Hebrew College

American religious college

Not to be confused with Hebrew University of Jerusalem or Hebrew Union College.

Hebrew College

Former name

| Hebrew Teachers College
Type| Private college
Established| 1921
Founder| Louis Hurwich
Affiliation| Boston Theological Institute
President| Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld
Location|

Newton Centre

Massachusetts

United States

42°19′32″N 71°11′20″W﻿ / ﻿42.3256°N 71.1890°W﻿ / 42.3256; -71.1890
Website| hebrewcollege.edu

Hebrew College is a private college of Jewish studies in Newton Centre, Massachusetts. Founded in 1921, the college conducts Jewish scholarship in a pluralistic, trans-denominational[1] academic environment. Its president is Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld. Hebrew College offers undergraduate completion and graduate degrees, Hebrew-language training, a rabbinical school, a cantorial program and adult-learning and youth-education programs.[2]

## History

[edit]

Founded in November 1921, as the Hebrew Teachers College, Hebrew College was one of eleven Hebrew teachers colleges established in the United States in keeping with the Hebraist model of Jewish teacher training. Hebrew College was originally located in Roxbury, Massachusetts and moved to Brookline, Massachusetts in 1952. The school opened with 23 students, with registration doubling by the following year. The founder of Hebrew College was Louis Hurwich,[3] superintendent of the Bureau of Jewish Education of Boston.[4] Nissan Touroff, former director of the Hebrew school system in Israel, was appointed as its first dean. The Hebrew High School ("Prozdor") opened in 1923.[5]

Eisig Silberschlag became the dean of Hebrew College in 1947 and was named president in 1968.[6]

In the early years, all classes, regardless of the subject matter, were taught in Hebrew. In the early 1980s, as Jewish studies programs opened at more colleges and universities around the country, the policy began to change. Increasingly, classes were held in English, and Hebrew was reserved for language courses and advanced Jewish text study.[7]

During the 15-year tenure of Eli Grad, the fifth president of Hebrew College, the focus moved from teacher training to an emphasis on Hebrew culture programs and courses for the wider community.[8] In January 1987, after a period of decline, Samuel Schafler became the sixth president of Hebrew College and introduced new programming that expanded the student body significantly.[9] In the late 1980s, adult education classes were introduced that became the forerunner of the Me'ah program.[10] In 2001, Nehemia Polen established the Hasidic Texts Institute for the study of foundational Hasidic texts.[11] In 1993, David M. Gordis became the seventh president of the College. Daniel Lehmann was appointed the eighth president in July 2008. Sharon Cohen Anisfeld became the ninth president in 2018.[12][13]

Internationally renowned architect Moshe Safdie designed and built the institution's Newton, Massachusetts facilities, completed in 2002. Hebrew College successfully refinanced its real estate debt in 2012, reducing its original bond obligation by 75% and securing its ownership of the campus. In 2018 the campus was sold to a foundation associated with Hong Kong real estate investor Gerald Chan under a long-term lease-back arrangement.[14]

In March 2021, Hebrew College announced an agreement with Temple Reyim, also located in Newton, to move the college to the temple property and share facilities. The other groups intending to co-locate are the Jewish Arts Collaborative; the Jewish Women’s Archive; and Keshet, an organization for LGBTQ Jews.[15]

## Academic partnerships

[edit]

In 2011, Hebrew College became a member of the Boston Theological Institute, a consortium of 10 theological schools and seminaries in the Boston area, including Boston University, Andover Newton Theological School, Boston College, Episcopal Divinity School, Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, Harvard University, Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology and St. John's Seminary. When Hebrew College moved to its new campus in 2002, cooperation with the nearby Andover Newton Theological School (ANTS) led to the creation of the Center for Inter-Religious and Communal Leadership Education and several interfaith programs.[16] In 2014, it formed a partnership with Lesley University in Cambridge, Mass., and collaborates in offering a Ph.D. in educational studies from Lesley with a specialization in Jewish educational leadership. Hebrew College has established a partnership with the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem to prepare Jewish Studies teachers for Jewish Day Schools in North America. It is also partnered with the revolutionary NETA Hebrew-as-a-second-language, co-offering with NETA three certificate programs for Hebrew language educators. In 2012, Hebrew College established a partnership with Boston University's School of Management to provide a certificate in nonprofit management for rabbis and rabbinical students.

Hebrew College and the Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning Co-sponsored the Summit for Leaders in Adult Jewish Learning.[17]

## Library facilities

[edit]

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

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The Rae and Joseph Gann Library has over 125,000 books, including special collections in modern Hebrew literature, Jewish medical ethics, Jewish education, Jewish genealogy, Holocaust studies, Hasidism, and Jewish children's literature. Through the Research Libraries Information Network students can access a database of 53 million books, journals, maps, records and cassettes drawn from Judaica collections across the United States.[18] In addition, the College is a member of the BTI Library consortium and the Fenway Library Consortium, allowing access to local college, museum and public libraries.[19]

## Youth programs

[edit]

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In keeping with the idea of Jewish education as a lifelong pursuit, Hebrew College[20] runs Prozdor, a supplementary Hebrew high school, and Makor, a supplementary Hebrew middle school.[21]

## Notable faculty

[edit]

* Arthur Green

## Notable alumni

[edit]

* Yael S. Feldman, class of 1976[22]
* Michael Fishbane[citation needed]
* Paula Hyman[23][24]
* Frank E. Manuel[25]
* Jonathan Sarna[26]
* Emanuel A. Schegloff[27]
* Isadore Twersky[28]
* Theodore White

## See also

[edit]

* List of Jewish universities and colleges in the United States

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Meskin, Jacob (2002). "Answers Divide Us, Questions Unite Us". Archived from the original on January 4, 2004. Retrieved March 9, 2007.
2. ^ "Course Offerings - www.hebrewcollege.edu". www.hebrewcollege.edu.
3. ^ Hurwich, L. Zichronot Mechanech Ivri (Memories of a Hebrew Educator), Jerusalem, 1960.
4. ^ Hebrew College history Archived October 4, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
5. ^ History of Hebrew College Archived January 29, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
6. ^ "Eisig Silberschlag, 85, Hebrew College Chief". The New York Times. October 6, 1988.
7. ^ A Call to Revolution – Hebrew College Today Archived August 7, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
8. ^ "Chicago Educator to Head Hebrew College", The Jewish Advocate, Lawrence Harmon, August 1986
9. ^ "Samuel Schafler, 62, Rabbi and Educator". The New York Times. April 5, 1991.
10. ^ Hebrew College Today - It's Never Too Late Archived July 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
11. ^ Hasidic Text Institute – Jewish Studies at Hebrew College Archived October 9, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
12. ^ JewishBoston, Judy Bolton-Fasman for. "Hebrew College Installs Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld as Ninth—and First Female—President". JewishBoston. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
13. ^ JTA. "Hebrew College installs its first female president". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
14. ^ Jewish Telegraphic Agency:August 20, 2018: Boston's Hebrew College sells campus to shore up future
15. ^ Jerusalem Post:March 2021:Jewish campus grows near Boston as Hebrew College announces relocation.
16. ^ Righteous Persons Foundation Supports Hebrew College/ANTS Interfaith Initiatives - Hebrew College Today Archived September 1, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
17. ^ Judy Mars Kupchan; Dr. Bernice Lerner (November 16, 2014). "Boundary Crossers: Adult Jewish Learning Summit Explores Collaboration". eJewish Philanthropy. "In a spirit of exploring opportunities for collaboration and learning, nineteen providers of adult Jewish learning gathered recently in Newton, MA. Co-sponsored by Hebrew College and the Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning, the Summit for Leaders in Adult Jewish Learning opened a long-overdue conversation about how to advance the place of adult learning in today's Jewish communal landscape..... Forty leaders crossed the boundaries of their own silos to consider common challenges, learn from respected faculty, and discuss the role of adult learning in building our Jewish future. Veteran organizations represented by Drisha Institute, Rohr Jewish Learning Institute, Hebrew College's School of Adult Learning, Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning, and the Wexner Heritage Program were joined by representatives of newer initiatives like Ayeka, Chai Mitzvah, Global Day of Learning, Kevah and Mechon Hadar. Our dialogue was enriched and cross-pollinated by a diversity of perspectives and multiplicity of goals, from engaging first-time learners to empowering adults to find relevance in deep and substantive text study."
18. ^ "Teen Programs - About Prozdor". Hebrew College. Retrieved June 2, 2025.
19. ^ "Gann Library". Hebrew College. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
20. ^ "Fall 2019 - Sunday Guide" (PDF). Hebrew College. Retrieved June 2, 2025.
21. ^ "Prozdor: Jewish Learning Learning for Teens | Hebrew College". March 13, 2024. Archived from the original on March 13, 2024. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
22. ^ "Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies". hebrewjudaic.as.nyu.edu.
23. ^ "Her story is over: Paula Hyman (1946-2011)".
24. ^ Vitello, Paul (December 17, 2011). "Paula E. Hyman, Who Sought Rights for Women in Judaism, Dies at 65". The New York Times.
25. ^ "Frank Manuel Papers - Archives and Special Collections, Brandeis University". lts.brandeis.edu.
26. ^ "Jonathan D. Sarna - NEJS Faculty - Brandeis University". www.brandeis.edu.
27. ^ "Removal Notice" (PDF). www.sscnet.ucla.edu. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 3, 2001.
28. ^ "Isadore Twersky, Rabbinical Scholar, Dies". Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 26, 2013.

## External links

[edit]

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