Atra’s comprehensive research report “From Calling to Career: Mapping the Current State and Future of Rabbinic Leadership” gives organizations and leaders striving to support rabbis data we can use to analyze our respective work. 

At Ammud, we affirm, educate and build leadership among Jews of color, supporting them to be empowered members and leaders of Jewish community and peoplehood. Given Ammud’s involvement in the rabbinical pipeline conversation, “From Calling to Career” has quickly become a foundational tool for our analysis, clarity and storytelling.

Nehemiah Brent

Ammud teacher Rabbi Heather studying Torah with an Ammud student.

I implore all leaders and teams of organizations that support rabbis and rabbinical students to make the most of this research by engaging in critical examination with your team. Here are three ways to start the process of connecting “From Calling to Career” to your work:  

Carve out time for key staff to analyze and comprehend the report 

At Ammud, our ability to carve out time and analyze the report brought us fresh insights into our work. Here is what we learned:

Atra discovering that 42% of students and 35% of would-be rabbis report concern about Hebrew skills and/or Jewish background as a deterrent in pursuing the rabbinate validates what we’ve understood about the lack of accessibility to Hebrew learning since our founding. These findings also steer our programmatic focus in continuing to offer programs like our signature introductory Hebrew reading class Kara Vo, as well as our effort to develop intensive and bespoke Hebrew supports for Jews of color who dream of the rabbinate. 

Additionally, the study found that 77% of rabbis, students and would-be rabbis are motivated by a desire to teach. Teaching has always been central to Ammud’s work. Through our learning frameworks, we train rabbis in teaching through internships and ambassador training, ensuring their students receive excellent Torah education. With this new data confirming how central teaching is to the rabbis we seek to serve, our initiatives will more intentionally highlight the robust teaching and learning components already embedded in our work. What we once treated as one of many valuable benefits of our programming is, in fact, a major draw and something we can now confidently lead with in our recruitment.

In the same vein, 83% of rabbis and 86% of rabbinical students report being motivated by a desire to serve others, with many highlighting inclusion goals that foster representation and belonging for all Jews. This finding reinforces Ammud’s culturally sustaining methodology and our recent efforts to share our frameworks with all rabbis — not only Jews of color — as they prepare to serve increasingly diverse communities. Recently, Ammud introduced elements of our methodology to rabbinical students at both JTS and HUC. These insights will continue to inform how we expand this work, equipping rabbis to create communities where every Jew feels welcome.

Mentorship and guidance also emerge as significant motivators for pursuing the rabbinate. 68% of rabbis and students indicated that the work of other rabbis and Jewish leaders inspired them, validating Ammud’s collaborative approach, including staff presence at programs like Mem’s Global RAV program. 

Under our Amplification of Wisdom pillar, Ammud created a poster series and accompanying Torah teachings from our Ambassador rabbis, and under our Community Centered Torah Learning pillar, created new children’s programming for multiracial Jewish families led by our rabbinic Ambassadors. Until now, this work has been seen as separate from our rabbinical pipeline work. Atra’s study highlighting exposure to diverse rabbinic role models — often beginning in childhood — helps underrepresented groups envision themselves in the rabbinate. This provides a clear connection: our engagement with young Jews of color and their encounters with rabbis of color can support and expand the future rabbinic pipeline.

What you can do:

To come away from this report with similar and applicable information connected to your organization, I suggest carving out time and reflection with your team. With many competing workplace priorities, often a 90-page report will not be read without the support and prioritization from leadership. Give staff the space and prioritization to read the full report, not only with the intention of learning and absorbing the important statistics, but ideating on connections between different data points and how it relates to your organization’s work.  

Ammud uses Bloom’s Taxonomy for structuring learning, both in Torah study and team discussions. Begin by reviewing the report through knowledge and comprehension questions to ensure everyone understands the data; avoid starting with analysis or immediate connections to your work, focusing first on the data establishes a foundation for discussion. Then, move to analysis and synthesis to reflect on how data points connect to programs. For large teams, use post-it notes and a gallery walk to maximize engagement.

Some sample questions you can ask your team:

Knowledge and comprehension 

• Select five facts from the report pertaining to rabbis.
• Quote three participants from the report discussing deterrents.  
• Summarize each of the portions of the report.

Analyze, synthesis, evaluation 

• Categorize the data that is most relevant to our work. 
• Argue how data from the report supports our programmatic strategies or reveals new opportunities we hadn’t considered.
• Propose new programmatic strategies that can be explored based on recommendations from the “Key Opportunities: Nine Areas for Leverage” section of the report. 

Establish consistent language for cross-field collaboration

At Ammud, we’ve been referring to the three branches of people we support under our Jews of Color Educator pillar as rabbis, rabbinical students and future would-be rabbis, the third group comprising individuals aspiring and/or actively pursuing the rabbinate. However, given that many would-be rabbis are defined in Atra’s report as no longer interested in pursuing the rabbinate, we seek to use terminology that both aligns with this research and ensures clarity in cross-field collaboration.

So, instead of using the language future would-be rabbis, we will now use the phrase those who dream of the rabbinate for individuals aspiring and/or actively pursuing the rabbinate, and would-be rabbis to highlight a population that might no longer be actively pursuing clergy careers; individuals such as Marra Gad, a would-be cantor of color and the author of the article “I was discouraged from applying to cantorial school. I still found my voice.” This terminology helps describe the stories we hear at Ammud about Jews of color who encountered barriers, but may remain engaged in Jewish learning.

We can now add another layer of shared language to the stories we hear from Jews of color who return to Ammud after childhood. Some of these individuals loved Jewish learning in Hebrew school and once considered becoming rabbis, but were turned off by negative racialized experiences. Now, they are ready to reengage with their Jewish learning in a supportive space, but are no longer interested in becoming rabbis; we can speak of them as would-be-rabbis. The language of would-be-rabbis is an essential group to define and understand as we shape the field in supporting Jews of color aspiring to become rabbis.

What you can do:

Ask your team these three questions to start thinking critically about internal definitions:

• Are there assumptions embedded in our internal definitions that others — both inside and outside our organization — might not immediately recognize?
• How do the definitions used “From Calling to Career” align or differ from the language our organization uses internally, and how might we need to shift our definitions to operate more consistently and collaboratively within the field?
• What new insights and opportunities come to light with the new definitions “From Calling to Career” introduced? 

As a team, identify new data points that can enrich your storytelling

At Ammud, we regularly cite the 2020 Pew study showing that 15% of Jews under 35 are multiracial. It’s a powerful way to ground our work in data and underscore why organizations led by Jews of color are essential to meeting the needs of an increasingly diverse Jewish community.

Now that Atra has found that of the 4,144 working rabbis surveyed nationwide, only 6% are under the age of 35, it is even clearer that investing in younger Jews pathways to the rabbinate is essential. Combined with a growing share of young Jews identifying as multiracial, tailored support for Jews of color discerning a rabbinic calling is timely.

Another statistic that drew our attention is that Atra data finds 12% of rabbinical school students identify as a race other than white. This affirms our work that this demographic exists and needs unique support that Ammud can provide. 

What you can do:

To explore how data can deepen your organization’s storytelling, begin by inviting team members to share the key data points they already associate with your current narratives and programmatic strategy. If data points are not easily identified, that becomes a helpful piece of information for your team to explore as well.

Then, give team members at least 10 to 15 minutes of solo processing time to reflect on “From Calling to Career” and ask them to answer the following questions in preparation for a group discussion: 

• How can we make the case that data points “From Calling to Career” connect to our current programs?
• What data from “From Calling to Career” can help make our stories about our work more compelling? 

Ask team members to practice a 30 seconds to 1 minute explanation of your programs with the new inclusion of data points “From Calling to Career” threaded in. 

My hope is that our entire sector can benefit from these strategies, dedicating the thoughtful attention and intentional time this report deserves, ultimately supporting the rabbis who serve and strengthen our Jewish communities.

Alexandra Corwin is the executive director of Ammud: The Jews of Color Torah Academy.