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Copyright (c) 2007
by the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School Institute
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| From the International Director
[Yonatan Mirvis] |
 As we enter 5768, we are proud to welcome four new schools to our midst: West Hills CA, and Memphis TN in the USA and Calgary, Alberta and London, Ontario in Canada and two new satellites, Baton Rouge LA and Colorado Springs CO which is returning after a hiatus of two years. These schools join our growing global network of Florence Melton Adult Mini-Schools, enhancing the vision of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, making the Mini-School universally accessible.
The year 5768 is a sabbatical year, the seventh year of our seven year cycle. According to our tradition in this year the farmers would leave their fields fallow and dedicate themselves to spiritual matters such as the study of Torah. Thus, the thousands of students who have joined our ranks this year and committed themselves to a year of study are following this age old tradition. We wish you a year of fruitful study and personal enrichment!
Finally this is our first year in which Florence Melton's personal involvement is missing. We miss her leadership, commitment and passion. Her personal dedication to adult Jewish learning will continue to inspire us all!
We are extremely grateful to Florence's son Gordon Zacks who has taken up her mantle of leadership. As the Chairman of the Mini-School Board he is dedicated to ensuring the perpetuation of her vision.
Shana Tova |
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| From the North American Director
[Betsy Dolgin Katz] |
 Shalom and Shana Tova,
It is a pleasure to send New Year's greetings by way of our new e-letter.
5768 promises to be an exciting year for adult learning, if the registration in our schools around the world is any indication of success. It will be not only a year in which the numbers of Jewish adults participating in serious learning increase but also a year in which the quality of learning grows. Our curriculum is now beginning its fourth iteration--each change reflecting what Jewish adults want to learn, what our faculty recommends, and what is happening in the Jewish world. Our orientation programs and seminars for the faculty and the directors of the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School help us connect our professionals with one another and with what is occurring in the world of adult learning, Jewish education, and business organization. At a recent national three-day think tank in which I participated, one of the top three priorities of participants was adult Jewish learning. We are ready after twenty years of experience to help fulfill that goal. Our commitment is to bring the best of adult Jewish learning to every community we can.
I want to thank each of you for your continuing support of the FMAMS. If you have any questions or any suggestions on how we can better serve your community, please be in touch with us at the e-mail or phone number listed in this document.
May this be a sweet fulfilling year for us all. |
| A Dream Come True
[Randi Brenowitz, Palo Alto CA] |
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 A few weeks ago, I studied the Dead Sea Scrolls sitting at the hot and dusty mouth of Cave #4 in Qumran. For a middle-aged Jewish woman deeply committed to life-long learning, it simply doesn't get any better than that.
When our JCC started planning to bring the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School to Palo Alto in 2004, I began dreaming about completing the program and attending the graduate seminar in Israel. Completing the program was arduous and deeply satisfying. The seminar was incredible--a dream come true. Although I've been to Israel many times, this was a dramatically different trip. I experienced Israel as a pilgrim rather than as a tourist.
It is in the difference between the two that the genius of the Melton Israel Seminar can be seen. Most participants had been to Israel before. All of us had studied Jewish texts before. But when learning and travel are focused together with a devoted staff and brilliant curriculum, the results are magic. And so we had experiences like:
- Reading the poetry of Chaim Nachman Bialik while sitting on the steps of his house in Tel Aviv;
- Lighting Shabbat candles at King David's tomb on Mt. Zion, hearing our prayers echo across the ancient walls;
- Studying the development of the Sanhedrin while sitting in the 1800-year-old burial chamber of Yehuda haNasi, the "sealer" of the Mishna;
- Facing the sea together -our ears damp and ringing with the crash of the very waters Hannah Senesh's Eli, Eli memorializes.
Click here to read the full article...
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The Roads of Life
Parent Education Program (PEP) Graduation
[Halley Uzansky, Detroit MI] |
 We all ask questions in our lives. Some are simple, while others require more reflection and analysis: such as What is Judaism?, What defines a good Jew? and What is the meaning of Jewish life? The answers to these questions lead us down the road of life. Some roads we travel blindly with hope while others we are guided along with the aid of friends and family. If it were not for my friend Marcie
Aschenbrener, I may not have found "Melton ."
It was Marci's encouragement to seek this challenge that got me started. From the first day it was a downhill coast. The Melton PEP classes seemed to open up my mind and soul and brought out a desire to learn about Judaism and search for its true meaning.
I was raised in a conservative Jewish home; however, I never studied Torah or learned much of Jewish culture. I celebrated the major Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Pesach and my main understanding of Judaism focused on family gatherings and Jewish delicacies. Don't get me wrong: these are extremely important and it can be argued that they make up the core of true Judaism. I have always understood that I am Jewish, but it is through Melton that I am beginning to gain an understanding of what it means to be Jewish. ...
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| On Top of the World - Down Under!!
[Leah Justin, Melbourne, Australia] |
 Melton "withdrawal" occurs Down Under as we enjoy our winter break at the end of June until early August. But Melton students were spared the rigours of abandoning their "drug of choice" caused from the cessation of their weekly classes, with the opportunity to attend a wonderfully diverse range of public lectures ... which meant that not only our students but, just as critically, our fabulous Faculty could also be enriched and stimulated. In late June we enjoyed a visit by Frederic Brenner, a great photographer (Google him) who choreographs images of Jews throughout the world and uses his photos as an invitation to dialogue about issues of identity and exile. One of our most beloved Melton teachers Rebecca Forgasz had curated his Diaspora images for the Jewish Museum and Brenner visited from Israel and gave a fascinating lecture, using his photos of Diaspora Jews as text. A perfect Melton lesson.
Then in July we were also privileged to enjoy the extraordinary Zohar Raviv delivering a series of lectures over the 4 weeks of the break on a fascinating array of topics ... all of which he handled effortlessly. Open to the public and held at the University, the series was largely underpinned by Melton participation and students were swept along in his intellectual wake. His erudition, his mastery of his material and his clarity are matched by his absolute showmanship. The wow factor!! What a teacher's teacher he proved to be and he certainly raises the bar . How lucky we are that he is involved in Jewish education. The question is how do we clone him?
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A True Jewish Heroine
[Rena Ashkenazi] |
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 When Shelley Jacobson, a graduate student of the FMAMS in London, UK and her daughter Leora were looking for names of famous Jewish heroines to use as table names for her batmitzvah in Israel, Florence Melton was an obvious choice for Shelley. So on a beautiful summer night, on the beach at Kibbutz Palmachim, among names such as Sara, Miriam, Rachel, Hana Senesh, Golda Meir and others, appeared the name of our visionary - Florence Melton. For Shelley, Florence is the perfect example of a Jewish heroine, whose vision has greatly benefited her personally, benefited her family and made her a life-long Jewish learner.
Upon hearing this, Judy Trotter, FMAMS Director in London, said "this delights me and is not a surprise, the enthusiasm of students in London extends way beyond the classroom and Shelley is an exemplary Meltonite. She remains an integral part of Melton in London having just completed the Bereshit graduate course year 1 and about to embark on our inaugural second year graduate course. She also sits on the Melton Board and hosts an annual taster session. Once a student enrols for Melton in London they truly enter a new era."
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| Study OnLine:
Elul: A Time for Searching [Betsy Dolgin Katz] |
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Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 55:6
Seek God when He is at hand;
Call upon Him when He is near.
Our lives turn in a new direction with the arrival of the month of Elul, we turn toward the Ten Days of Repentance, Aseret Yamei HaTeshuva, which include Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. It is a quiet solemn season, a time for meditation, introspection, and personal evaluation. The word "elul" is an Aramaic word meaning "search." We search ourselves for ways in which we have compromised our own goodness. We look for ways in which we can improve the way we conduct our lives. The Shulchan Aruch tells us that this month is a time when one should examine tefillin and mezuzot to see that they are in good repair. We examine our spiritual life inside and out, so to speak. For many it is a tradition to visit the graves of close relatives and friends. We go to remember and honor those who have died, but we go also because at the cemetery one frequently finds moments to review the past and examine the present. All of these efforts can bring us closer to God.
Elul is a time of mercy and good will on the part of God. The Mishna B'rurah teaches that this is a time of forgiveness. The thirty days of Elul plus the ten days of Tishrei culminating in Yom Kippur are said to represent the forty days which Moses spent on Sinai for the second time. There, with God's mercy and forgiveness, Moses rewrote the tablets that had been destroyed as a result of the Israelites worshipping the Golden Calf.
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The International Alumni Association Annual Kallah |
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The next Kallah, to be held in Jerusalem May 26 - June 3, 2008, is focused "On Earthly Matters and the Yoke of Heaven: the Haredi World and Modern Israel". Come join this memorable experience and also participate in activities at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem as it celebrates Israel's 60th anniversary.
SIGN UP NOW
If you are not a member of the FMAMS International Alumni Association, please join now, as you don't want to miss this premier event.
If you are interested and would like more information, please contact Jody Hyman at jhyman@fmams.org.il. | |
