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ME'AH GRADUATE INSTITUTE OPENS THIS FALL At a recent UAHC Northeast Council meeting for area Reform temple presidents and vice presidents, some participants discovered that they had something in common beyond congregational leadership. As they introduced themselves around the table, one temple president mentioned that he was taking Me'ah. The others nodded. To their mutual surprise and appreciation, each revealed that he or she was either enrolled in the intensive adult Jewish learning program or had graduated. Me'ah's impact on community leaders' commitment to Jewish literacy is but one measure of the program's significance as a model for adult Jewish education. Developed and launched in 1994 by Hebrew College in partnership with CJP and the Commission on Jewish Continuity, Me'ah—the name refers to 100 hours of study—is now offered at over 30 sites throughout Greater Boston and the United States. More than 1,000 adults have graduated from the program, often inspired by their two-year engagement with Jewish texts and history to reexamine their personal commitment to Judaism and Jewish communal life. And many complete Me'ah with a profound desire to continue the intensive dialogue with Jewish texts. "I tried many different ways to enhance my Jewish education over the years. So much of what was offered was too thin and aimed at the casual student, and I wanted something meatier," says Dr. Patricia Bizzell, who is completing her final semester of Me'ah at the Worcester Jewish Community Center. Chair of the English Department at the College of the Holy Cross, Bizzell says she found what she was searching for in Me'ah and is already seeking a way to continue her studies after graduation in June. "The four semesters gave me a framework for comprehending Jewish intellectual history in chronological sequence that has enriched my understanding tremendously," she says. "I'd love to focus on one book of the Bible or the works of the medieval period. I want to take more courses, now that I can place the material in context." In response to many similar requests, this fall Hebrew College is inaugurating the Me'ah Graduate Institute, applying the Me'ah model of intensive, text-centered adult learning to more focused study. Students will have the opportunity to concentrate on the texts and topics they found most intriguing in Me'ah through special lectures, workshops or courses that build on their Me'ah background. Those who wish to work toward a new goal may select from several certificates or a Master of Jewish Liberal Studies—programs designed for Me'ah graduates who want a challenge that fits into busy schedules. Also planned are tours to the places that have shaped Jewish history—Israel, Spain, Eastern Europe, France and Germany—with Institute scholars as guides. "Our students don't want an elementary school primer. They want the text," says Dr. Avi Bernstein-Nahar, a chief architect of the new Institute and Director of Community Education at the Center for Adult Jewish Learning. Himself a Me'ah instructor as well as Assistant Professor of Jewish Thought at Hebrew College, Bernstein-Nahar says that Me'ah students' keen desire for an opportunity to engage with authentic Jewish sources from multiple perspectives is the driving force behind Me'ah's success and the organizing principle for the Me'ah Graduate Institute. To meet that demand, he says, the Institute will meld the complementary approaches of academic study and adult learning. "The serious academic setting for graduate Jewish studies inevitably aims at getting at text and context, but often does not engage the student in the personal, existential dimension of their confrontation with the text," says Bernstein-Nahar. "In turn, adult learning typically is passionately concerned with the personal dimension but often shuts the text out of the room or doesn't have the expert faculty to teach text. What we're doing is creating a framework for the academic tradition of studying text that integrates the existential dimension of the adult learning environment." What distinguishes the Institute from Me'ah is the opportunity for students to specialize in a topic or area of interest, enabling them to explore at a deeper level their personal connection to and place within Jewish tradition. Two integrated course sequences will be introduced in Fall 2003—one focused on biblical text interpretation and the other on Jewish thought and spirituality. Students may take one course at a time or pursue two yearlong course sequences in one area of concentration, earning a certificate after two years. In the latter case, as with the Me'ah curriculum, the subject matter will build from one course to the next. Me'ah graduates' keen desire to engage with authentic Jewish sources from multiple perspectives is the Institute's organizing principle. "For example," explains Bernstein-Nahar, "if you were taking a two-year sequence on the Prophets and Writings, the semester on Samuel would be integrally linked to the semester on the Psalms, both thematically and substantively." Similarly, he says, the Jewish thought and spirituality track will enable students to explore "the nexus between theory and practice, between belief and behavior," anchored by the integrated study of primary sources such as the Zohar and The Guide for the Perplexed. To enable students to gain greater access to texts, the Institute will offer Hebrew language courses tailored to the needs of adult learners. For all of the Institute's offerings, participants can pace themselves according to their level of interest and personal time commitment. The most ambitious can enroll in a pioneering graduate degree program, the Master of Jewish Liberal Studies (MJLS), which incorporates the Institute's courses into a comprehensive, integrated curriculum. Students will work with mentors to create their own program around one of four major areas of study: interpretation of Jewish texts, Jewish history, Jewish thought and spirituality, or contemporary Jewish issues. The graduate-level courses and curriculum are designed to address the particular interests of the adult learner, creating a guided opportunity to understand how Jewish texts and traditions relate to the student's personal Jewish journey. Building on the best of the Me'ah experience, all Institute programs will be taught by experienced Jewish educators and scholars who understand the needs of adult learners. In the fall, courses will be offered at Hebrew College's Newton Centre campus as well as at several satellite locations—both to increase access to the new Institute and to encourage the development of learning communities, so central to Me'ah. As the Institute builds its programs, faculty and enrollments, Bernstein-Nahar envisions a dynamic interchange among highly motivated adult learners: "Someone enrolled in the MJLS degree program may sit next to a student who is earning a certificate in biblical text interpretation, who in turn is sitting by a colleague who is purely interested in that semester's topic—and all can enjoy the experience of study and dialogue while pursuing their own, distinct Jewish journeys."
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