There was a palpable sense of excitement throughout the first-ever residency of JTS’s inaugural MA in Ritual Leadership, one of our new MA programs for emerging and established leaders seeking to deepen their skills in prayer leadership. Students who had spent weeks learning together online finally had the chance to gather in person, transforming familiar faces on a screen into in-person study partners, prayer leaders, and friends. Through shared meals, spirited conversations, and student-led tefillah, relationships deepened and a cohort began to take shape. 

Prayer stood at the heart of the residency experience. Students explored the values that shape our sacred prayer spaces and siddurim, while also leading and participating in tefillah alongside the broader JTS community. One particularly meaningful moment came during the daily Minhah service. MA student Lindsay Bressman offered a kavanah, inviting the group to see those few minutes set aside for afternoon prayer not as an interruption to the day, but as a gift: an opportunity to pause, re-center, and reconnect.  

Students also engaged with Rabbi Ayelet Cohen, Pearl Resnick Dean of The Rabbinical School and Dean of the Division of Religious Leadership, and Rabbi Gordon Tucker, Vice Chancellor for Religious Life and Engagement, in conversations about the principles and values that guide communal tefillah. They then put those ideas into practice with Cantor Rabbi Shoshi Levin Goldberg, Director of the H. L. Miller Cantorial School, tackling complex scenarios with thoughtfulness, creativity, and plenty of laughter along the way. (Who knew that calling page numbers could inspire such passionate debate?) 

By the end of the residency, students left with the beginnings of a community rooted in shared learning, prayer, and purpose.  

When dayschool teacher MollyBeth Rushfield needed to explain her two-day absence to her elementary school students, she created a delightful video (screenshots featured below). Her thoughtful and creative approach exemplifies the curiosity, creativity, and dedication that our MA students bring to the program.

Interested in applying for our MA in Ritual Leadership? We are now accepting Fall 2027 applications through March 1, 2027.

Want to learn more? Join us for our virtual open house on November 11 at 7:00 p.m. ET.

It has been a vibrant fall for JTS faculty, marked by new publications, conference presentations, groundbreaking research, and scholarly work around the globe. Read below for the highlights.

In spring of 2027, Dr. Marjorie Lehman, Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics, will be a fellow at the Katz Center for Advanced Jewish Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Shira Billet, Assistant Professor of Jewish Thought and Ethics, was named a Starr Visiting Scholar in Jewish Philosophy at Harvard’s Center for Jewish Studies in spring 2027, and she received the 2026–2027 Westheimer Career Development Fellowship at the Leo Baeck Institute. Her recent article entitled “Prophecy and the Prophets in Modern Judaism” was recently published in Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception.

Professor David Marcus, Professor Emeritus of Bible and Masorah, published two books with Gorgias Press: and .

At Loyola University Maryland in October, Dr. Robert A. Harris, Ph.D., Professor of Bible and Ancient Semitic Languages, joined Elaine T. James, Ph.D., Professor of Old Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary, in a conversation and Q&A about the Book of Isaiah and its implications for Jewish-Christian perspectives today.

Professor Jonathan Milgram, Associate Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics, participated in an international workshop in Israel exploring the intersection of artificial intelligence and Talmudic scholarship. Hosted by Hemdat Academic College in Sdot Negev, the gathering brought together researchers from Israel, the United States, Scotland, and Italy to examine how AI can support the study and teaching of Talmudic and rabbinic literature. Professor Milgram chaired a session highlighting innovative research and educational projects, from tools that help transcribe medieval manuscripts to new approaches for teaching Talmud to students.

The workshop coincided with the anniversary of the October 7 attacks, and participants visited nearby Sderot and the Pillars of Eternity, a monument that commemorates the attack. Reflecting on the experience, Professor Milgram shared: “To be engaged in the advanced study of Torah in this place after the atrocities of just three years ago is the greatest testament to the Jewish people’s commitment to persevere, rebuild, and create moments of hope and meaning even in the wake of tragedy and devastation.”

In June 2026, Dr. Yael Landman, Assistant Professor of Bible, published the article “Letting Ishmael Live: Abraham’s Plea in Genesis 17:18” in the volume .

Dr. Edna Nahshon, Professor of Jewish Theater and Drama, is curating an exhibition titled “Jews and Shoes” at the Herbert & Eileen Bernard Museum of Judaica at Temple Emanu-El. The exhibition is inspired by Dr. Nahshon’s book Jews and Shoes (2008) and is scheduled to open in late February 2027. Museum director Warren Klein is a JTS alum, and the exhibition will feature several loaned items by The JTS Library.

In addition, Dr. Nashon’s article “Between Warsaw and Tel-Aviv: Yitzhak Nozik and the Matateh Theater” is expected to be published in the January 2027 issue of Jewish Identities, published by The Johns Hopkins University Press. At the Israel for the Association for Israel Studies conference, she presented a paper titled “Israel and American Jews on the Broadway Stage: Jerry Herman’s Musical Milk and Honey (1961). She is also working on a study of the Hebrew Actors Union, the first labor actors’ union in America, which preceded Actors Equity by at least 14 years.

Dr. Richard Kalmin, the Theodore R. Racoosin Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics, has been named a Scientific Advisory Board member of the Amard Center for Irano-Semitic Studies and Adjunct Professor Jason Schulman published an edited volume this summer called, (Texas Tech University Press, 2026).

“…Jews across the spectrum of Jewish life are yearning to find sources of inspiration, resilience, belonging, and confidence in their connection to Jewish tradition,” writes Chancellor Mike Uram in Times of Israel.

Chancellor Uram reflects on the journey that brought him to JTS and opportunities for a new Jewish future.

Read in in Times of Israel

Please contact admissions@jtsa.edu with any questions.

Thursday, October 15, 2026

Tzohar: A Window into the JTS Rabbinical School and H. L. Miller Cantorial School 

8:00 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
In Person at JTS

Learn more

Sunday, October 25, 2026

List College Open House

11:00 a.m.– 5:00 p.m.
In Person at JTS 

Learn more

Wednesday, November 4, 2026

MA in Spiritual Care and Counseling Open House

6:30 p.m. ET
Online

Learn more

Monday, November 9, 2026

Ask Us Anything: The MFA @ JTS 

12:00 p.m. ET
Online

Learn more

Wednesday, November 11, 2026

MA in Ritual Leadership Open House

7:00 p.m. ET
Online

Learn more

Wednesday, November 18, 2026

The William Davidson School Open House

• MA in Learning and Leadership
• Executive Doctorate (EdD) in Leadership and Change

12:00 p.m. ET
Online

Learn more

Last week, JTS celebrated Sukkot in community. Students, staff, and faculty, plus neighborhood colleagues and special guests spent time together in our sukkah.  

Check out a video and a few photos below.

The third anniversary of October 7 comes at a time when the Jewish community continues to grapple with uncertainty and change. As Chancellor Uram celebrated Simhat Torah this year, he found himself reflecting on what the holiday teaches us about how we move forward.

Watch his reflections on Simhat Torah, October 7, and why this moment calls us to continue choosing Jewish life, again and again

“Simhat Torah reminds us that our commitment to Torah and Jewish life is not made only once,” Chancellor Uram wrote in an email to the JTS community. “It must be renewed throughout our lives. And so, too, must joy. Especially in difficult times, joy is not something we can take for granted. It is something we create through learning, community, celebration, and the daily choice to engage deeply with Jewish life.

“Choosing joy does not mean turning away from pain or forgetting what has been lost. It means affirming that our tradition is not something to preserve, but something to live, question, celebrate, and carry forward.”

Fall 2026 Learning Series

Mondays, October 26–December 14, 2026
Online
1:00–2:10 p.m. ET

Preoccupation with what comes next, especially in periods of uncertainty, is hardly a new phenomenon. Looking ahead—to what might change, what might endure, and what might be possible—runs throughout Jewish text and tradition.

In this series, JTS scholars and alumni look backward and forward, exploring how Jews across centuries have imagined what comes next, prepared for the unknown, and established what they hoped would endure. From biblical visions and rabbinic ideas about the world to come to preservation, artificial intelligence, and the future of Jewish life, we’ll ask not only what the future might hold, but how we can help shape it. On November 30, Chancellor Mike Uram will present a session on “What Comes Next: Jewish Life and the Future We are Building.”

Session Topics and Faculty

October 26, 2026

The Future of Torah: Jewish Learning in the Age of AI 

With , JTS alum, scholar, writer, and founder of Lightning, a lifelong learning AI platform

Learn more

November 2, 2026

A New Heaven and a New Earth: How the Bible Cultivates Hope for the Future 

With Dr. Amy Kalmanofsky, Dean, List College and Kekst Graduate School; Blanche and Romie Shapiro Professor, Bible, JTS

Learn more

November 9, 2026

Rabbinic Futures, Short and Long Term 

With Dr. David Kraemer, Gerson D. Cohen Chair in Talmud and Rabbinic Culture, JTS

Learn more

November 23, 2026

Anticipatory Memory: Remembering the Future 

With Rabbi Gordon Tucker, Vice Chancellor for Religious Life and Engagement, JTS

Learn more

November 30, 2026

What Comes Next? Jewish Life and the Future We Are Building 

With Rabbi Mike Uram, Chancellor, JTS

Learn more

December 7, 2026

The Bikur Cholim Shul in Slovakia: Preparing for the Future 

With Dr. Marjorie Lehman, Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics, JTS

Learn more

December 14, 2026

Preserving the Past in Service of the Future: A History of The JTS Library 

Dr. Yitz Landes, Assistant Professor of Rabbinic Literatures and Cultures, JTS

Learn more

If you have previously registered for another session in this series, your registration admits you to all sessions in the series, and you may attend as many as you’d like. 

On September 18–19, 2026, 65 List College students enjoyed a spectacular retreat at Camp Ramah in the Berkshires. The turnout was vibrant, and the community showed up for each other in all the ways that reflect its uniqueness.

The Shabbat in the country was filled with many memorable and inspiring moments. Students sang together and took pictures before Shabbat, observed a spirited Kabbalat Shabbat, davened together on Saturday morning, and heard a masterful and inspiring d’var Torah from one of their classmates. The weekend also marked many “firsts”—a first aliyah to the Torah, a first haftarah reading, and a first opening of the aron. Many brave souls even swum in a frigid lake. Other memorable moments included hearing a student’s thought-provoking shiur on suffering and Havdalah under the stars.

In addition to coming together as a larger List community, students participated in class specific programming. Juniors and sophomores took part in an exciting scavenger hunt, and winners received JTS sweatshirts. The senior class of 2027 took a private moment to kick off their senior year. At sunset, they toasted with mocktails—including the Red Heifer Refresher. Each senior received a List College Class of 2027 champagne flute to keep. At the end of the school year, seniors will use their flutes again at a senior reception celebrating graduation.

During her shiur on Saturday afternoon, Dean Amy Kalmanofsky shared that Yom Kippur was her favorite holiday. Afterwards, she decided to amend the statement: though she still loves Yom Kippur, the List College Retreat just may be her favorite holiday! We know the vibrant energy of the retreat will infuse the school year to come.