A half a hundred adults have signed up for 100 hours of Jewish learning at Congregation Agudath Israel of West Essex in Caldwell, the latest outpost for a groundbreaking adult program developed at Boston's Hebrew College.

The enrollment numbers surprised and delighted synagogue officials as well as administrators at Me'ah, a two-year intensive adult learning program that holds classes at 30 venues across the United States.

"I've never seen anything like it," said Moshe Margolin, director of the Boston Hebrew College regional office in New York.

Agudath Israel not only filled two classes, but has done so with a similar adult-ed program, the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School, already well established at the Conservative synagogue.

And while Agudath Israel, with over 1,000 member units, is one of the largest Margolin works with, still larger synagogues have not been able to fill two classes at once.

"I was overwhelmed and thrilled by the outpouring of interest. I knew that Agudath Israel had many potentially serious adult learners, but this was even more than I had imagined," said the congregation's Rabbi Alan Silverstein in an e-mail from California. "Melton and Me'ah together are assisting in creating a momentum of adult engagement with Jewish learning in a deep and meaningful manner."

The synagogue is in the midst of a renovation. When completed, the new building will include an adult learning center, evidence of a concerted push for advanced education at the synagogue.

Me'ah, begun in Boston in 1994 as a joint venture by Hebrew College and Combined Jewish Philanthropies, the Boston federation, is academically focused and intensive by design. The concept is "to bring the university into the venue," said Margolin.

Each Me'ah session lasts two years and includes approximately 100 ("me'ah" in Hebrew) class hours. Students spend the first year studying Bible and rabbinics, and the second focusing on medieval and modern Jewish history. Teachers are all university-level faculty who range in seniority from advanced doctoral students to heads of departments at local institutions of higher education.

Among the scholars who have served as Me'ah faculty in this area are Benjamin Gampel, Dina and Eli Field Family Chair in Jewish History at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York; Gary Rendsburg, Blanche and Irving Laurie Professor of Jewish History at Rutgers University and chair of its Jewish studies department; and Larry Schiffman, professor of Hebrew and Judaic studies at New York University.

Boston Hebrew College opened its New York office three years ago to serve New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey. In its first year, two of its six classes were offered in New Jersey, at Temple Sinai in Summit and at The Jewish Center of Princeton. In the past year, the program grew to include 18 classes plus nine one-semester "graduate" seminars for those who have completed the two-year cycle.

A resident of Princeton, Margolin said he plans to expand Me'ah's reach into Philadelphia beginning in the fall.

Students can expect two to three hours of reading outside of class. Each session is taped to meet the needs of people who travel for business or pleasure.