School's (Almost!) in Session

Great news for lifelong learners in Central Florida – there’s a new opportunity in town to experience world-renowned classes exploring Jewish people, culture, and religion. The Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning, based out of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, will soon offer classes at both JCCs in Orlando (Roth and Rosen), led by Yael Weinstein, the director of Melton of Greater Orlando.

The curriculum, written by scholars and edited by professors at the Hebrew University, is taught around the world in 50 different locations. Orlando is one of the newest, and that’s thanks to some serious kismet.

Keith Dvorchik, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando, recently heard about the Melton School and wanted to bring it to Central Florida. At the same time, Yael Weinstein and her family made the decision to move to Florida from Colorado for health reasons. Yael, who holds a master’s degree in Near Eastern and Judaic studies from Brandeis University, has been working for the Melton School for 10 years, developing curriculum and teaching courses. Keith reached out to the Melton program, who connected him with Yael. The rest, as they say, is history – or in this case, the future.

There are two available Melton School programs: Core and Scholars. The Core program takes place over two years and includes four classes: Rhythms, Purposes, Crossroads, and Ethics. Classes meet 25 weeks per year – an hour of education per class, per week. At the end of two years, students have 100 hours of Jewish education under their belts. The courses use all primary text from the Bible to modern commentators.

“Core classes use historical texts that were written by people who lived during those eras and passed down from generation to generation,” explains Yael. “It’s a really powerful way of learning about Jewish literacy.”

The Scholars program includes 10 weekly courses focused on specific topics such as Jews in America, The Holocaust, Books of the Torah, Jewish Humor, Jews in the Muslim World, and the very popular two-part class Beyond Borders – a history of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

“We go through text from all different perspectives in Beyond Borders,” explains Yael. “We breathe life into the issues so students understand how complex it is, so that when they are talking to people or see the news, they can really understand what is going on. It’s an amazing program that offers a significant amount of insight.”