Building on Melton Classic's two years of text-based study, the Scholars Curriculum focuses on a deeper examination of selected Jewish texts, from the Biblical to the modern. Scholars Curriculum Spotlight Courses are developed at Hebrew University of Jerusalem. We invite you to engage with Jewish texts that have shaped Jews and Judaism for millennia.

Interested in more Spotlight courses? More Classes with Sylvia Frankel, Sarah Liebman, Deborah Eisenbach-Budner, Rabbi Ariel Stone, and Carole Glauber can be found here.


There are 3 ways to register:

We look forward to learning with you!


Winter Evenings

Beyond Borders: History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict


Teacher: Sylvia Frankel
Location: Shaarie Torah, 920 NW 25th, Portland, OR
No. of Sessions: 10
Day of Week: Tuesdays
Dates: Jan 10, 17, 24, 31; Feb. 7, 14, 21, 28; March 6, 13
Time: 7:00-8:15 p.m.
Tuition: $180 Melton Classic grads, $225 all others
Materials: $36
Description: This course encourages discussion and debate and challenges students to appreciate the basis of the conflicting historical claims made by all sides in the conflict. Grapple with complex issues of religion, culture, history, politics, economics, identity and survival—all reflected through primary sources, including newspaper articles, poetry, songs, government documents, speeches, photographs and memoirs. This course curriculum was developed by Melton scholars at Hebrew University of Jerusalem.


Bereshit II: Tales of the First Family


Teacher: Jan Rabinowitch
Location: Shaarie Torah, 920 NW 25th, Portland, OR
No. of Sessions: 10
Day of Week: Tuesdays
Dates: Jan 10, 17, 24, 31; Feb. 7, 14, 21, 28; March 6, 13
Time: 8:30-9:45 p.m.
Tuition: $180 Melton Classic grads, $225 all others
Materials: $36
Description: Follow the development of the first Jewish family, featuring sibling rivalry, wrestling with an angel, palace seduction, rape, and reconciliation, among many other iconic and dramatic scenes from our Biblical narrative. This course curriculum was developed by Melton scholars at Hebrew University of Jerusalem.


Spring Mornings

The Holocaust as Reflected in Diaries and Memoirs


Teacher: Sylvia Frankel
Location: Shaarie Torah, 920 NW 25th, Portland, OR
No. of Sessions: 10
Day of Week: Tuesdays
Dates: March 20, 27; April 3, 17, 24; May 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
Time: 9:15-10:30 a.m.
Tuition: $180 Melton Classic grads, $225 all others
Materials: $36
Description: A profound record of first-person accounts in diaries and memoirs uncovered in the years since the Holocaust. Remarkable insights into the struggle for life as writers describe day-to-day life coping in the ghettoes, imprisoned in the death camps, hiding on the run, and fighting for their lives. This course curriculum was developed by Melton scholars at Hebrew University of Jerusalem.