BARKAI trains rabbis to be the communal leaders their congregants need.  With skills such as abuse recognition, sensitivity training, suicide prevention, mediation and other pastoral skills, Barkai rabbis are better equipped to support and sustain their communities’ spiritual and emotional wellbeing.

Why We Do What We Do

For thousands of years, Jewish life centered around the community, led by a synagogue rabbi. Families celebrated good times and bad --together. This created a sense of stability and belonging for Jews regardless of events in the outside world.

While this model has held true in the Diaspora, in the Jewish State, the synagogue is for prayer and the occasional shiur. Here, few shuls employ rabbis, moreover, they are rarely full time and are not trained in pastoral skills. As a result, a sense of community is often missing.

This matters because individuals and families with a support network show greater resilience, mental stability, and communal health. Those without communal support are at greater risk for depression, suicide, shorter life span, crime, substance abuse, and sexual abuse.