Sinai Scholars is a Jewish learning class, based on the pillars of discovering one’s individual Jewish heritage, connecting with other Jewish students across campus, and becoming an empowered Jewish leader. It is composed of 10 classes, each one based around one of the Ten Commandments. Sinai Scholars takes these 10 classic points and forces students to think about them and apply them to their own lives today.
After 18 years of Jewish education in Houston, I loved everything about coming to college at UT Austin, except I was missing one vital component I had taken for granted during my years at Beth Yeshurun Day School, I. Weiner Middle School, and Emery High School. Sinai Scholars brought Jewish education back into my life, and furthermore took me back to the basics. My favorite part was the group; everyone chose to be there and came from different backgrounds — years of formal Jewish education like me, a complete lack thereof, and everything in between. We fed off of each other’s ideas to push ourselves, and developed opinions on various aspects of our religion, faith, and modern society. After completion of the course, Erin Scheinthal, a Fall 2012 Sinai Scholars alum, exclaimed, “The friends I made, the information I learned, and the deeper connection I made with my religion all mean so much to me, and I'm so happy I took the course!”
Not only did Sinai Scholars inspire changes in our daily lives, but some students found other opportunities to continue the development that started there. Eric Samuels attended a seminar in New York City to present a paper he wrote upon completion of the course about money and morality. About his experience he said, “Being a relatively nonobservant Jew, I was very nervous about how the weekend would unfold… Sunday was the day our presentations were held, so I took the subway into Manhattan [from Crown Heights] and was welcomed warmly by a host of people when I entered the Chabad near NYU… With all of the catch phrases that we commonly hear to promote events, I was surprised and encouraged by the accuracy of those phrases in the context of the Sinai Scholars event.” Alana Reifer, alum of the first Sinai Scholars class at UT, chose to attend a program called IsraelLinks after her experience with Sinai Scholars. She explained, “IsraelLinks, to me, was similar to Sinai Scholars, except Israel was my classroom. It was the most incredible experience I ever had and I thank Rabbi Zev, Ariela, and my time in Sinai Scholars for re-sparking my interest in Jewish learning. I, like many of my friends, made the mistake of stopping my Jewish education after I completed Sunday school classes in high school. Sinai Scholars reminds us that no matter how much or how little you think you know about Judaism, there is always more to learn. I highly recommended Sinai Scholars to anyone who is looking to enrich their experience at UT.”
Sinai Scholars brings Judaism back into students’ lives, in a time and place where it is so simple to lose sight of oneself and blend into the UT majority. Rabbi Zev and the Johnson family put so much time, effort, and heart into connecting with the Jewish community on campus. The unique learning environment, group of students, and instruction is unmatched. Sinai Scholars in particular is one resource students should certainly take advantage of when given the opportunity, and I believe every Sinai Scholars alum agrees.
Sarah Robinson is pictured on the right.