Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies

10/14/2026

Learn with Rabbi Elliot Dorff this weekend!

This Sunday at Hamakom in West Hills, Rabbi Dorff will present “Keeping Every Jewish Soul in the Tent.” Don’t miss this opportunity to learn, reflect, and be inspired.

Click the link below to register:

Dr. Elliot Dorff serves as the rector and Sol and Anne Dorff Distinguished Service Professor of Philosophy at American Jewish University. For over four decades, he has held the position of visiting professor at UCLA School of Law, where he teaches a course on Jewish law. Rabbi Dorff is a highly resp...

10/13/2026

Torah Fund Changes Lives: Hear Our Stories
Join us on Sunday, November 1, from 12:00–1:30 pm ET for a special program highlighting the impact of the Torah Fund campaign of Women's League for Conservative Judaism through the personal stories of four rabbinical students.

Students from The Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in Los Angeles, and The Schechter Rabbinical Seminary in Jerusalem will share their journeys to rabbinical school and how Torah Fund scholarships have helped make their dreams possible.

The program will conclude with a moderated Q&A.
Register here: wlcj.org/torahfundstories

Presented by the Torah Fund Campaign of 's League for Conservative Judaism.
Co-sponsored by , , Assembly, Theological Seminary in New York, , and The Schechter Rabbinical Seminary in Jerusalem.

10/12/2026

The Future of the Ziegler School Starts Today 📚

Admissions for next year are officially open at the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies! As we prepare the next generation of rabbis, we remain rooted in our commitment to Conservative Judaism while looking ahead to the evolving needs of Jewish communities and the future of Jewish leadership.

Through Torah, learning, and a commitment to innovation, we’re exploring how areas like finance and technology can better equip our graduates to lead, teach, and inspire while strengthening Jewish life for generations to come.

Read more in eJewishPhilanthropy ⬇️

The American Jewish University’s Ziegler School of Rabbinical Studies, it turns out, is staying in the Conservative fold — but with a dramatically revamped curriculum for the 2027-28 school year that stresses the real-world financial and technological skills that rabbis need to succeed in today....

10/09/2026

Ziegler Alumni in the News! 📰
Rabbi Mark Asher Goodman '06 is opening Shoresh, a neighborhood coffee shop and Jewish learning space in Greenfield, Pennsylvania. By day, Shoresh will serve coffee and kosher baked goods; by night, it will host Talmud and Hebrew classes and be a neighborhood space beyond its religious programing. “We really want to be for this community,” Goodman said. “We want to be a resource that they can feel like they can come in and grab a cup of coffee and hang out.”

Read more about Rabbi Goodman's fantastic new venture:

Every so often, someone still shows up to the old First National Bank in Greenfield with a check to deposit. “A lady wandered in about an hour ago and was like, ‘Is this a bank?’ ” said Rabbi Mark Asher Goodman. It happens enough that he and Frances Lasday taped a

10/01/2026

What does it mean to prepare for the rabbinate? Sometimes, the most important lessons happen beyond the classroom.

This summer, Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies students put their learning into practice across Jewish communities, serving as educators, chaplains, clergy interns, camp leaders, and community organizers.

As Dean Rabbi Cheryl Peretz explains, "Summer internships give our students the opportunity to translate learning into practice—to develop the skills, judgment, presence and leadership that can only emerge through working with real people and real communities."

Read how our rabbinic students spent their summer putting their learning into action. 👇

Students served as educators, chaplains, organizers, clergy interns and camp leaders at Jewish institutions and communities.

09/25/2026

As Sukkot invites us out into the world, Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson's latest Jewish Journal essay, “How Sukkot Makes Us Whole,” explores how we can resist the impulse to shield ourselves from the world and instead cultivate the courage to truly see, hear, and feel the humanity around us.

“This Sukkot, I bless us that we train our ears to truly hear the cries around us… [and] open our eyes to truly see the beauty and the holiness of the world.”

Click the link below to read Rabbi Artson’s beautiful reflection on Sukkot, community, and what it means to live with a whole heart. Chag Sukkot Sameach!

This year, I bless us that we open our eyes to truly see the beauty and the holiness of the world, and of the person before us at each and every moment, and to see the godliness of their aspirations and their fears.

09/18/2026

A Yom Kippur message from Interim Dean Rabbi Cheryl Peretz: This Yom Kippur, we could use a dose of hopefulness.

The world around us reminds us that hope is not a given. It’s a choice we make again and again, even amid pain and uncertainty.

The prophet Jeremiah reminds, “There is hope for your future.”

As we recount our failings, may we also count our blessings, face the world as it is, imagine what it might yet be, and choose possibility, healing, and blessing. 🕊️

From all of us at AJU and the Ziegler School, we wish you Shabbat Shalom, a meaningful Yom Kippur, and an easy fast!

08/31/2026

Welcome to the beginning of a new academic year at the Ziegler School!

At AJU we're singularly focused on the Jewish future, and the work that you and the Ziegler School are doing lies at the heart of that mission.

Guided by its exceptional faculty, Ziegler brings together two essential dimensions of rabbinic education: the rigor of a formal, for-credit academic program accredited by WSCUC and the spiritual formation, sacred learning, and individualized mentorship of a seminary.

Let me give you an example from my time here. I have experienced this combination through Rabbi Dr. Elliot Dorff. At an AJU faculty research seminar, he led a thoughtful and intellectually rigorous discussion on the profoundly difficult issue of aid in dying. I have also experienced his remarkable attentiveness to others. During the long process of adopting my son, Rabbi Dorff would gently ask how things were progressing and listen closely. When the adoption was finalized, he sent me Brad Paisley's "He Didn't Have to Be"-proof both that he had understood the nuances of my story and, somewhat unexpectedly, that he knows his 1990s country music.

That combination of intellectual seriousness, careful listening, and mentorship is central to what makes rabbinical school so meaningful.

Your work here is both intellectually demanding and deeply formative, preparing you to lead and shape the Jewish future. We are proud that you are part of this community. I wish you a meaningful, enriching, and successful year. Welcome back!

Dr. Robbie Totten
Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs

08/28/2026

Welcome back to our Ziegler students and faculty! The school year kicked off Tuesday with the Myra and Wally Shapiro Luncheon. The Shapiros’ impact on Jewish life in Los Angeles has been extraordinary, and their legacy continues through their daughter, Ilene Berman, Chair of the Ziegler Advisory Committee.

We are deeply grateful to the Shapiro family and to visionary philanthropists like them who invest in our rabbinic students, strengthen Jewish leadership, and help steward Judaism into the future.

Here’s to a meaningful and inspiring year at Ziegler!