News & Notes

 

 

Propaganda vs. facts: How pro-Hamas protests point to a frightening educational failure

Melton's International Director, Rabbi Dr. Morey Schwartz, wrote this op-ed for USA Today.As the world watches a growing wave of campus protests in support of Hamas following the heinous Oct. 7 attack...

There’s no ChatGPT for Yom Kippur

Doing the work reminds us that as long as we're alive, we have the opportunity to make different choices and pursue new paths. Most of us have spent at least a few minutes experimenting with ChatGPT. ...

It’s not only children who will be returning to classrooms this fall

Adults are seeing continuous learning as an opportunity to engage in experiences that foster connectedness and build community.  It's August, and our inboxes are already beginning to clutter with...

Shavuot: Celebrating life's revelations and the potential for positive change

 As parents, we typically approach our children with the confidence that we are the ones to teach them. We share our life experiences and the wisdom we've gained over many years. We pass along im...

Israel at 75: Feeling the connection to the promise of the promised land

This week, the state of Israel celebrates its 75th year as an independent country, and it is incredible to think that on an average year, more than 5,000,000 tourists visit Israel, mostly adults. What...

Spotlight on Temple Beth Shalom 

This month, we are excited to spotlight one of our newest Melton partners Temple Beth Shalom in New Albany, Ohio. TBS is a "joyful, personal, and accessible" Reform congregation, committed to offering...

Back to School and the High Holy Days: A Season of Unlearning

By Rabbi Rachel Bovitz & Rabbi Dr. Morey Schwartz It's back to school season, and for those that celebrate, it is also the season of preparing for the holiest days on the Jewish calendar — Rosh Ha...

Spotlight on Moriah Congregation

This month, we are thrilled to spotlight our Melton partner Moriah Congregation, an active, traditional, conservative synagogue, in the heart of Deerfield, Illinois. We have enjoyed getting to work di...

Atlanta students prove you're never too old to learn

Check out this article from the Atlanta Jewish Times highlighting Melton's commitment to learning and community and showing how the Melton mission is flourishing at Atlanta's Melton School. Photo by I...

Site Spotlight: Ottawa

With in-person activities strictly suspended in Canada, Ottawa's Jewish community has stayed connected by expanding online learning opportunities through the Melton School. Rabbi Steve Garten, the Mel...

How To: Create a Facebook Fundraiser for Your Birthday

Although birthdays are a time for gift-giving, some find supporting charities to be a meaningful gift that inspires others within their community. If you're interested in raising funds for the Melton ...

Melton Establishes Rabbinic Council

The Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning continues to innovate with the announcement of its newly established "Rabbinic Council," composed of a select group of congregational rabbis from ac...

Site Spotlight: Melton Pasadena

The Pasadena Jewish Temple & Center (PJTC) is home to a thriving Melton site driven by an engaged community of learners. Director Judy Callahan brought Melton to PJTC after 36 years of directing B...

Spanning generations, a mother and daughter reach back into the Jewish people’s recent past

As living witnesses to the Holocaust dwindle, contemporary written accounts become ever more important. For writers living through those hellish years, diaries and memoirs were simultaneous outlet and...

What rain in the sukkah can teach us about resilience

A feeling of "this is not how it was supposed to be" permeates our sukkah this year.Sukkot is supposed to be a time of abundance, but this Sukkot seems to be, instead, a time of grave concern. Like ra...

Meet Honorable Meltonian: Lesley Simpson

"With me, a little learning is a dangerous thing" Lesley Simpson, a journalist from Hamilton, Ontario, considers herself a kind of Curious George. It was that curiosity that set her on a path of Jewis...

(Re) New on the Scene: Melton Denver

"We have such a rich community of adult learners here at Temple Emanuel – people of all ages and backgrounds who truly value Jewish learning." says Rabbi Hyatt. "The introduction of Melton into our co...

Interview with Rabbi Dr. Jill Hammer: Author of “Biblical Women: Emerging from the Margins through Midrash”

Can you tell us more about the Melton course you wrote, "Biblical Women: Emerging from the Margins through Midrash"? The course covers 16 biblical heroines, examining their stories and voices through ...