A Fine honour for Melton director

THE work of Jillian Fine, director of the Sydney division of the Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning (Melton), has been acknowledged at the organisation’s annual conference in California.

Fine was given a special award for Sustained Growth and Innovation for her achievements in coordinating classes through the Sydney Melton School.

The award was presented at Melton’s 19th Annual International Directors Conference, which brings Melton directors from around the world together with a focus on professional development training.

“I am thrilled to have received the award and come back from the conference inspired by my international colleagues,” Fine said.

Congratulating Fine on her award, Melton CEO Judy Mars Kupchan commented, “Jillian is a dynamic and talented Jewish leader, and she is a shining example of what it means to be a passionate and dedicated professional in the field of adult Jewish learning.”

Melton is a project of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem that aims to offer interactive, text-based courses in Jewish education to adults from all knowledge levels and backgrounds.

There are currently Melton schools in 47 cities throughout the United States, Canada, the UK, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. Each week, around 5500 students attend Melton courses globally.

The Sydney Melton School is beginning a new semester of classes in late February.

A staple of the curriculum, “Rhythms & Purposes of Jewish Living”, offers an exploration of Jewish practice and philosophy and will be taught at North Shore Synagogue by Rabbi Zalman Kastel and Tracey Sareff.

Dr Shahar Burla will teach a course on understanding Israel’s national identity and psyche through Israeli literature at Cremorne Synagogue, while Rabbi Gary Robuck will run a course at North Shore Temple Emanuel that examines changing Jewish identity and religious expression in the last three centuries.

A course entitled “Crossroads of Jewish History” will be taught at Southern Sydney Synagogue and Montefiore Home Randwick by Dr Michael Abrahams-Sprod, Dr Avril Alba, Dr Ari Lander, Professor Suzanne Rutland and Aviva Winton.

The course deals with a variety of themes, including the relationship of Jews with Christians and Muslims, anti-Semitism, and the migration of Arab and Ethiopian Jews.

Marie Bonardelli will teach “Holocaust as Reflected in Memoirs and Diaries” at the Sydney Jewish Museum.

ELENORE LEVI

For more information, email Jillian on jillian.fine@sydney.edu.au.