Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis and the Reinvention of the American Rabbinate

The primary institution of Jewish life in America is the synagogue, and the primary personality shaping the life of the synagogue is the rabbi. Effective rabbinic leadership is of critical importance to the future of American Judaism. But little is known about rabbinic leadership because there are few empirical studies of rabbis and rabbinic practice. Even less is known about the effective training of rabbis for rabbinic practice.;The career of Harold Schulweis (1925--2014) provides an ideal case for the study of effective rabbinic practice. Schulweis is widely acknowledged as among the most successful and influential congregational leaders of his generation. His innovations in synagogue life were adopted across North America. At the same time, Schulweis was keenly self-conscious in shaping his rabbinate, and exceptionally articulate in expressing his vision and describing the process of its formulation.;The study of Harold Schulweis' distinguished career suggests a new approach to the training of rabbis in professional practice. This approach builds upon the paradigm presented in Bruce Joyce and Marsha Weil's classic teacher education text, Models of Teaching. Joyce and Weil grasped that alternate approaches to teaching comprise more than techniques or methods. They express convictions about the essence of being human, the process of learning, the needs of contemporary society. By explicating these convictions, alternate approaches to teaching can be captured, analyzed, and described as "models of teaching." Similarly, rabbinic practice is not solely a matter of professional skills, but is also an expression of deep convictions about the meaning of Jewish life and the needs of the contemporary Jews. These convictions can be explicated through the empirical study of outstanding rabbinic careers. In this way, the constituent elements of rabbinic practice can be captured, analyzed, and described as "models of rabbinic practice." Developing a repertoire of such models as the basis for rabbinic pre-service and in-service education holds out the promise of a new way toward effective rabbinic practice.