| Interest and attendance in adult Jewish learning programs has flourished over the last two decades. However, little in-depth research on adult Jewish learning as a sociological phenomenon, or of the impact of studying traditional Jewish texts on the identities of contemporary, non-traditional American Jews, has been published. Filled as it is with the interactions and tensions between the "living texts" of students' identities and the "written texts" of the Jewish cannon, the adult Jewish learning classroom offers a valuable window into the process of integrating the ideals of traditional Judaism with those of post-Enlightenment Western culture.;This dissertation explores these interactions through an examination of one site of the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School, a national program of adult Jewish learning. This research generated numerous original data sources, including interviews with students and teachers, analysis of the program curriculum and textual sources, and a year of ethnographic classroom observations. The richness of the data allowed for a multi-dimensional examination and analysis of: the Jewish lives, backgrounds, and ideals of the learners; the underlying values of an adult Jewish learning curriculum; the questions, dialogues, and interpretations within the classroom; and the impact of learning on Jewish beliefs, behaviors and communal affiliations.;The data analysis showed that while many of the students were intensely engaged with their learning and greatly appreciated the exposure to new Jewish beliefs and traditions, on a deeper level their ideals and values remained solidly rooted in contemporary American culture. The students' reflections and classroom conversations revealed that they "coalesced" their American and Jewish values such that individualism and personal choice were viewed as not only compatible with Judaism, but as the highest and most authentic expression of Judaism. This suggests that even as growing numbers of American Jews participate in a Jewish educational and cultural "Renaissance," the potentially creative dialogue between tradition and modernity is being muted. |
