The Rabbi Samuel Scolnic Adult Institute

Fix a period for the study of Torah. (Av. 1:15)

adult Ed (2)

The Rabbi Samuel Scolnic Adult Institute offers classes in a wide variety of Jewish subjects, including traditional Torah study, history, culture, Israel, philosophy, ethics, law, literature, music, and art.

Our clergy teach every fall and spring semester along with other rabbis and educators and experts on specific topics of interest.

Each semester is six weeks long.

If you have any questions, please email scolnicinstitute@bethelmc.org.

The Rabbi Samuel Scolnic Adult Institute was formerly known as the Saul Bendit Adult Institute.

Fall 2026 Semester

Click here to view the Fall 2026 catalog

The Fall 2026 Semester will offer classes on six Tuesday mornings in person at Beth El (October 20 and 27; November 3, 10 and 17; and December 1) and six Wednesday evenings in person at Beth El or via Zoom (October 21 and 28; November 4, 11 and 18; and December 2).

This Fall we are very excited to be offering a wide array of new and challenging courses, presented in a variety of ways, consistent with our mission and the needs of our students.  Select the classes and models that work best for you.
  • In Person Only Classes – at Beth El.  No recordings.
  • Zoom from home – Classes will be recorded and can be viewed at an alternate time
  • Zoom Watch Party at Beth El OR Zoom from home – Classes will be recorded and can be viewed at an alternate time.  For these Watch Party classes, the instructor will be up on a big screen at Beth El (may also be in person). If Zoom from home is your preference, you have the option of doing that.  You do not have to choose one or the other of these options for the whole of the fall session.
If you have questions, please email scolnicinstitute@bethelmc.org.
Registration before October 14: $75/class for members and $85/class for nonmembers
Registration on October 14 or later: $80/class for members and $90/class for nonmembers
Click here to see the full course catalog and class descriptions.
Catalog update: The following courses will not be held: Jews in Sports and Kashrut: A Diet for the Soul. We hope to offer these in the future. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Catalog correction: The registration page in the printed version of the Scolnic Brochure incorrectly lists Jews in Sports as taking place at 8:40 pm. The correct time for this course is 7:30 pm.

The Judith Scolnic Memorial Lecture

To honor the memory of Judith Scolnic z”l, the Scolnic Institute committee hosted a lecture to inaugurate the Fall 2022 semester of classes. Rabbi Benjamin Scolnic, son of Beth El’s Rabbi Samuel Scolnic z”l, and Judith Scolnic z”l, delivered a talk entitled Did Democratic Ideals Begin in Early Israel?

Click here to view the recording from the lecture.