Adults : Florence Melton Adult Mini-School

What We Study Questions & Answers Registration and Tuition
Location and Class Schedule Director/Faculty
Course Guide  Registration Form Scholar Series
ALL NEW Melton Parent Education Program (PEP) 
New Bound Core Curriculum Books Available 
Our Students Say... Links
Snow Schedule and School Closing
Alumni Association 
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Check out our 2010-2011 Melton Core and Melton Scholar Courses

(Course Guide will appear in the
St. Louis Jewish Light the week of August 25)

If you're looking for a comprehensive introduction to the basics of Judaism, we urge you to enroll in the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School. The St. Louis school opened in 1989 and is part of an international network of over 65 schools affiliated with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The two-year Melton Core course is designed specifically for adults. Classes meet once a week throughout the academic year. You may be asked to do a small amount of reading in preparation for each class, but you won't be burdened with homework or exams. The course will give you what you've been seeking: a clear, in-depth overview of Jewish belief, Jewish practice, Jewish history, and Jewish ethics. Classes are lively, engaging, and relevant to todays' world.  Best of all, you'll work with an amazing faculty – people who know and love their subject-matter and how to impart it.

As a Melton student, you'll find that divergent views are treated fairly, that vigorous give-and-take is encouraged, and that all questions – no matter how challenging – are welcome. You'll discover how easily attainable – and how deeply fulfilling – Jewish literacy is.  And, like Melton students before you, you may well acquire a lifelong desire to learn “more.”

Contact Cyndee Levy, Director of Adult Education, (314) 442-3754.

What We Study

First Year Courses

Rhythms of Jewish Living - What’s meant by the phrase “living a Jewish life”?  What’s the point of living Jewishly?  What ideas, beliefs, and practices are involved?  What is kedusha – and why does it matter?  These are the questions asked and answered in Rhythms of Jewish Living – the course that explains how Judaism takes the ordinary “stuff” of daily life and transforms it into the extraordinary.

Purposes of Jewish Living - Why do Jews believe and behave as they do?  Why is the word “covenant” central to Jewish existence?  What is the Jewish contract with God, and how does it affect the way Jews think and act?  These are the questions you’ll grapple with in Purposes of Jewish iving – the course that explains what’s distinctively “Jewish” about Judaism.

FACULTY
Cyndee Levy, Director
Rabbi Brigitte Rosenberg • Ofira Melnick • Rabbi Lane Steinger
Rabbi Ryan Dulkin • Rabbi Moshe Shulman •Ronit Sherwin

Click here to find out more about our amazing faculty.

Second Year Courses (Available 2011-2012)

Dramas of Jewish Living - How do Jews “make use” of their long and frequently tumultuous history?  How can those of us now alive utilize thathistory to make sense of our existence – and of the times in which we live?  What are the lessons of Jewish history – from the earliest wanderings of Abraham to today’s turmoil in Israel?   These are the questions answered in Dramas of Jewish Living – the course that explains how the Jewish past gives meaning to the Jewish present.

Ethics of Jewish Living - What does Judaism have to say about the way we should live?   What do Jewish thinkers – from our ancient sages to today’s commentators – tell us about conducting ourselves in both private and public life?  Can Judaism shed light on our thorny contemporary problems?  You’ll consider all these questions in Ethics of Jewish Living – the course hat demonstrates the currency of a religion 4,000 years old.

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Location and Class Schedule

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Registration and Tuition for 2010-2011

Registration Form  (pdf file)

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Questions and Answers

What is the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School?

• A place where you and fellow adult can learn the basics of Judaism
  
• A place to get answers to the Jewish questions you've always puzzled over
  
• A place for free-wheeling, uninhibited conversation about topics that really matter
  
• A place where your views will always be respected, and accorded the dignity they deserve
  
• A place that believes – and proves – that it’s never too late to begin Jewish study

What does Melton do?

• Helps you understand what’s special, unique, distinctive about being Jewish
  
• Helps you fathom the boundless riches of the Judaic heritage
  
• Makes sense of what “being Jewish” is all about

Who is Melton for?

• Anyone who’s ever asked, “Can being Jewish make a difference in my life?”
  
• Anyone who’d like to join the world’s longest-running and most scintillating conversation
  
• Anyone who wants to feel more comfortable with the classic works of Jewish literature
  
• Anyone who enjoys mind-stretching and brain-building
  
• Anyone who craves the fellowship of other serious knowledge-seekers
  Anyone who’s tired of the glib platitudes that often pass for wisdom in today’s world, and yearns for more serious – and more satisfying fare

Where is Melton?

• Internationally, in over 65 cities
  
• Locally, at the Central Agency for Jewish Education, 12 Millstone Campus Drive

About Our Local Site

• Began in 1989
• A two-year curriculum, 30 weeks each year
  
• Two courses each year:
        1st year, Rhythms and Purposes
        2nd year, Dramas and Ethic
  
• All course materials provided
  
• Morning and evening classes available No homework, no tests
  
• All classes recorded for your convenience
• 700 graduates

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All NEW Melton Program for Parents

What do YOU want to teach your child about being Jewish?

Foundatons of Jewish Family Living is a NEW curriculum for parents that provides a thought-provoking encounter with the ore values of Judaism.  This program provides you with the learning, the language, and the confidence to be a teacher to your own children.

No Homework.  No Grades. Know Judaism.

Developed by the renowned Florence Melton Adult Mini-School, a project of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

** Special one-time funding enables CAJE to offer these special rates to the first 20 students to enroll in this Melton course.

TCP: Bible & Commentaries - 7.5 credits/Rabbinic Literature - 7.5 credits per unit

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Melton Scholar Series

Jewish Denominations:  Addressing the Challenges of Modernity
A fresh examination of Jewish identity and religious expression, against the backdrop of dramatic political and social change of the past 300 years. Extensive insights into the historical and ideologial developments of the  major movements.

CAJE, 12 Millstone Campus Drive
Rabbi Lane Steiner
Mondays 7:30-9 p.m.
12 sessions beginning October 11
Fee: $225    
Book Fee:  $36
TCP: 4.5 credits in Jewish Thought and 4.5 credits in Jewish History

Jews In American:  Insiders and Outsiders
Consider the challenges of Jewish acculturation to American life, and the sacrifices as well as the conributions that have been made over the past 200 years.  Explore the role of education, is the cup "half empty or half full?" and more.

CAJE, 12 Millstone Campus Drive
Rabbi Dan Plotkin
Wednesdays 7:30-9 p.m.
15 sessions beginning October 13
Fee: $280
Book Fee: $36
TCP: 11.25 credits in Jewish Thought

Bereshit 1: From Adam to Abraham
The stories take us from Creation through the foundational stories of Abraham and Sarah.  The themes of family and faith, honor, passion and power provide a rich exploration of our foundations.

Nusach Hari B'nai Zion Congregaton
Rabbi Ze'ev Smason
Tuesdays 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (1 hour)
20 sessions beginning October 5
Fee: $240
Book Fee: $36
TCP: 10 credits in Bibles & Commentaries

Traditional Congregation
Rabbi Seth Gordon
Sundays 9:45-11 a.m. (1.5 hours)
20 sessions beginning October 10
Fee: $300
Book Fee: $36
TCP: 12.5 credits in Bibles & Commentaries

Bereshit 2: Stories of the First Jewish Family
Follow the development of the first Jewish family.  Stories of sibling rivalry, wrestling with an angel, palance seduction, rape and reconciliation provide some of the most dramatic and iconic images of our Biblical narrative.

Traditional Congregation
Rabbi Seth Gordon
Tuesdays 7-8:30 p.m. (1.5 hours)
20 sessions beginning November 2
Fee: $350
Book Fee: $36
TCP: 15 credits in Bibles & Commentaries

The Holocaust as Reflected in Diaries and Memories
A literaryjourney that brings remarkable first person accounts as insight into the struggle for life as writers describe day-to-day life coping in the ghettoes, imprisoned in the death camps, hiding on the run, and fighting for their lives.

Nusach Hari B'nai Zion Congregaton
Felicia Graber
Thursdays 10-11:30 a.m.
10 sessions beginning October 7
Fee: $175
Book Fee: $36
TCP: 7.5 credits in Jewish History

Israeli Literature as a Window to Israeli Society
A literary journey that offers a frest and fascinating examination of Israeli society since the birth of the State in 1948.  Encountering Israeli society through the pens of Israel's leading writers, students will discover an Israeli society that is original, contemporary, honest and proud.

CAJE, 12 Millstone Campus Drive
Ronit Sherwin
Mondays 10-11:30 a.m.
10 sessions beginning October 4
Fee: $180
Book Fee: $36
TCP: 3.75 credits in Jewish History and 3.75 credits in Jewish Thought

Shemot 2:  Revelation and Revolution
Follow the development of the emerging Jewish nation from their awe-inspiring encounter at Mount Sinai through the building of the tabernacle in the wilderness.

CAJE, 12 Millstone Campus Drive
Rabbi Elizabeth Hersh
Thursdays 9-10:30 a.m.
10 sessions beginning January 13
Fee: $200
Book Fee: $36
TCP: 7.5 credits in Bibles & Commentaries

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New Student Readers: Bound Core Curriculum Books Now Available

Beginning this year, the FMAMS Core Curriculum Student Readers have been reformatted and bound into four beautiful books, as displayed below.  Several IAA members and graduates have asked to purchase the books to replace their binders and, as such, we are offering the set of four for purchase at a cost of $100 plus shipping and handling. 

Twenty percent of the purchase price will be shared with our local Mini-School site. 

If you would like to review the texts, please stop by Cyndee Levy's office.

If you are interested in purchasing sets of 2009/2010 Student Readers, please contact Irene Bennett at ibennett@fmams.org.il or 847-714-9843 x 300. 

Visit the Melton Website

There will always be someone to answer your questons.  Visit the International Melton website at www.fmams.org.il.

Rhythms rewritten in 2008
Ethics rewritten in 2006
Dramas rewritten in 2004
(We are now using the Heritage DVD-ROM in the classroom.)

• Purposes scheduled for rewrite in 2010

Melton Israel Seminar - This is an experience--and what an experience!  Open only to Melton students, graduates and their adult family members.  There are seminar opportunites throughout the year that enable you to tour Israel as well as study Jewish texts with accomplished scholars.  Moreover, you'll meet and mingle with Melton students and graduates from all over the United States--as dynamic and engergizing a bunch as you're ever likely to meet.  For more information, contact Haim Aronovitz at (877) 729-2805 or locally contact Cyndee Levy at (314) 442-3754.

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Our Students Say...

- "These two years of adult education have been among the most rewarding of my entire educational career."  

- "I now find myself thirsty for more information - wanting to study, challenge, analyze, discuss even further."

- "It has been a gift to study with teachers I respect."

- "I am a better person because of what I learned at Melton."

- "Melton has been a life-changing experience for me and my family."

- "It is incredible how much you can get out of a class."

- "Text based classes - a phenomenal way to study, discuss and interpret."

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Links

www.fmams.org.il  

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Snow Schedule and School Closing

OVERNIGHT SNOW FALL

When Parkway schools are closed due to snow or ice,
then morning Melton Mini-School is closed.

DAYTIME SNOW FALL

School closing will be decided by 4:00 p.m.

Cancellation announcements will be made on the following stations,
as well as, the CAJE School Closing phone line and on this website:
TV Channels: 2, 4, 5, 30
Radio Stations: KMOX 1120 AM

CAJE School Closing Phone Line: (314) 442-3775

Melton Mini-School closing will be referred to as the"CAJE Adult Education Evening Classes" and "CAJE Adult Education Morning Classes."

Efforts will be made to call program participants about school and class cancellations.

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Alumni Association

MISSION

The Florence Melton Adult Mini-School Alumni Association is committed to the growth of the Mini-School; supporting the growth of alumni programs, investing in facultydevelopment, enhancing the relationship between the Mini-School and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and between Israel and the Diaspora.

OUR PURPOSE

Our purpose is to provide specialized learning and programming for Florence Melton Adult Mini-School Alumni Assoicaton members, to support and promote our local site, to recruit for the undergraduate and graduate programs, and to enhance the relationship with the FMAMS International Alumni Association and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

What your alumni membership provides our community?

You tax deductible annual membership dues include a contribution to the FMAMS International Alumni Association to build bridges between our local Mini-School, the FMAMS International Association and the Hebrew University.

MEMBERSHIP LEVELS

$36 Bronze:
      Invitation to an annual alumni learning event.

$72 Silver:
      Free registration to an annual alumni learning event

$100 Gold:
      Free registration to an annual alumni learning event
      Opportunity to audit CORE Melton courses at no cost

$250 Platinum:
      Free registration to an annual alumni learning event
      Opportunity to audit CORE Melton courses at no cost
      A one-time tuition credit of $50 toward any Melton Series course

Print or view the Alumni Association Brochure

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