Clergy

Areivut is built on a holistic, team-based model that recognizes divorce as a multifaceted experience requiring coordinated support. Our training brings together clergy, legal professionals, educators, mental health professionals, organizational leaders, and engaged community members to create a responsive network of care. By aligning language, values, and skills across roles, we strengthen the entire ecosystem surrounding individuals and families. This collaborative approach ensures that no one carries the burden alone and that support is consistent, compassionate, and grounded in shared principles. When working together, this support team can create a safety net that feels steady, caring, and deeply communal.

Continue reading to find out more about the unique role you play.

Clergy often stand at the emotional and spiritual center of Jewish communal life, making them one of the first people individuals turn to when facing divorce. Yet without nuanced training, many rabbis and spiritual leaders feel uncertain about how to respond—fearing they may take sides, overstep, or unintentionally cause harm. This hesitation often leads to stepping back altogether, leaving individuals and families feeling abandoned at the very moment they most need pastoral presence. Divorce carries unique religious, cultural, and communal dimensions within Judaism, and these vary widely across the spectrum of Jewish practice—Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, and beyond. Differences in how communities approach the get, ritual transitions, and communal norms require clergy to understand not only their own movement’s practices but the broader landscape their congregants may be navigating. Nuanced training empowers clergy to offer compassionate, grounded support, recognize when someone needs more specialized help, and connect them to a trusted network of mental health, legal, and financial professionals. When clergy are equipped with this broader understanding and a referral network to lean on, they can show up with confidence and steadiness—anchoring individuals through one of the most destabilizing periods of their lives while strengthening the fabric of their community.