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The
Mini-School core curriculum, studied over two years, encompasses
the following four courses:
Year l
(30 lessons, first year)
Central ideas and texts
which inform rituals daily,
weekly, annual, and life cycle
observances.
- Purposes of Jewish Living
(30 lessons, first year)
Essential Jewish theological concepts and ideas as they
unfold in the Bible, the Talmud and other sacred texts.
Year ll
- Ethics of Jewish Living
(30 lessons, second year)
Ethical issues such as justice, life and death, sexuality
and community, with case studies from Talmudic, rabbinic
and contemporary literature.
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Dramas of Jewish Living Throughout the Ages
(30 lessons, second year)
Dramatic developments, experiences and issues from different
periods in Jewish history, as reflected in historical texts.
The Scholars Curriculum
And other Graduate Materials
The Scholars Curriculum provides an opportunity for continued study for graduates of the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School. Building on the two years of text-based study of Judaism, the Scholars Curriculum focuses on a deeper examination of selected Jewish texts, from the Biblical to the modern. The Scholars Curriculum invites Mini-School graduates to the engagement with Jewish texts that has shaped Jews and Judaism for millennia.
The following graduate courses are currently available. Please check
with your local site director to see which graduate courses are being
offered this year in your area.
 SHIVIM PANIM: SEVENTY FACES OF WISDOM
This series of study focuses on seventy selections of texts from the Torah. Based on the tradition that the Torah has “70 faces” or ways of interpreting and understanding it, the curriculum features a multi-faceted approach to its study. These include:
- modern and classic commentary by scholars
- interpretations of the texts by artists, poets, and others in a variety of media
- opportunities to learn key Hebrew vocabulary in the context of text study
- discussions on the real-life implications of the texts
Module 1: Bereshit –Part I
Adam to Abraham: The First 20 Generations
Module 2: Bereshit - Part II
Stories of the First Jewish Family
Module 3: Shemot - Part I
From Slavery to Sinai
New ten-lesson course of study
The Book of Shemot is filled with drama and dilemma. Leadership, bravery, faith and doubt are just some of the words that can be used to describe the critical moments that serve as the textual basis of this engaging course.
Through a wide selection of classic and modern commentaries, spanning hundreds of years of thought and reflection, students will consider for themselves the questions posed by the biblical texts, and then compare and contrast the possible solutions.
As with all Shiv’im Panim courses, textual commentaries will be accompanied by artwork and other alternative interpretations of the biblical texts.
CONTEMPORARY JEWISH LIFE
ISRAELI LITERATURE AS A WINDOW TO ISRAELI SOCIETY
This course of study offers a fresh and fascinating examination of Israeli society since the birth of the State in 1948. Through the pens of its leading writers, participants have an encounter with Israeli society that is original, contemporary, honest and proud. Reflections of the mythic Israel are matched by poetry and prose that is challenging and self-critical, and both offer profound insight into the Israeli national psyche.
THE HOLOCAUST AS REFLECTED IN DIARIES AND MEMOIRS
New ten-lesson course of study, part of the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School Scholars Curriculum
In this new course students will:
Encounter the Holocaust on the personal level
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Compare and contrast the way members, both young and old, of different European Jewish communities reacted to the Holocaust through analysis of their writings.
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Read and discuss writings related to:
Family Life
Youth and Education
Cultural and Religious Life
Day-to-Day Living
Jewish Leadership
 The Claims Conference supported the development of the Holocaust curriculum
OTHER GRADUATE COURSES
TALES FROM THE TALMUD
This course offers an introductory approach to the Talmud and to chavruta study. Its content focuses primarily on Revelation and what happened at Sinai. Its scope includes a broader understanding of and appreciation for the creative approaches to rabbinic thought that have defined Jewish life as we know it and live it today in the 21st century.
YOSEF: BEYOND THE COAT OF MANY COLORS
Focusing on the longest unified narrative in the Torah, this study of Yosef offers an in- depth examination of Yaakov’s favorite son and his remarkable family. Yosef is the central figure as our history moves from the story of a family to the story of tribes in preparation for becoming a nation. The analysis of this beautifully constructed biblical drama provides an opportunity to discover universal truths that bridge the past and speak to us today.
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