What is Melton?
The Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning™ engages adult learners in a life-enhancing study of Jewish texts and ideas that nurtures and deepens Jewish community worldwide. Through classes (both in-person and online) and travel seminars, Melton learners find Jewish texts and ideas accessible and relevant to their lives. They become part of a worldwide movement of committed learners who are empowered to enrich Jewish life.
To request additional information or inquire about scholarship opportunities, email sisham@adathjeshurun.com.
Our Classes
Press Pause: Rest, Assured taught by Rabbi Stan Miles
Thursdays from July 11 to August 15, 9:15 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. in-person
The Jewish approach to mindfulness and self-care traces back to the roots of creation. The concept of a week comes from the Jewish marking of six days of work and one day of rest. For six days each week, we actively interact with the world. On the seventh, we reflect on our actions. We pause, rest, reflect and reboot. In this unit, we will explore Shabbat and the role of time in Judaism. Along with other prescribed Jewish practices that ask us to pause, reflect and refrain from business as usual. Together, we will reflect on the practices that allow us to start anew, week after week, and year after year. Refresh with us.
The Holocaust as Reflected in Diaries and Memoirs taught by Rabbi Stan Miles
Thursdays from September 5 to December 12, 9:15 a.m. to 10:45 p.m. in-person
Take a literary journey into the Jewish communities of Europe during the Holocaust – sobering, profound accounts of extraordinary courage in the face of an unprecedented struggle for survival. For 10 sessions, learners will have the chance to examine first-person narratives found in diaries and memoirs, gaining remarkable insight into this devastating period of modern Jewish history. Both young and old writers—authors, poets and journalists, some who survived and many who did not—describe the growing Nazi threat, coping in the ghettos, and imprisonment in death camps. Their unforgettable stories help us understand the real events of the Shoah and its legacy for us today.
Between The Lines: From Text to Life taught by Cantor David Lipp
Zoom Session: Tuesdays from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. from August 20 to September 24
In-Person Session: Thursdays from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. from August 22 to September 26
Learners may attend one or both sessions.
Jewish texts have informed Jewish thought and practice for over 3,000 years. But how do we connect to words written so long ago? What do they reveal today? And how do they inspire action? In this course, we will examine the many ways that we bring the words of our texts into our daily lives. We’ll look at the hints and clues in the letters of sacred Jewish texts: the Torah, the Prophets, the Talmud (no previous Hebrew knowledge required). We’ll examine structure and authorship. We’ll discuss the commentary of yesterday. We’ll share where we stand today.
OMG, Can You Believe?! taught by Cantor David Lipp
Zoom Session: Tuesdays from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. from October 29 to December 10
In-Person Session: Thursdays from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. from October 31 to December 12
Learners may attend one or both sessions.
In this six-week exploratory course, we’ll dive into the BIG questions around God and God’s relationship to Humankind. We’ll examine the many different understandings of God, free will, and mitzvot expressed by Jewish philosophers, rabbis, leaders past and present – and you. We’ll explore the divine, the prophetic, and even the supernatural, as we amplify and dissect your deepest God-questions. Just do not expect to leave with any final answers.
