Here are answers to the questions we hear most from people thinking about becoming a rabbi or cantor. Each answer links to a fuller page. Don’t see your question? Contact us or call (201) 338-0165, and we’ll be glad to talk.
Becoming a rabbi
At JSLI, one year of live online study, in two semesters. Traditional seminaries usually take about five years of full-time study, often including a year in Israel. Read the full answer
Any Jewish adult with the necessary knowledge and skills who feels called to serve the Jewish community, including Jews by choice, women and second-career candidates. Read the full answer
Yes. A person who converts to Judaism is fully Jewish, and JSLI welcomes Jews by choice to study and be ordained as rabbis and cantors. Read the full answer
Yes. Women have been ordained as rabbis in the Reform movement since 1972 and are now ordained across all the liberal movements. JSLI has ordained many women rabbis and cantors. Read the full answer
Not if you can use Zoom and email. Classes are live and interactive, materials are posted a week ahead, and recordings are there if you miss a class. Read the full answer
JSLI tuition is $21,750 all-inclusive for the class starting January 2027 ($22,250 for September 2027), plus a $300 enrollment fee and books. Payment plans are available. Read the full answer
Usually a great deal. You pay lower tuition, you have no relocation or second-city living costs, and you keep earning while you study. Read the full answer
A rabbi is a teacher first. Rabbis lead prayer, teach Torah, officiate at lifecycle events, counsel people through joy and grief, and help hold a community together. Read the full answer
Becoming a cantor
JSLI’s Cantorial School takes about two years, meeting online every other week from September through June. Read the full answer
Yes. JSLI ordains cantors who complete our two-year program in nusach, liturgy and lifecycle. Some movements use the word “investiture” instead of ordination. Read the full answer
Yes. Cantors are paid clergy. Pay depends on the congregation, the region and whether the position is full-time, part-time or for the High Holidays. Read the full answer
Yes. Women have been invested as cantors since 1975 and now serve congregations in every liberal movement. JSLI trains and ordains women and men as cantors. Read the full answer
Yes. An ordained cantor can lead services and officiate at b’nai mitzvah, weddings, funerals and baby namings, subject to local laws for weddings. Read the full answer
A cantor (hazzan) leads the congregation in prayer and sacred music, teaches b’nai mitzvah students, officiates at lifecycle events and offers pastoral care. Read the full answer
About JSLI
JSLI is pluralistic and trans-denominational. Students come from every Jewish movement, study them all, and are guided by Rabbi Blane’s Jewish Universalism, though graduates follow their own path. Read the full answer
No. JSLI is fully online. Classes meet live by Zoom every week, and you’re ordained at an online Ordination Shabbaton that family and friends can join from anywhere. Read the full answer