Merle Orren Scholars Transformation (MOST)

Have you ever wondered if there is more to life? Do you have deep questions that demand deep answers? Do you want to bring out the best in yourself and others?

We invite you to apply for the Merle Orren Scholars Transformation (MOST) Program and launch yourself on a path of meaning and purpose, a path that will help you get the MOST out of life. Through this program you will transform lives – your own and others’ – through the power of Torah.

Most of us would love to study our Jewish tradition more – just as we would love to exercise more and eat a healthier diet. But we often need an incentive or push to get us to do what we would love to do. The MOST program is a gentle push.

Since 2014 the MOST program has inspired Temple Emanuel members to embark on a journey of Jewish discovery at institutions of Jewish learning in the U.S. and Israel. MOST has transitioned to bring that learning home by engaging TE parents of young children in deep Jewish learning.

The MOST program provides funds for you to join a cohort of peers with young children for a series of monthly learning sessions in private homes with esteemed Hartman scholar Joshua Levisohn, Director of Boston’s Shalom Hartman Institute of North America. A meal and babysitting will be covered to enable you to attend. No homework. You will benefit enormously from MOST whether you have substantial or little Judaica/Hebrew background. The study programs are pitched to students with a wide range of Jewish study experience. You don’t need to know Hebrew to participate actively. Past MOST scholars describe this experience as life-changing.

The learning sessions provide a sophisticated introduction to the foundations of a thoughtful Jewish life. Rather than offering a “how to” of Judaism, the aim is to explore important ideas that have shaped what Judaism means and how these ideas intersect with living Jewishly. For example, what do we owe all people and those in our inner circle? How do we balance personal and communal identity? We will extract from our Jewish tradition profound yet practical answers to such questions.