The Florence Melton Jewish Leadership Institute

What is FMJLI?

The Florence Melton Jewish Leadership Institute (FMJLI) is based on a belief that today’s Jewish leaders work with diligence and committment on behalf of the Jewish community, but often lack the background or knowledge to understand how their activities fit into the whole of Jewish life and Jewish civilization. While basic literacy is the birthright of all Jewish adults, leaders in particular need information and skills in order to make decisions for the Jewish community that are based on authentic Jewish ideas and principles.

Mission Statement

The purpose of the Florence Melton Jewish Leadership Institute (FMJLI) is to gather a group of proven leaders in the Jewish community and, through sustained and systematic study over two years, provide them with basic literacy about all facets of Jewish life. Building from the commonplace of their own Jewish community, the FMJLI will help leaders make a connection between their leadership roles and Jewish tradition. In this way, communal involvement can take its place with other forms of Jewish practice and belief, as a vital component in the building of the next generation of Jewish leaders.

Key Features

• Systematic Curriculum: First and foremost, the FMJLI is a Jewish school for Jewish leaders. Whereas other adult education programs might focus on the interest or expertise of a charismatic teacher or expert, FMJLI is based on a sequence of four courses and systematic curricula. Students move from one point to another in their studies. These courses strive to be both basic and comprehensive, enabling adults to fashion a framework for all the bits and pieces of information they already have. This framework makes it easier to process and remember new topics and ideas. Jewish life, concepts, practices and history begin to have organization and purpose. Enthusiasm for study and motivation to continue grow from the positive environment of a class that meets regularly over a sustained period of time. At the conclusion of two years of weekly study, adults acheive basic literacy in all facets of Jewish life, and can articulate which areas they would like to explore further.
  
• Built from the Local Jewish Community: The second feature that distinguishes the FMJLI, is that it is built from the commonplace of the leaders' own Jewish community. Students are invited to join this class because they are already active participants in committee, agency or fundraising work. The class provides them with a network of peers who have come together around Jewish learning and Jewish experiences. These associations may be unlike the professional or business connections that brought them to communal work. The class also may introduce them to new peers from different agency boards or organizations, which can be both refreshing and synergistic.
  
• Local Faculty: This group of students is brought together with local faculty who also are part of their community. While it is more often the norm for an “outside expert” to fly in and teach, FMJLI students and faculty have the time to develop close relationships. Students enjoy having access to teachers outside of class and having their teachers as resources for questions ranging from “how do I plan a D’var Torah for my next committee meeting” to, “how can I find the time for both my committee work and my Jewish family?” Faculty may attend local functions honoring their students or their organizations. This is a way for faculty and students alike to develop an appreciation for the other’s communal involvement. Educators come to appreciate what lay leaders do in their community and the types of decisions and problems that they face. Lay leaders, on the other hand, become advocates for quality education based on their own experiences and these new relationships. Educators and educated leadership should be able to envision and work towards stronger Jewish communities.
  
• Field Study: A school without field trips would not be a proper school. FMJLI strives to bring students out of their classrooms and visit the agencies they sponsor and support. Each field trip combines a “mini-mission”-style of presentation with study of Jewish texts on site. These field study trips are a powerful way to make the connections that are the hallmark of the class.
  
• Israel Seminars: Missions to Israel are a grander extension of the field study concept. A FMJLI class that has studied together can build a seminar “on the platform” of a mission experience. The Florence Melton Institute at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem can work with an FMJLI class to add study to their travel experiences in Israel, where they may study an ancient Jewish text on the site where it was written eighteen-hundred years ago and reflect on Jewish leadership and continuity from a new perspective. This is an example of the kinds of ties American Jews can develop with Israel as a new relationship between the two countries evolves.

Content

What should a Jewish leader know after FMJLI?

• Core Curriculum: At the conclusion of two years in the FMJLI, a student will have completed the four courses of the FMAMS curriculum. In each of these courses, the faculty are trained to focus on issues pertaining to leaders and leadership, as they emerge in the texts.
  
• Learning to Disagree: Beyond the content of FMJLI classes is the experience of Jewish study itself, and what it can teach Jewish leaders. First, students develop a repertoire of Jewish texts which deal specifically with the work that they are doing. These texts become resources for them which they can use in their committee work, for example in the preparation of divrei Torah. Second, engaging in dialogue over Jewish texts, called chevruta, can teach Jewish leaders how to disagree in an authentically Jewish way. Leaders learn the distinction between reading a passage and “learning” it with a partner (chevruta). In chevruta a text must be explained out loud to another person. The partner is obliged to ask questions of clarification (mahloket). By developing an awareness of mahloket, and its potential, leaders can enhance their abilities in debate, listening, and resolution of dispute.
  
• Field Study: Because the FMJLI is built for leaders from their own local community, it is vital for them to connect what they are learning with the work they are doing. Over the course of the two years, students should attend four or five field study trips. Each trip should include a visit to a facility with a presentation by a staff person, coupled with a text study class on site.
  
• Application Project: Students should be encouraged to connect their learning and their communal work in a way that has personal siginficance. This project is a supplement to transitional interviews and ongoing conversation with professional staff.

Establishing a Jewish Leadership Institute in Your Community

The following outline enumerates the steps involved in setting up a Jewish Leadership Institute.

1. Analyze the current state of leadership development:
   • Is there a professional who is responsible for leadership development or is there a need to create such a position and define their role?
   • What is the nature of current leadership development:
     periodic workshops
     guest speakers
     focus on leadership skills
     separate short-term experiences
     other?
   • What does the current program cost?
   • Is there an interest among current leaders in studying Jewish content and its connection to their communal activity?
   • Is the organization ready to think about leadership development as more than just a set of skills to be acquired? Is there a commitment to the transformative power of Jewish knowledge and community work in the lives of individuals?
     
2. Build advocacy and interest in establishing a school for leaders
   • Identify individuals both lay and professional who share an interest in Jewish study.
   • Present to them the possibility of offering ongoing Jewish study built on local resources that is also tied to their communal work.
   • Discuss and plan for the relationship of this school to other leadership programs already in existence.
   • Contact other Melton schools for information on how students leadership style and motivation have been affected by ongoing study.
   • Draw up lists of eligible students, from a variety of agencies and boards, who could be invited to a parlor meeting to hear about the Leadership Institute. Analyze this pool and decide whether enrollment would be open or subject to some sort of nomination process.
     
3. Implementation
   • Establish who will sponsor the school. In some cities it is run directly through a Federation structure. In others, funds are granted to a Board of Jewish Education to administer the school.
   • Secure funding through an endowment or grant process.
   • Hire a director.
   • Build an advisory board.