Orthodox Council Launches Program on Counselng for Israeli Rabbis

A new program to teach practical rabbinics and pastoral care to rabbis in Israel, based on the experience of American rabbis, has been launched by the Rabbinical Council of America.

The program was announced by Rabbi Milton Polin, president of the Orthodox group, at the opening of its 52nd annual convention here. Hundreds of delegates from across the United States are attending the convention, which runs through May 12.

Polin said the purpose of the rabbinic training program is to prepare Israeli rabbis to reach out to uncommitted, youthful, aged and sick Israelis through advice, guidance and counseling.

American and Israelis rabbis, psychologists, social workers, and physicians will form the core of the instructional program.

The idea is that Israeli rabbis can benefit from the more than 50 years of experience the Rabbinical Council has gained in reaching out to the American Jewish community, said Polin.

The new program also seeks to help Israeli rabbis become leaders of their communities and to be able to project the synagogue not only as a house of prayer, but as an educational family center.

The multi-disciplinary program will include lectures, seminars, workshops, as well as practical, supervised field work in hospitals, family agencies, geriatric centers and youth facilities. The field work will help rabbis exercise their roles as advisers, guides and counselors, said Polin.

Field work sites include youth centers, mental health facilities and Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem, where the first lectures will deal with geriatrics, diseases of the elderly and the effects of aging.