ARONOVITZ
Celebrate Israel’s 60th in Portland with Melton
By Jewish Review
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Portlanders are invited to begin celebrating Israel’s 60th anniversary by experiencing Israel without leaving Portland.
Portland’s Florence Melton Adult Mini-School launches its celebration of Israel’s 60th anniversary Feb. 3 with a special program featuring Haim Aronovitz, director of the Melton Israel Seminar program in Jerusalem. The free program will be Sunday, Feb.3, at Neveh Shalom from 2 to 4 p.m.
“Using pieces of traditional text (in English), contemporary Israeli literature and the landscape around him (even the parking lot) as text, Haim will draw you into an unforgettable relationship with the land of Israel,” said Portland Melton Director Bonni Goldberg. “In two hours he will connect you with Israel while offering unique insights.”
Several Portlanders have studied with Aronovitz in Israel during Melton Israel seminars and praised his energy and educational methods.
“My husband (Rick Raetz) and I had Haim as our leader on our Melton Returnees Israel seminar,” said Doria Raetz. “We especially enjoyed his deep knowledge of literature and his ability to explain exactly what is special and unique about different authors. He also added on an extra literary walking tour or two during rest/independent times, which we really enjoyed. Haim is an excellent educator, and a really, really nice guy to boot.”
Sheri Cordova said: “I recently had the privilege of learning with Haim on the Melton Israel Seminar trip. He is a brilliant, vibrant teacher who moves like the energizer bunny! He walks faster than any one I’ve ever seen—there was no way to keep up with him, but he always sensed when to stop and let us catch up.
“Speed aside, Haim was the man who kept things organized in our travels and brought great passion to his teaching,” added Cordova. “It was an honor to study with Haim and I am so pleased to be involved in the plans for welcoming him back to Portland.”
Sponsored by the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School, the Feb. 3 event is open to the public. Space is limited. Register by Jan. 28 by calling the Melton office at 503-892-3015 (leave name and contact information) or emailing melton@jewishportland.org.
Melton will continue the celebration of Israel’s 60th anniversary by offering “Israeli Literature as a Window into Israeli Society,” a class co-authored by Haim and taught by Sylvia Frankel (at Neveh Shalom) March 4-May 13, 10:30-11:45 and 7-8:15 p.m., Tuesdays.
Raetz said, “I had the opportunity to study his (Aronovitz’s) Melton curriculum on Israeli writers, as well. I had only ever had one class in literature in my life, but I was able to get a lot out of the course, and developed some small confidence in understanding literature.”
Tuition for the literature course is $160 plus textbook. Registration will take place through Feb.15; call the office 503-892-3015 or email melton@jewishportland.org for registration information.