Between Reason and Emotion: Intellectual and Existential Tensions in Contemporary Rabbinic Education; A Portrait of Neil Gillman

Abstract

This article employs the qualitative research method of portraiture to describe, analyze, and interpret the challenges involved in teaching rabbinical students at a liberal seminary. The portrait of Dr. Neil Gillman, a professor of Jewish thought at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City, explores some of the ideological and educational tensions at the heart of rabbinic education. The article also examines the ways in which the institutional context affects how pedagogical vision is translated into classroom practice, and raises questions about the relationship between vision and practice in rabbinic education.