Journey of Heart and Mind: Transformative Jewish Learning in Adulthood

Over the last twenty years, the Jewish community system has invested considerable hopes and substantial resources in the burgeoning phenomenon of Jewish education for adults. What has been the impact of this investment? How does adult Jewish learning make a difference in people's lives? This pioneering study of the Florence Melton Mini-School provides some answers to these and related questions. The authors found that the learners emerge with greater appreciation for and competence in Jewish text learning, increased and deeper connections with other Jews, and a much richer appreciation for the practice and observance of Judaism. How and why these impacts occur unfolds through the authors' exploration into the conception, curriculum, and personnel that shape the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School. Through interviews, classroom observations, a survey of graduates, as well as a careful examination of teaching materials and other documents, they present a vivid portrait of an adult Jewish learning institution that operates in more than sixty sites across North America, Great Britain, Australia, and Israel.