Academy for Jewish Religion

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The two Academy for Jewish Religion seminaries are transdenominational rabbinical schools located in Riverdale, New York and Los Angeles, California. They are not affiliated beyond sharing a name, and the philosophy that Judaism can be innovative, profound and transformational.

The Academy for Jewish Religion, California (AJR-CA), located in the Yitzchak Rabin Hillel Center for Jewish Life at UCLA [1], trains rabbis, cantors and chaplains to serve congregations and organizations of any denomination or none. Classes are held three days a week so that students can work at jobs and commute in, some from out of state. Founded in 2000 by a group of Los Angeles rabbis, AJR-CA provides an alternative to movement-driven, single-philosophy seminaries. Its faculty of accomplished and much-published scholars represents all denominations, so that the AJR-CA student is free to find which of the "70 faces of Torah" is true for themselves.

The Academy for Jewish Religion, Riverdale, NY was founded in 1956 as a rabbinical school, The Academy has been at the forefront of pluralistic rabbinic and cantorial training. Its graduates and students serve both movement-affiliated and non-affiliated congregations in North America and around the world, fulfilling the needs of Klal Yisrael in this post-denominational era. Its teachings respectfully span the full spectrum of Judaism; its faculty and students cross denominational lines, representing the full spectrum of the Jewish community. Students ranging in age from their 20’s through their 60’s study together as colleagues. AJR considers itself the only seminary committed to training rabbis and cantors as equal partners in spiritual leadership.