A Jewish seminary, better known as a rabbinical seminary or rabbinical school, is a Jewish educational institution for the purpose of training rabbis. (In some cases, a "Jewish seminary" may also refer to a cantorial school.[1]) While rabbis have been part of Judaism for centuries,[2] rabbinical seminaries only became distinct institutions in the early 19th century.[3]
Today, rabbinical seminaries differ from other Jewish educational institutions due to the influence of the Haskalah, the Jewish Enlightenment movement. Before this movement, yeshivot granted rabbinical ordination to those who completed an intensive course of study focusing on Talmudic and halakhic literature. The development of rabbinical seminaries was not without controversy as these new institutions were to provide a secular degree alongside rabbinic ordination (semikha), and thus some viewed this as promotion of heresy and assimilation.[4]
Some Jewish rabbinical seminaries include those listed below; this is not an exhaustive list.
| 1875 | Hebrew Union College | Reform | New York City, NY, US | |
| 1886 | Jewish Theological Seminary of America | Conservative | New York City, NY, US | |
| 1962 | Seminario Rabínico Latinoamericano | Conservative | Buenos Aires, Argentina | |
| 1968 | Reconstructionist Rabbinical College | Reconstructionist | Wyncote, PA, US | |
| 1873; 2009 | Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary / Rabbinerseminar zu Berlin | Orthodox | Berlin, Germany | |
| 1998 | Sephardic Rabbinical College | N/A - Sephardi | Brooklyn, NY, US | |
| 1984 | Schechter Rabbinical Seminary | Conservative (traditional) | Jerusalem, Israel | |
| 1956 | Rabbinical College of America | Hasidic (Chabad) | Morristown, NJ, US |