Requirements & Benefits

Membership in the Sinai Scholars Society offers a unique opportunity to explore your Jewish heritage, and we hope it will inspire you to continue your pursuit of Jewish education and active participation in the Jewish community. To ensure that fellows will be able to engage fully in the activities and course of study offered by the Sinai Scholars Society, we offer a stipend which will be awarded upon successful completion of the course and fulfillment of all program requirements.

Fellowship in the society continues after completion of the program, and in the coming months and years it will offer additional opportunities for members to interact with an ever-expanding network of fellow students and Jewish leaders across the country.

Because of the limited number of spaces available, we wish to ensure that those who are accepted into the program are able to make the most of the experience. The primary criteria for admission to the program are demonstration of interest in the offerings of the program and evidence of willingness to fulfill the requirements of society membership.

After you apply to the Sinai Scholars Society, you will be interviewed by the course instructor. If your application is accepted, you will be asked to attend an orientation session to introduce you to the program. 

All fellows are expected to attend each of the eight two-hour classes that comprise the course.

In addition, as the course progresses, you will be expected to participate in at least three events:

• A Shabbat dinner, at a time to be announced.
• A half-day mid-semester field-trip or “retreat” with your class.
• The gala closing event in the week following the completion of the course. 

You may be asked by your instructor to respond briefly to a short thought question in advance of each class. In addition, each student will be required to write:

1) A one (1) page reaction paper reflecting on the  how your experience as a Sinai Scholar has changed or developed your perspective on Jewish living.

2) A 3-5 page analysis paper on a topic of your choice  to be entered in a Sinai Scholars Society essay contest. See below for a list of suggested writing topics.

3) Complete an end of semester survey for the benefit of future Sinai Scholar students like yourself, as we continue to respond to your feedback to enhance the programming we offer.

Please bear in mind that while participation in the Sinai Scholars Society is enjoyable and rewarding, it also requires a willingness to invest the time and effort to take advantage of what the program offers. If you feel that you are able to seriously commit to the program, we encourage you to apply.

Final Paper Criteria

This paper allows you to explore a topic presented in the "Wisdom from Sinai" course material. It should address a specific question and offer an original analysis of the relevant primary evidence and the secondary scholarly material. The focus of the paper should be centered upon developing an original argument in response to your question. Please keep in mind that we expect papers to be well written, well researched, and well argued.

Papers must be submitted and accepted before stipends can be remitted.

Please submit papers online at SinaiScholars.com on the student desktop accessible via your login.

Paper Topics

Topics should fall into one of the following categories: philosophy, ethics, theology, law, or history. While these categories are broad and do overlap, they should help you determine what your paper will be about and define a framework for it. Please consult the list of suggested paper topics for more specific ideas.

The Writing Process

You are encouraged to contact the Chabad rabbi on your campus for advice and feedback. Please feel free to submit paper outlines and drafts. Students are urged to make use of the writing center on campus for advice on structuring, grammar and editing.

Ethical Practices

All students must adhere to the highest ethical and moral standards. Any form of plagiarism will lead to rejection of the paper and forfeiture of the stipend.

"Plagiarism includes presenting or paraphrasing a phrase, sentence, or passage of a published work (including material from the World-Wide Web) in a paper or exam answer without quotation marks and attribution of the source, submitting your own original work toward requirements in more than one class without the prior permission of the instructors, submitting a paper written by someone else, submitting as your own work any portion of a paper or research that you purchased from another person or commercial firm, and presenting in any other way the work, ideas, data, or words of someone else without attribution." (Source)

Paper Guidelines

1. The paper should be 3-5 pages (600-1000 words). Longer papers are welcome. 
2. The paper should be properly cited. Any academically acceptable citation is welcome (i.e. MLA, Chicago, APA style).
3. All papers must be double spaced, using 12 point Times New Roman font, with one inch margins on the top and bottom and 1.25 in margins on each side.
4. Please number every page.

Suggested Topics

The Sinai Scholars course broadly covers the Ten Commandments.  Students are encouraged to explore and expand upon one of the topics presented below or develop their own ideas relating to the course material.

When writing it may help to bear in mind that there will be a Sinai Scholars Symposium in April 11-12, 2010 at Dartmouth College focusing on "Ancient Ethics in a Postmodern World".  Final papers are eligible for resubmission to this symposium, providing they meet the symposium criteria (www.sinaischolars.com/symposium).

• The general concept of Divine Revelation of Law/Ethics.
• The general idea of immutable Divine Law in the context of changing societies and/or in the specific context of modernity and post modernity.
• Specific aspects of Biblical Law and Ethics (especially as expressed in the Ten Commandments) in the contemporary world such as:
  • Contemporary Idolatry: money, lust and power
  • Metaphysics and the Power of the Intangible as it pertains to our well being and our environment
  • 'Should Blasphemy Be a Crime?'
  • Observance of the Sabbath in the light of modern technology/culture
  • Work Ethics, Business Ethics and personal/public good works
  • A Jew's responsibility to the environment
  • Letting animals rest and broader issues of animal welfare
    Relationship with parents
  • Ethics of abortion/euthanasia
  • Other aspects of modern medical ethics
  • Ethics of a just war
  • The family and other aspects of sexual ethics
  • Contemporary subtleties concerning property rights (eg: intellectual property)
  • Exploring the theoretical basis of the legal system
  • Issues concerning censorship (e.g. with regard to the internet)
  • Personal spirituality in the modern world (expressing the ethos of the Tenth Commandment: avoiding inappropriate desire).

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