"The Israel Experience" is an integral curriculum component of all rabbinical schools affiliated with the worldwide Conservative Movement. In 1990 the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies established an Overseas Program at its Rabbinical School. Since then the Schechter Institute has served as an academic and cultural base for rabbinical students learning for a year in Israel.

---

In 2005-06, 33 overseas students are studying at the Schechter Rabbinical Seminary.

Reflecting the professional concerns of the Rabbinate in North America, the programs maintain the highest academic standards with emphasis placed on Talmud, Halakhah, and Bible. All students receive an intensive Hebrew language program.

The program is designed to expose overseas student to Israel on a range of emotional and cognitive levels. Learning becomes experiential, as students set out to explore the land, with Bible in hand and an experienced tour guide to put Israel's history, archeology and religion into perspective.

Students learn about modern Israeli society through social action programs. They may tutor Russian or Ethiopian school children, assist in hospitals, become involved with a political, cultural or educational organization, or create a project tailor-made to their particular interests. Learning experiences with several of Israel's Masorti congregations provide overseas students with useful contacts and ideas for trips with their own future professional constituencies. The students are also encouraged to attend plays, concerts, dance performances, and to initiate visits with friends and relatives.

The year program in Israel immerses the overseas student in Israeli culture and the Hebrew language, forging an unforgettable Jewish learning experience for these future Jewish leaders of the Diaspora.