The Coming Generation of Jewish Communal Professionals

Publication Date: January 1995

Publisher: Maurice and Marilyn Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies

Author(s): Steven M. Cohen

Research Area: Culture and religion; Education

Keywords: American Jews; Jewish organizations; Leadership

Type: Report

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

Looking at the candidates' applications to the Wexner Fellows Program, the report examines the Jewish educational backgrounds of those who are now becoming rabbis, cantors, Jewish educators, Jewish communal service professionals, and Jewish studies professors. To what extent do we find attributes that set apart this unusual group of young adults from American Jews generally? What sorts of experiences are associated with specific career tracks, and, in the case of rabbinic school applicants, with specific denominations? The answers to these questions can help to inform organized Jewry in its efforts to identify, recruit, develop, and train highly qualified Jewish communal professionals.