Eligibility

The DFI seeks candidates who exhibit:

• A high measure of intelligence, sophistication and depth of experience
• An active, enterprising persona
• Discontent with the status quo
• Ample desire to be challenged
• The capacity to influence and openness to be influenced
• Outstanding measures of integrity, maturity and emotional intelligence, and a strong sense of self
• An abundance of both humility and self-confidence
• A record of persistence, resilience, hard work, and accomplishment
• A penchant for action, risk and creativity
• Readiness to make the best use of the opportunity

AGE

The DFI is open to North American Jews between the ages of 22-29. (To be eligible, one must be 22, but not yet 30 prior to August 1.) Successful candidates exhibit the maturity and life experience to be able to make the best use of the Fellowship to refine, rather than construct, their individual identity.

Please note that the DFI will not make exceptions to this, or other, eligibility requirements.

CAREER

The DFI is designed for the future Jewish lay leader, one who has neither received nor intends to receive formal training in any other Jewish professional preparatory program (i.e., rabbinical school, Jewish communal service programs, etc.).

ALIYAH

As the purpose of the Dorot Fellowship relates to the American Jewish landscape, candidates who do not intend to reside in the U.S. are not eligible.

AFFILIATION AND EXPERIENCE

The Fellowship does not require that candidates have previous experience in Israel, knowledge of Hebrew, or a particular affiliation with any denomination or movement.

LEADERSHIP

The Fellowship seeks candidates who exhibit extraordinary leadership capacity. We value a variety of models of leadership (reform, innovation, and [cultural] creation). We seek candidates who are active in conventional, as well as unconventional, forms of civic and Jewish engagement.

Though a deep understanding of Judaism and Israel is critical for effective American Jewish Leadership, and indeed is a critical goal of the Fellowship, the DFI is not best suited to those who are seeking primarily to explore their relationship to either. Rather, the DFI seeks agents of social change who are committed to improving their capacity to demonstrate the leadership required to create new forms, and reinvigorate existing forms, of Jewish expression.

(Those who are interested in primarily learning about Judaism and/or Israel should visit www.israelexperience.com.)