Abraham-Geiger-Kolleg
Abraham Geiger Kolleg is a rabbinic seminary in Potsdam, Germany. The school was founded 1999 as the only seminary in Germany since the Holocaust, when the Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums in Berlin was shut down by the Gestapo. The college is named after Abraham Geiger (1810- 1874), a German Reform oriented Jew, and is managed by the Rabbis Walter Jacob and Walter Homolka.
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[edit] Organizational Integration
In 2001, Abraham-Geiger-Kolleg joined the World Union for Progressive Judaism and in 2005, the examinees received accreditation towards the Central Conference of American Rabbis. The first-generation of ordained Rabbis - Daniel Alter, Tomáš Kučera and Malcolm Mattitiani - left the Kolleg in 2006. Daniel Alter is caring for the Jewish community in Oldenburg, and Tomáš Kučera leads Beth Shalom, a reform Jewish community in Munich. Malcolm Mattitiani returned to South Africa to lead the Temple of Israel Congregation in Kapstadt. [1]
The five-year long studies take place in conjunction with the Kollegium Jüdische Studien, and upon completion, the examinees receive the title of Magister in Jüdischen Studien. The Kolleg is part of Universität Potsdam, funded by the German government, the Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland, the state of Brandenburg and the Potsdam Leo Baeck Foundation. The founding principal of the Kolleg is Rabbi Professor Dres. Allen Podet, who came from State University College at Buffalo to take the post and served from 2001 to 2002.
[edit] Abraham-Geiger-Preis
The Abraham-Geiger-Kolleg dedicates a biannual prize for Verdienste um das Judentum in seiner Vielfalt or, service to Jewish cultural diversity.
- Nominees
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- 2000 Susannah Heschel
- 2002 Emil Fackenheim
- 2004 Alfred Grosser
- 2006 Karl Lehmann
- 2008 Prince Hassan Ibn Talal of Jordan
- 2009 Hans Küng
[edit] Emil Fackenheim Lecture
Famous and outstanding representatives of Jewish studies are invited as guest lecturers.
- 2003 John D. Rayner
- 2004 Daniel Boyarin
- 2005 Jakob Allerhand
- 2007 Michael Marmur
[edit] Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Fellows at Abraham Geiger Kolleg
Rabbi Dr Dalia Marx, Rabbi Dr Yehoyada Amir, Rabbi Dr Samuel K. Joseph and Rabbi Dr Reuven Firestone are members of the HUC-JIR Faculty. They visit Berlin and teach at the Kolleg for four weeks. Rabbis Marx and Joseph have participated twice in this program.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- [1] Deutschen Welle TV about the Kolleg
- www.abraham-geiger-kolleg.de Homepage
- Homepage of Leo-Baeck-Foundation in Potsdam
- Germany's only rabbinic seminary
