Mini Melton Adult School
STOP PRESS! Microsoft has joined Melton, making the Seattle, Washington headquarters of Microsoft the 39th Melton site.
What is Melton?
• The Florence Melton Adult Mini School. The vision of Florence Melton, an American community activist and long-time supporter of Jewish education who defied conventional wisdom of the early 1980's by suggesting that adult Jews would be willing to commit themselves to an extended programme of learning. Florence is now 94 years old.
• Melton now runs in 64 sites in the United States, Canada, Australia, the UK and Israel, and more than 5,500 students attend weekly.
• Melton offers adults the opportunity to learn in an open, trans-denominational, intellectually stimulating learning environment.
• The curricula are created and constantly re-worked by the Hebrew University's Melton Centre for Jewish Education.
What is the structure of the course?
• Integrated course of adult study with text-based curricula.
• Four Courses studied over 2 years. Purposes and Rhythms in Year 1; Dramas and Ethics in Year 2.
• Once weekly for 3 terms per year. Two one-hour classes with a break for refreshments with separate teacher per course.
• The Melton Mini-School's centre at the Hebrew University has developed a core curriculum which is the cornerstone of the programme worldwide. This is moderated by the UK faculty to fit British concerns and realities.
• October 2011 marks the start of the 14 year of the Mini-School in the UK.
• Melton will be running in the London Jewish Cultural Centre in Golders Green on Sunday mornings (1st year only), Monday mornings and Monday evenings.
What will I learn?
• In the 1st year:
• The Rhythms of Jewish Living: - Central ideas and texts which inform daily, weekly, annual ritual and life cycle observances.
• The Purposes of Jewish Living: - Essential Jewish theological concepts and ideas as they unfold in the Bible, the Talmud and other sacred texts.
• In the 2nd year:
• The Dramas of Jewish Living: - History. Issues such as survival, assimilation, leadership and community as expressed in the flow of the Jewish past.
• The Ethics of Jewish Living: - Ethical issues such as justice, life and death, sexuality and community, with case studies from Talmudic, rabbinic and contemporary literature.
Who runs Melton in the UK?
• Melton is a joint project of Limmud and the London Jewish Cultural Centre, supported by British Friends of the Hebrew Unversity.
• Limmud is a cross-communal learning organisation. For anyone interested in being Jewish to come together, to share their experiences and to grow and develop their enthusiasm in being Jewish. Programmes are extremely varied and each one has the 'Limmud feel'. Whatever your association with Limmud it will take you one step further on your Jewish journey. The 5 day residential Limmud conference in December in Nottingham remains a highlight and is this year celebrating 26 years.
• The London Jewish Cultural Centre is a vibrant educational centre with over 700 enrolled students who take day and evening classes There is an extensive cultural events programme which includes a wide range of events such as film screenings, concerts, workshops, debates, book launches, lectures, conferences and seminars. It is just celebrating the first six months in brand new premises in North End Road, Golders Green.
• Melton is a franchise operation and is grateful to and dependent on the UJIA for its continuing financial support.
Who will I study with?
• Students are all ages from 18-70. Religious backgrounds are equally diverse including members of the all the main Jewish denominations and of none.
• Students are highly committed to learning about Judaism in a descriptive rather than prescriptive manner and enjoy the idea of studying in the pluralistic environment of the Melton class.
What if l know very little about Jewish topics? Won't l look silly?
• Because the Melton Program is a structured program of learning no background knowledge is assumed or required.
What if l have already learned quite a bit about Judaism? Will I be in a class of beginners?
• Melton's approach to Jewish knowledge is unique. No matter what you have learnt before, you will find that Melton provides you with a new, structured framework for your learning. Within this framework, information is transformed into knowledge and knowledge into understanding. Your classmates will include an enormous range and mixture, those with no prior or a wealth of Jewish education and the wide cross-section who fit in between.
Who are the Melton teachers?
• Teachers are committed to maintaining an even-handed approach to the material studied. They are able to focus on the common heritage of all Jews whilst acknowledging the different practices and beliefs of the various denominations.
• Teachers understand the particular needs of adult learners.
Why should I choose Melton?
• All the reasons above!
• Many of us share a deep-seated desire to know more about who we are, about our history, customs, beliefs and traditions.
• Melton enables you to gain an awareness of the underlying values within Judaism.
• Although we are searching for answers to many questions, we don't want to be patronised, spoon fed or told what to think. We want to be listened to and have our own views respected. This represents the ethos of Melton's educational philosophy.
AND FINALLY...
• There is no agenda to make you more religiously observant or more committed to a particular religious denomination.
• Subsidies are available if you can't manage the fees.
Please find the registration form here .
CONTACT:
melton@ljcc.org.uk
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