Ritually Rooted
A fellowship for college-aged folks to explore and create deeply rooted modern Jewish ritual.
Learn timeless Jewish wisdom
Connect with a cohort of peers on campuses across North America
Build relationships with a mentor and faculty who are innovators and community builders
Lead your community in creative ritual
Who: Jewish college-aged individuals from across North America who are curious about their roots.
What: A fellowship for college-aged individuals who want to dive deeper into Jewish wisdom, finding and creating relevance for today.
When: January – May/June 2025, see FAQs below for synchronous meeting times and overall time commitment.
Why: Feel knowledgeable and empowered to integrate Jewish roots with modern relevance.
How: Explore the roots of various Jewish rituals and how diversely they are practiced in the world.
For any questions, email Erin Fine.
Frequently Asked Questions
At least a little bit. As part of the fellowship you will be crafting a ritual experience for your community. We want you to be connected to some kind of community in order to set you up for success on this project. If you aren’t sure if you have enough of a connection, reach out for more information.
HUC is committed to building a learning community that represents the diversity of the Jewish Community. Jews-by-choice, Sephardi Jews, Mizrahi Jews, Jews of Color, people of color, women, people with disabilities, immigrants, LGBT2QIA+ people, and people who come from poor or working-class backgrounds are encouraged to apply. We are here to talk if you have questions about how you will feel supported in this space. Please reach out to Erin Fine to schedule a time to chat. On your application form, you can also indicate in which areas you will need help to feel successful and supported in the fellowship.
Ritually Rooted has two parts to the application process:
- A nomination form filled out by a colleague, mentor, or supervisor in the community where you hope to build your ritual project.
- An application with information about you, your background, and your interest in the program. Nominations are due December 1 and applications are due December 13.
The commitment for Ritually Rooted is about 20-30 hours total over the course of the Spring semester/Winter and Spring quarters, depending on independent project work time. This breaks down to:
- Six, 90-minute synchronous learning sessions on Wednesday evenings 4:30-6pm PT/7:30-9pm ET from January 29 to March 5, 2025
- Three monthly, 30-minute synchronous community ritual moments on Fridays in February, March, and April
- Asynchronous community ritual participation in discussion
- 3-5 hours of mentorship meetings to be scheduled at a mutually agreeable time
- 5-10 hours of independent work on your community ritual project between March-May/June
All group sessions will happen on Zoom. If it is geographically possible, small group and chevruta sessions may happen in-person.
Fellows will learn with a wide range of mentors and faculty from across North America and the Jewish ecosystem.
For this pilot year, we are thrilled that there is no cost to participate.
We will ask for at least one meeting with your student and their mentor earlier in their fellowship to discuss their goals and community ritual project. They will need some support on the ritual project in terms of scheduling and logistics, but our hope is that mentors will do as much of the heavy lifting as possible and can be in touch with you for campus /community – specific needs.
Students will be mentored as they create a ritual to lead for their own community. Grants will be available for students projects by Men of Reform Judaism.
