The first theological training program in the United States that will enable ministerial candidates to complete a Ph.D. program and concurrently receive their required theological preparation was announced here by the Jewish Reconstructionist Foundation which maintains a federation of 24 affiliated synagogues and fellowships in the U.S.A., Canada and the Netherlands West Indies. The new program will be undertaken as an experiment in rabbinical training by the Reconstructionist Foundation in conjunction with the department of religion at Temple University, Philadelphia.
Candidates for rabbinical ordination under this program will be obliged to fulfill requirements for the Ph.D. degree in an area of Jewish studies at Temple University. At the same time, they will receive specialized training for their rabbinical vocation at a Reconstructionist House of Rabbinical Studies to be established adjacent to the university campus. Satisfactory completion of the joint program will earn the candidate the title “rabbi” from the Jewish Reconstructionist Foundation.
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