At the Rabbinic Pipeline Shabbaton, Springboard Fellows Explore the Possibilities of Rabbinic Life
Hillel International Springboard Fellows are young professionals looking to embark on a meaningful career, and who choose to focus their energy on building thriving Jewish communities on college campuses. They spend two years empowering Jewish students to find their voice, inspiring their journeys, and leaving their mark on campus life and the Jewish future.
A core focus of the Springboard Fellowship is helping fellows discover what they want to do next in their careers and then helping them build the skills and connections they need to move forward in that journey.
That’s why Springboard Executive Director Leah Palestrant and Hillel International Associate Vice President for Jewish Learning Danielle Kranjec decided to organize a recent Rabbinic Pipeline Shabbaton, an immersive weekend experience in New York City for Springboard Fellows interested in exploring the rabbinate in the future. Designed to provide space for personal reflection, exposure to a diversity of careers as a rabbi, and the opportunity to meet with current rabbinical schools and students, participants were able to experience how rabbis are shaping Jewish communal life in various ways.
“The Rabbinic Pipeline Shabbaton was a sacred experiment — one that created space for fellows to engage in deep, communal discernment about their Jewish leadership journeys,” Palestrant said. “We witnessed how transformative it can be when emerging leaders are invited to explore spiritual questions with curiosity, courage, and a diverse array of rabbinic models.”
Held on the Upper West Side and developed in partnership with Hadar and several rabbinical schools and institutions of Jewish learning, the shabbaton offered fellows the opportunity to engage with a wide variety of rabbis, synagogues, and communities where they encountered multiple models of what it means to live and lead as a rabbi today.
“Before the shabbaton, I felt anxious about telling people that I was considering rabbinical school. I worried that I didn’t know nearly enough to be a serious candidate,” said Claire Shroder, Springboard Innovation Fellow at Ithaca College. “But I learned that nearly all of us shared similar doubts.”
She continued, “Many of us were asking ourselves the same core questions. I had been wondering, ‘Is there anything else I can do in my life that would be just as meaningful?’ But what I needed to ask was, ‘How can I best serve the Jewish community? What will bring me purpose and joy?’ The shabbaton gave me the space and time to reflect deeply on those questions.”
Fellows took part in reflective and interactive exercises and text study sessions, all grounded in the norm of “curiosity over certainty.” Over the course of the weekend, participants were able to participate in workshops, learning sessions, and deep discussions about prayer and tradition, Jewish communal life, and questions about the future of Jewish American leadership and the American rabbinate.
In reflecting on the workshops and sessions, Amichai Levy, Springboard Fellow at the Hillel Council of New England shared, “The Rabbinic Pipeline Shabbaton was such a cool experience… [It] really expanded my thinking about what rabbinical school could look like for me, and is encouraging me to think about this path much more seriously.”
Interspersed with these programming sessions were all of the joyful, energetic activities expected at a Hillel shabbaton: prayer, music, community-building, and (of course!) delicious food.
“I was especially grateful for the opportunity to see the many ways people experience Judaism,” Shroder said. “From the Kabbalat Shabbat service at Romemu, where everyone got up and danced, to the Mincha service at Hadar, where page numbers weren’t called and everyone used a different siddur — I felt God in every space where people gathered.
On the final day of the Shabbaton, participants met with representatives and current students from Hebrew Union College, the Jewish Theological Seminary, and Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, rabbinical schools for the Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox movements, respectively. Fellows were able to learn more about the different programs, hear stories from current students about the rabbinical school experience, and ask their own questions. They closed with a last collective reflection session, zeroing in on the question: What’s next in your rabbinic journey?
“I’m excited to have so many meaningful conversations in the weeks ahead as I continue exploring my path,” said Shroder. “If everyone considering rabbinical school could experience something as transformational as the Rabbinic Pipeline Shabbaton, we’d never have a shortage of future rabbis.”
Learn more about the Springboard Fellowship and its impact.