Abraham-Geiger-Kolleg


Abraham Geiger Kolleg is a rabbinic seminary at the University of Potsdam in Potsdam, Germany.

History

Abraham Geiger Kolleg 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, a German Reform-oriented rabbi and scholar, and is managed by the Rabbis Walter Jacob and Walter Homolka. In 2009, the college ordained Juval Porat as a cantor; he is the first person to be trained as a cantor in Germany since the Holocaust. In November 2010, the college ordained Alina Treiger, who is the first female rabbi to be ordained in Germany since World War II. Her ordination was held at Berlin's Pestalozzi Synagogue, and attended by Christian Wulff, then president of Germany, and Jewish leaders from around the world. In 2011 the college ordained Antje Deusel, who is the first German-born woman to be ordained as a rabbi in Germany since the Nazi era.

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.
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 Central Council of Jews in Germany, 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.

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. Laureates:
Famous and outstanding representatives of Jewish studies are invited as guest lecturers.
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.

Alumni

Rabbiner