Programs in rabbinical and Talmudic studies prepare people to master Jewish doctrine or work as rabbis. Students learn Jewish law, philosophy, and ethics. They study sacred literature and law. They learn how to comfort and teach people.

The Jewish community is looking for (quite) a few good rabbis. Outside of the Orthodox movement, there is a great need for rabbis to fill pulpits being vacated by retirements. And Orthodox rabbis are needed in smaller communities.

Years ago the way to prepare for the rabbinate was to study at a yeshiva. There was little formal curriculum, but the focus was on Talmud. Students worked in pairs, debating the various points of view expressed in Talmud. The head of the yeshiva or another learned person would give regular shiurim (lectures) on interesting points of the law. When a student felt he (it was only men at that time) was ready, he would ask to be examined by the head of the yeshiva. If he passed, he would be ordained. But to be called a rabbi, he had to be appointed by the community.

Nowadays you can still study Talmud at a yeshiva very much like this. And you may want to do this for its own sake, for whatever length of time suits you. Or you may have the goal of becoming an Orthodox rabbi. (Note that now there are also yeshivas attended by women, and non-Orthodox yeshivas.) In yeshiva, you study the 63 tractates of (mostly) law that make up the Mishna, and the rabbinic deliberations on them that make up the Gamara. The goal is not just to learn the final decision of the rabbis; the goal is to understand the reasoning on all sides.

The Orthodox movement also has about 20 schools called seminaries, intended to produce rabbis. Some of these largely follow the yeshiva model. Others resemble the seminaries of the Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist movements, in that they require you to have a bachelor's degree before you enter and have a formal curriculum. (Each of these movements has only a very few seminaries.) Seminary for all the movements takes about five years. You may need an extra year if your Hebrew skills need work. You study the Hebrew Bible and Talmud. You learn how Jewish law was codified and how Jewish thought has evolved and continues to do so in response to historical events and the surrounding culture. You refine your skills for leading services and chanting sacred texts. You learn principles of Jewish education and counseling.