SHMUES: THE GREAT CONVERSATION (JEWISH LIT 101) is a high school literature and creative writing course for ages 14+. Participants study eight great Jewish novels and one volume of short stories, create impressive portfolios of original creative writing inspired by the texts, and publish their work in our podcast and in our literary magazine. Teens can use SHMUES as a meaningful, substantive extracurricular activity, or as part of a homeschool language arts curriculum.
The primary goal of SHMUES: to help teens become capable, curious readers of complex, non-contemporary, adult-level Jewish fiction, so that they too may be part of 'the great conversation' - the dialogue between writers and readers over centuries. We have carefully chosen and sequenced texts from 1880 - 2020 to steadily build up student reading capacity and to offer a panoramic view of modern Jewish literature and its central themes.
Many young adults, including many students at elite universities, are not making the leap from graphic novels, abridged versions, and easy contemporary novels, to more challenging and older texts. SHMUES builds a bridge and walks your teen over it. In a warm, structured, close-knit cohort setting, we guide teens step-by-step through building the skills, and building up the experience and stamina, that make reading great older novels not only feasible but deeply enjoyable. Our creative writing curriculum is a key part of this journey. Modeled on first-year seminars at liberal arts colleges, adapted for ages 14+, our writing coursework is designed to work in direct synergy with the course reading list.
Course dates: Semester 1: October 4, 2026 - January 27, 2027. Semester 2: February 1 - June 16, 2027. Holidays/breaks: December 20-Jan 1 (Winter Break), April 1- 9 (Spring Break/Pesach).
Tuition: $288/full course, $170/Each Semester, $45/monthly. Students may join the course at the beginning of any calendar month, if space is available.
Class size: 20 students max. Sign up early to avoid disappointment.
Admissions Guidelines: This course is open to students 14+ who understand themselves to be Jewish. Students can use the course as either a rigorous extracurricular activity or as a homeschool literature and writing course.
Instructors: Darren and Suzanne Alexander. Read about our qualifications and experience here.
Course Requirements: SHMUES students will need to log-on to our course forum on Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays (time of day is up to you). All course participation is text-based (no Zoom calls). Total weekly time commitment: ~5-6 hours/week. All students will need access to a computer, and copies of the books listed below, to participate in this course.


COURSE TEXTS:

October: The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, Mordecai Richler (1959)
November: In the Beginning, Chaim Potok (1975)
December: The Plot Against America, Philip Roth (2004)
January: The Hope, Herman Wouk (1993)
February: Never-Ending Tales, Jack Zipes, editor (2025)
March: A Simple Story, S.Y. Agnon (1935)
April: The Family Moskat, Isaac Bashevis Singer (1950)
May: The Weight of Ink, Rachel Kadish (2017)
June: The World to Come, Dara Horn (2006)
ENROLL NOW

Pay for the whole course, the first semester, or by the month.

Please note: if you wish to sign up 'by the month,' you will need to wait until October when this course begins - otherwise you'll be paying monthly for nothing until then; our platform unfortunately lacks a way to 'start monthly payments later.' Space is not guaranteed. Second semester will be available for purchase in November 2026.

All tuition fees are in USD.





Course details: This course is designed to serve two potential purposes: as a rigorous, meaningful extracurricular activity, or as part of a homeschool language arts course. This course may be used for a 1.0 (~144 hrs) credit by homeschool students: we provide a comprehensive syllabus, course outline, and certificate upon completion. We also provide grading rubrics, so that parent educators can grade their student's work for their homeschool transcript. NB: We do not grade student work.
Our primary goals in creating and delivering SHMUES:
1) grow student capacity to read and enjoy diverse, syntactically complex, non-contemporary, adult-level Jewish literature 2) introduce students to central themes in modern English-language Jewish literature, including: tradition and modernity, immigrant experiences, diaspora and Israel, Judaism in secular society, memory and the Shoah, Yiddishkeit and Jewish life in America 3) introduce students to the culture, practice and value of writers’ workshops; 4) support students to cultivate a practice of writing frequently, with curiosity, and with openness; 5) create repeated experiences of writing as a joyful, generative experience, and to connect students with the uniquely meaningful connections and community that form through shared creative work, 6) create a meaningful space for community between geographically-distant Jewish teens, including many who lack in-person communal experiences. 

Admission Guidelines: This course is open to students 14+ who understand themselves to be Jewish. Our students come from every corner of Jewish life: Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, secular, patrilineal, and beyond.
How to tell if your student is ready for SHMUES: Can your student easily read and discuss Chaim Potok's The Chosen? (Not sure? Grab a copy and ask your teen to read the first chapter and discuss together.) If yes, s/he can succeed in this course.
If not, we suggest the following:
>If your student is 14 or 15, consider SHVEL, our course for younger teens, first. We generally recommend that most 14 year olds start with SHVEL.
>Older teen but not ready? Read the novels from the second semester of our SHVEL class together this year and consider SHMUES next fall.
More info: Our reading and the creative writing curriculum are intellectually rigorous and avoid busy-work, making our courses excellent choices for smart kids who chafe at worksheets that feel pointless. Our courses are designed to encourage students to delight in the texts and try out a wide variety of writing styles, idioms, voices, perspectives and formats; our discussion questions and writing prompts are not, for the most part, focused on 'self reflection' or 'write about yourself'.
We have worked with many young writers who bloom once they are in a writing community focused on creating, not self-reflecting; writing with purpose (other people will read and engage with their work!); and creative autonomy (important for all young writers - please, give your student creative space while working on this course: do not critique, edit, or compare your student's written work to that of other students).

Code of Conduct: Derech Eretz
Derech eretz means "the way of the land" - the basic decency and respect we owe to one another. In our online community, these values guide everything we do. We go over these expectations at the beginning of each course; we ask that parents also review this code of conduct with each student.
1) Be respectful. Be curious. Be kind.
2) Assume good faith. Disagree thoughtfully.
3) Show up. Read. Participate.
4) Co-create community: cheer on your classmates, share your thoughts, ask questions!
5) Our students come from every corner of Jewish life: Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, secular, patrilineal, and beyond. We honor the many ways of being Jewish. In our community, we never question the Jewishness of another student.

Scholarships: No student is turned away due to lack of funds. We are proud to offer the Almagor Scholarship to students who need financial assistance to access our courses. Please email us at yidlitclub@gmail.com and we will send you the scholarship application.
The Almagor Scholarship is offered in memory of Horace Myers "Mike" Alexander, z"l, and Rina Rachel Alexander nee Almagor, z"l, with immense love and gratitude.