Leo Baeck College, Centre for Jewish Education

As the only fully validated and accredited Jewish seminary in the UK, Leo Baeck College (LBC) is the place where rabbis and educators equipped for the 21st century are trained, where the leaders of Progressive Judaism are nurtured, and where the heart of Progressive Jewish thought is developed.

Based on the model of the Berlin Hochshüle, Leo Baeck College was founded in 1956 by Rabbi Dr Werner van der Zyl and named in honour of his teacher, Rabbi Dr Leo Baeck. To date, Leo Baeck College has ordained more than one hundred and eighty rabbis and graduated over ninety educators serving in Progressive communities worldwide. Our alumni provide the leadership and learning across the Progressive Jewish world in the United Kingdom, Europe, Former Soviet Union, United States, Australia, South Africa, Israel, and beyond.

With our select student body we are able to offer challenging academic and vocational studies whilst maintaining an individual, friendly, and supportive environment, making the learning experience a truly personal one. With academic and vocational faculty of the highest calibre and one of the most important Jewish libraries in Europe, as well as excellent teaching resources, Leo Baeck College is infused with a love of Jewish learning.

For over five decades, the College community has been a beacon of hope and renewal for Progressive Judaism; we are its beating heart. I hope that it will remain a beacon for years to come, and that you can find a course that motivates you to join us here and become a part of our ever expanding family.

Mission Statement

Leo Baeck College is a preeminent institution of Jewish scholarship and learning that is the heart of the intellectual and spiritual life of the Progressive Jewish community. Leo Baeck College combines inspirational, high caliber teaching with a commitment to developing rabbis, other professionals, and lay leaders who will build sustainable, accessible, and thriving Progressive Jewish communities.

Our Mission is supported by:

• A unique obligation to nurturing our students to ensure their personal, academic, vocational, and spiritual development.

• A dedication to developing rabbis who will build vibrant and viable communities whilst being sensitive to the constantly changing needs of contemporary Jewish life and livelihoods.

• A dedication to creating a generation of Jewish educators who teach with knowledge and passion and who cultivate a love of Jewish learning and Jewish tradition that will shape the Jewish experience of the next generation.

• A commitment to training rabbis and Jewish educators who will ensure a deep understanding and appreciation of authentic, egalitarian, accessible Judaism within our communities.

• A commitment to creating a vibrant learning and teaching environment, which is imbued with a clear sense of equality, openness to critical thinking, and a devotion to God and Torah.

• A pledge to continuing to develop a faculty who are able to nurture the next generation of Jewish leaders through academic excellence, intellectual rigour, and inspirational pedagogy.

• A commitment to working in collaborative partnerships with key stakeholder Movements and funders for the betterment of Progressive Judaism, its constituent communities, and its future.

• A determination to preserving and increasing the accessibility to the Leo Baeck College library, one of Europe’s leading Jewish libraries, which is an irreplaceable resource for scholars, rabbis and students who wish to access these sacred books.

• An ambition to providing a prestigious institute of adult Progressive Jewish study beyond the synagogue.

Vision

To be the driving force, source of inspiration, and beating heart of the future of the Progressive Jewish community, which is firmly positioned in a sustainable centre of excellence and which trains skilled, passionate, and dedicated leaders who are inspired by and are inspiring about Judaism.