits of Modern Hebrew that one may pass out of by demonstrating significant mastery, leaving a basic minimum of 54 credits). However, if the AJR administration determines that there are gaps in the student’s knowledge they may be required to complete additional courses beyond the 60 credits. If the student did not write a thesis or capstone project for their prior Master’s Degree in Jewish Studies (or a related field), then they are required to complete a Master’s Project at AJR and, if they choose to take an additional 20 credits, they will also receive a Master’s Degree in Jewish Studies from AJR (if they do not complete the additional 20 credits, they must still complete a Master’s Project at AJR but they will not receive a Master’s Degree).

Required Courses

Please note: Courses are 2 credits each unless otherwise indicated.

Bible (8 credits)

Introduction to Parshanut
Electives (6 credits)

Hebrew (7 credits)

Hebrew IIIA (4 credits)
Hebrew IIIB (2 credits)
Liturgical Hebrew (1 credit)

Philosophy (11 credits)

Pluralism
Modern Philosophy
Personal Theology
Medieval Philosophy
Mysticism
Bioethics (1 credit)

Rabbinics/Halakhah (22 credits)

Intro to Mishna
Intro to Talmud (2 trimesters, 2 credits each)
Intermediate Talmud (2 trimesters, 2 credits each)
Advanced Talmud
Intro to Codes
Intermediate Codes
Advanced Codes
Responsa
Midrash

Professional Skills (10 credits)

Conversion (1 credit)
Life Cycles
Education or Counseling**
Homiletics (3 credits)
Entrepreneurship

Spirituality (2 credits)

Spirituality elective

TOTAL: 60 credits*

*If necessary, students may be required to take additional courses.
**Whether a student needs to take Education or Counseling will be determined in consultation with the Academic Dean.

Students matriculating into the Cantors to Rabbis Track who did not earn their cantorial ordination at AJR and who do not already hold a Master’s Degree in Jewish Studies (or a related field) are required to complete a minimum of 80 credits (including 6 credits of Modern Hebrew that one may pass out of by demonstrating significant mastery, leaving a basic minimum of 74 credits) and a Master’s Project at AJR and, upon completion, will receive both ordination and a Master’s in Jewish Studies from AJR. However, if the AJR administration determines that there are gaps in the student’s knowledge they may be required to complete additional courses beyond the 80 credits.

Required Courses

Please note: Courses are 2 credits each unless otherwise indicated.

Bible (8 credits)

Introduction to Parshanut
Electives (6 credits)

Hebrew (7 credits)

Hebrew IIIA (4 credits)
Hebrew IIIB (2 credits)
Liturgical Hebrew (1 credit)

History (2 credits)
History Elective

Liturgy (4 credits)
Intro to Liturgy
Liturgy Elective

Philosophy (11 credits)

Pluralism
Modern Philosophy
Personal Theology
Medieval Philosophy
Mysticism
Bioethics (1 credit)

Rabbinics/Halakhah (22 credits)

Intro to Mishna
Intro to Talmud (2 trimesters, 2 credits each)
Intermediate Talmud (2 trimesters, 2 credits each)
Advanced Talmud
Intro to Codes
Intermediate Codes
Advanced Codes
Responsa
Midrash

Professional Skills (10 credits)

Conversion (1 credit)
Life Cycles
Education or Counseling*
Homiletics (3 credit)
Entrepreneurship

Spirituality (2 credits)

Spirituality elective

General Electives (14)**

TOTAL: 80 credits

* Whether a student needs to take Education or Counseling will be determined in consultation with the Academic Dean.

** Note that if the administration determines that there are specific gaps in the student’s educational background, they may be required to take specific courses instead of having the choice of general electives.

Students matriculating into the Cantors to Rabbis Track who earned their cantorial ordination and MA Degree at AJR are required to complete a basic minimum of 45 credits, which cannot be reduced.

Required Courses

Please note: Courses are 2 credits each unless otherwise indicated.

Bible (8 credits)

Introduction to Parshanut
Electives (6 credits)

Philosophy (7 credits)

Modern Philosophy
Medieval Philosophy
Mysticism
Bioethics (1 credit)

Rabbinics/Halakhah (18 credits)

Intermediate Talmud (2 trimesters, 2 credits each)
Advanced Talmud
Intro to Codes
Intermediate Codes
Advanced Codes
Responsa
Midrash
Midrash 2

Professional Skills (3 credits)

Conversion (1 credit)
Science and Judaism

Spirituality (2 credits)

Spirituality elective

General Electives (7 credits)

TOTAL: 45 credits

Scholarship Opportunity

A special scholarship for students enrolled in the Cantors to Rabbis track discounts the part-time tuition to $980 per credit. Students in the Cantors to Rabbis track are not eligible for additional AJR Institutional financial aid beyond this special scholarship. Students considering full-time study should contact the office for more information.