The Gerecht Family Institute

HUC-JIR offers comprehensive training to its North American rabbinic, cantorial, and education students on guiding and accompanying individuals through the process of becoming Jewish through conversion.

Since its first retreat in 2000, the Gerecht Family Institute for Outreach at HUC-JIR has educated hundreds of rabbis, cantors, and Jewish professionals through an intensive seminar about the conversion process. Through the generosity of the National Center to Encourage Judaism (NCEJ), students gain skills to build communities of belonging, support and guide conversion students, understand ritual and Jewish legal issues around conversion, and provide for the pastoral needs of conversion students and their families during the seminar.

Students learn from a wide range of presenters – including HUC-JIR faculty, rabbis and cantors in the field, and former and current conversion students. They study essential Jewish texts, grapple with challenging topics, and engage with one another, gaining a rich perspective around issues of conversion and belonging.