A Very Special Visit

By Ethel Melzer, Director of the Buffalo, NY Mini-School

This year a visit to Boca Raton, Florida became very special!  On Tuesday, March 14, my husband and I were privileged to spend almost 90 minutes with Florence Melton, the creator and founder of the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School. Beginning in 1980 with only three pilot sites in Chicago, the FMAMS now has 60 sites in 6 countries with over 4000 annual students and well over 20,000 graduates who live all over the world.

As a former Melton graduate and current Mini-School Site Director, the prospect of meeting with Florence Melton was very exciting to me. I called upon my friend, Gertrude Victor who lives in the same ocean front apartment building as her friend, Florence, to please help me arrange a meeting. Gert willingly complied, and laid out beautiful refreshments. We were all able to sit with the fascinating, charming and humble founder of the Melton Mini-School. Florence Melton is a beautiful woman over ninety years of age. She wore a lovely pink blouse and jacket and her bright eyes sparkled with wisdom and humor as she shared her story of the Melton Mini-School’s beginning.  

Florence told us: “Sometime in the 1970’s G-d tapped her on the shoulder and said He had a job for her to do”. She, in turn, has “tapped several other people on the shoulder” – not the least of whom were directors and faculty at Hebrew University in Jerusalem which is now home to the Melton Institute and the main office of the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School. 

According to Florence, my job as Site Director of the FMAMS in Buffalo, is to also “tap people on the shoulder” and bring them closer to their heritage by facilitating their attendance at the Mini-School. We agreed that learning more about Judaism: its Purposes, Rhythms, Ethics and History through the Melton method of text study, dialogue and discussion becomes a very special experience in the lives of all who take part in this unique program of excellence.  

Recruitment for the 2006 –2007 Melton academic year starts right now! Our small classes of approximately 20 students will begin next fall on Wednesday, September 6 at 6:30 PM at the Jewish Center Benderson Building. Classes fill quickly, and as this year will be Rabbi Mordechai Friedfertig’s final year teaching two Melton classes, it would be a shame for anyone in our community to miss his very pluralistic and extremely energetic teaching style.  

Please watch for the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School Brochure in the mail or call me, Ethel Melzer @689-8844 so I can answer your specific questions and perhaps, following Florence Melton’s example: “tap YOU on the shoulder”!

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