Student Perspectives on Spiritual Formation at a Jewish Pluralistic Seminary: A Qualitative Study

Spiritual formation has historically been considered an important part of theological education for seminary students. Empirical research in this area has grown over the past 15 years; however, this research has been almost exclusively in Christian contexts. As the demands on clergy become increasingly challenging, it is necessary to understand spiritual formation processes among emerging religious leaders across diverse traditions. We build on a growing body of research by offering a brief comparative analysis of prior research related to spiritual formation in Christian and Jewish seminaries. Using reflexive thematic analysis, we analyzed 36 student perspectives on spiritual formation at a Jewish pluralistic seminary in the United States. Students described formation processes occurring in three contexts: (a) on-campus seminary-sponsored activities (e.g., t'filah/prayer); (b) off-campus seminary-sponsored experiences (e.g., clinical pastoral education); and (c) non-seminary-sponsored resources (e.g., psychotherapy). We center the uniquely Jewish aspects of students' requests for more training in areas such as practical rabbinics and social justice (i.e., tikkun olam, repairing the world), relational growth and virtue development (i.e., middot, character development), and spiritual reflection and restorative practices (i.e., Shabbat observance), while also connecting these findings to larger trends in Christian seminary education. Future research directions and implications for Jewish seminary training are considered, drawing upon interdisciplinary relational spirituality frameworks.