In a famous Sherlock Holmes story, the British detective solves a case on account of “the dog that didn’t bark.” Something that should have happened but didn’t helped unlock an unsolved mystery.

My colleagues and I recently thought of this episode as we wrapped up a just-published review of Israel education research across developmental life stages from early childhood to adulthood.*

A boom in adult Jewish learning

Adult Jewish learning has expanded massively in recent decades. To offer some examples: The Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning (formerly The Florence Melton Adult Mini School) offers courses to thousands of adult learners around the world, and has expanded from in-person courses to on-line courses and global travel experiences; Limmud serves as a platform for adult Jewish learning conferences in 42 countries, reporting 40,000 attendees; and on a smaller scale in North America, the Wexner Heritage Program continues to run multiple cohorts each year to deepen the Jewish knowledge of emerging volunteer leaders.

Newer players such as the Hartman Institute and Hadar have become important contributors to this field in both the United States and Israel. In the last 10 years, podcasts have proliferated to offer instant enrichment, instruction and Jewish inspiration in the most accessible form. Online resources for adult learning continue to multiply, led by field leaders Sefaria, Chabad.org, and the Jewish Virtual Library.

Israel education among adults: Hiding in plain sight

Israel........

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