A Meltonian’s Guide to Investing in Jewish Futures
by Maxine Fischbein

“Give us two hours, and we will give you 5,000 years,” said the literature.

Even without the advice of a trained professional, I found this no-risk, high interest investment completely and utterly irresistible.

So . . . I paid my $350.00 and signed up . . . and now, I would like a moment of your time.

Don’t worry. This is no pyramid scheme. Well, pyramids were, perhaps, briefly imagined when we pondered Passover last month, but you can relax. This sound investment doesn’t involve maximum leveraged extractions from your family and friends or any mysterious offshore accounts, either.

And I think I can speak on behalf of my co-investors when I tell you that this has to be among the best “Initial Public Offerings” that Calgary Jewish Community Council has ever offered.

On Tuesday evenings between 7:00 and 9:00, a remarkable group of people attend the Florence Melton Adult Mini-school, a program that stands on three pillars: an outstanding curriculum built by scholars at Hebrew University of Jerusalem; expert guidance by knowledgeable Calgary-based instructors; and more than 20 adult learners – some with extensive backgrounds in Jewish education; some with little or no previous experience – who are putting their heads together to study and discuss classical and modern Jewish texts.

Its reputation having preceded its arrival in Calgary (one of over 60 Diaspora communities currently sponsoring the program), Melton was going to be good, I just didn’t know how good.

Staffed and subsidized locally by the CJCC, the program provides a pluralistic approach to Jewish studies that has attracted a refreshingly eclectic chevra.

We are Jewish (Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, unaffiliated; very, somewhat and not at all religiously observant) and non-Jewish, too. Classmates include a proud new grandmother, a somewhat sleep-deprived father of tots, a young bride, one couple and some singles.

I sit between people I have known nearly forever and others I met on the first day of school. Some come straight from work; others from home or volunteer commitments. Some are attending Melton for the purpose of professional development; all, I think, have found personal satisfaction in its stimulating environment.

Some have grey or blue or pink or lots or very little hair. One thing is for sure, one would never encounter this group of people in any other single setting, and my life is all the more interesting for their company.

In this first year of our two-year program we are exploring “Purposes of Jewish Living and “Rhythms of Jewish Living” in a text-based approach emphasizing Biblical and Talmudic sources as well as a wide-ranging selection of modern texts.

We have read and discussed the Torah and other sources on topics including providence, birth and circumcision, Moses as a role model, prayer and community, Shabbat, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Shavuot, Chanukah and Passover. Just before Passover, one of our classmates opened her home to us, making that class a social and culinary event as well. The Pesach-inspired desserts and appetizers by Melton overachievers even appear in Calgary’s first-ever Florence Melton Mini-school Passover Mini-Cookbook!

Sources studied in any particular lesson include Torah as well as commentary that can include, but isn’t even limited to, Mishnah, Talmud, The Code of Jewish Law, ancient and modern religious philosophers from every imaginable stream of Judaism, prayer books, poetry and song.

The conversation is always great. Sometimes we forget to stick to the text and end up engaging in particularly dramatic exchanges of opinion. But this type of thing is only funny until someone gets hurt; so we usually remember to keep ourselves grounded in the literature. Those words, after all, are the wellspring that brings us together – though not, necessarily, to the same conclusions. That is okay, in keeping with the tradition of Hillel and Shammai. If you don’t know who they are, drop everything and register immediately for the next Melton session coming this fall to a classroom near you!

Endowed by Florence Melton, the queen of the Dearfoam Slipper dynasty, the eponymous mini-school provides a comfy fit for those with extensive knowledge of Hebrew language and Judaic studies and those who come armed with the only real prerequisite: a thirst for Jewish knowledge. To sweeten the deal, there are no papers and no final exams. Melton offers all of the gain and none of the pain of graduate seminar-style studies.

Our “principal”, Ruth Spivak, organizes and coordinates the program locally in consultation with Melton staff in Jerusalem and the Diaspora. She even looks after our most deeply spiritual needs by providing the best kosher cookies for our mid-evening recess.

The Melton approach discourages lecturing or sermonizing from on-high, favouring give and take between, and among, teachers and students. A highlight is the opportunity during each class to split into pairs, or chavrutot to chew on a bit of text in the traditional style of Yeshiva students.

But, like brides, we wear something old and something new, combining time-honoured educational techniques with all the advantages of the internet, facebook and other new-fangled tools that cause me to have to beg my children for help with my homework.

We are blessed, this inaugural year, with three instructors, Lance Davis, executive director of the Calgary Jewish Community Council; Yossi Suissa who, by day, teaches some of our children at Calgary Jewish Academy; and Rabbi Howard Voss-Altman, spiritual leader at Temple B’nai Tikvah. Like their students, these guides hail from very different backgrounds but bring a shared passion to their work.

Lance always urges us to “drill down” as we explore text, never settling for the seemingly obvious. Yossi brings leading-edge technology to the fore and also does a superb show and tell. Rabbi Howard perches dangerously on the backs of chairs causing us to worry that he will become airborne the next time he gets excited about a particularly eco-friendly portion of Genesis.

You never know what will happen at Melton!

There has, of late, been an exciting proliferation of Jewish educational opportunities here in Calgary, some of which I have felt privileged to savour. Synagogue and other religiously-based programs are each wonderful in their own way, and merit our support and participation; but they are tied to particular institutions and/or philosophies or world-views. Melton encourages all who are hungry to come and eat.

I am already looking forward to next year when the class of 2009 will tackle Dramas of Jewish Living and Ethics of Jewish Living. Then comes graduation, complete with a certificate of completion from Hebrew University and the opportunity to participate in “optional” graduate seminars in Israel. They aren’t optional as far as I am concerned . . . my suitcase is already packed.

Calgary Jewish Community Council is fulfilling an important obligation through its provision of the Melton program here in Calgary. This isn’t about raising money for the United Jewish Appeal. Neither do Meltonians juggle the politics or the responsibilities of providing the wide range of services necessary for a Jewish community of our size and with our many expectations. We don’t envision, endow or erect new and improved communal real estate. Worthy causes, all.

But CJCC has rolled out its local version of the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School knowing that it yields very positive dividends in the short and long terms. Serious, community-based educational programming for adults is a foundation for a healthy and vibrant community. It increases the value of whatever else is built by and for us.

> More New at FMAMS