B’NAI TORAH CONGREGATION KICKS OFF NEW SEASON OF ADULT EDUCATION CLASSES THROUGH MELTON SCHOOL

Classes Now Available in Person and Via Zoom to Make Learning Accessible from Anywhere

BOCA RATON, FL, USA, June 24, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- B’nai Torah Congregation, the largest conservative synagogue in Southeast Florida, today announced the launch of its 2024-2025 academic cycle for the Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning. The new Fall-to-Spring classes, which start in October and are available in person at B’nai Torah Congregation and Congregation B’nai Israel as well as online via zoom, feature a variety of learning opportunities, including one taught entirely in Spanish.

This is B’nai Torah’s eleventh year of being the home to the Melton School, which is designed to engage adult learners in a life-enhancing study of Jewish texts and ideas that nurtures and deepens Jewish community worldwide. Through Melton, which operates through The Cooperman Academy of Adult Jewish Learning at B’nai Torah, learners become part of a worldwide movement of committed learners who are empowered to enrich Jewish life.

“Today, we have the technology to bring friends and family from all over the world into our classroom,” said Penina Bredoff, South Palm Beach Melton Director & Cooperman Adult Education Coordinator at B’nai Torah Congregation. “I encourage our students to invite their parents, children or best friends to learn with them to broaden their Jewish knowledge and strengthen their connections.”

The 2024-2025 schedule includes a few of these highlights:

Exploring a Forgotten World: A Social History of Medieval Jewry as Revealed in the Cairo Genizah (October 28, 2024 – January 13, 2025)
- Where: Zoom and in person at B’nai Torah Congregation, 6261 SW 18th Street, Boca Raton, FL
- Cost: $295
- Details: Enjoy a front-row seat to the drama, gossip, legal transactions, and other daily intrigues of Jewish life — in the Middle Ages. This 10-session course brings to life an exotic era in Jewish history, revealing the inner thoughts of real-life characters through the Cairo Genizah, a collection of 400,000 worn-out scraps, text fragments, and documents buried for centuries. Interpreting textual evidence yields new insights into the daily interactions and behaviors of Jewish men, women and families living along the Mediterranean more than 1,000 years ago — and at root, how similar they are to our own family dynamics, business ventures and communal concerns today.

Members of the Tribe (October 30 – December 11, 2024)

- Where: Zoom and in person at Congregation B’nai Israel, 2200 Yamato Road, Boca Raton, FL
- Cost: $179
- Details: In this short six-session quest, we’ll dive deep into a fundamental, challenging question: “What is the overarching purpose of living Jewishly?” We’ll discuss the responsibilities, pressures, and misconceptions that come with being called “the Chosen People.” Together, we’ll learn the meanings behind rituals like kashrut, symbols like mezuzah, and why Israel matters so much. A deeper understanding of “the Tribe” informs and enriches both the nation’s collective actions as well as individual responses to life’s big questions.
Spanish – Members of the Tribe (November 7 – December 19, 2024)
- Where: Online via Zoom
- Cost: $179
- Details: This class is taught in Spanish by Rabbi Hector Epelbaum. In this short six-session quest, we’ll dive deep into a fundamental, challenging question: “What is the overarching purpose of living Jewishly?” We’ll discuss the responsibilities, pressures, and misconceptions that come with being called “the Chosen People.” Together, we’ll learn the meanings behind rituals like kashrut, symbols like mezuzah, and why Israel matters so much. A deeper understanding of “the Tribe” informs and enriches both the nation’s collective actions as well as individual responses to life’s big questions.

The Holocaust as Reflected in Diaries and Memoirs (October 28, 2024 – January 13, 2025)

- Where: Zoom and in person at B’nai Torah Congregation, 6261 SW 18th Street, Boca Raton, FL
- Cost: $295
- Details: 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.

The Jewish State: Examining the Jewish Identities of Israelis (October 28, 2024 – January 13, 2025)

- Where: Online via Zoom
- Cost: $295
- Details: This course seeks to uncover the diverse and complex faces of Jewish Israeli identity. Beginning with the current state of Jewish Israeli identity as reflected in contemporary Israeli discourse, the lessons then proceed to explore the roots at the foundation of this complex tapestry. The course provides a historic overview of the early Zionist vision, the emergence of the New Jew, and the institutions that shaped the country, providing insights into how Israeli society today reflects the dreams, aspirations, and endeavors of those who settled the Land of Israel. After establishing the historic foundation, the course examines themes, including the evolving religious landscape, the intricate relationship of politics and religion, the interplay of the Mizrachi and Ashkenazi Jews, the dynamic between Israel and World Jewry, and Jewish Renaissance agents in Israel. Course author Dr. Elan Ezrachi is a Jerusalem-based researcher, teacher, and writer who specializes in areas of Jewish peoplehood and Israel-Diaspora relations.

Timeless Tales, Modern Sensibilities: A Deep Look at the Books of Esther and Ruth (January 17, 2025 – April 7, 2025)

- Where: Online via Zoom
- Cost: $295
- Details: Discover contemporary meaning in timeless texts during this ten-lesson course on the stories in the Scrolls of Esther and Ruth. Explore themes of Jewish identity, gender, God’s role in human affairs, and comedy. Delve into the lives of these two heroic women who changed the course of history, leaving a legacy that influences our lives today.

The full class schedule and registration is available at www.meltonschool.org/boca.

Adult Education Class Registration:
Classes offered by the Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning require advanced registration and tuition fees. Scholarships are available for those who need. Please contact Penina Bredoff, South Palm Beach Melton Director & Cooperman Adult Education Coordinator, at 561-392-8566 ext 332 or via email at penina.bredoff@bnai-torah.org with questions. To register, please visit www.meltonschool.org/boca.

About B’nai Torah Congregation
B’nai Torah Congregation is the largest conservative synagogue in Southeast Florida with over 1,300 membership families. It is a close-knit, multi-generational, modern, and egalitarian synagogue, which offers diverse services, programs of worship, learning, tzedakah, social action, and social activities. B’nai Torah Congregation creates a perfect outlet for arts, culture, and learning, and we are home to several schools of Jewish education. The synagogue, which offers a wide variety of volunteer opportunities that will enrich the synagogue experience, is a tremendous and vibrant center for tzedakah acts and projects that touch thousands of people. Learn more at https://btcboca.org.

About The Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning™
The Melton School 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. Melton is the largest pluralistic adult Jewish education network in the world, with 50 Melton communities throughout the United States, Canada, Australia and South Africa. More than 50,000 learners have experienced Melton’s professionally developed curriculum and lively interactive classes. Learn more at www.meltonschool.org.

Melissa Perlman
BlueIvy Communications
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