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Conversion
101?

--*

OCC-Orchard Ridge and Temple
Shir Shalom form a partnership in
education.

JILL DAVIDSON SKLAR STAFF WRITER

ti

magine taking a class to explore
Judaism, a course traditionally offered
to potential converts. Now, imagine
getting college credit for it.
As unusual as it seems, this class
as well as others of general interest
are about to become reality when the
Orchard Ridge campus of Oakland Community
College begins a partnership this fall with
Temple Shir Shalom in West Bloomfield.
"We believe in taking college to the people,"
said Carol Brown, dean of academic and stu-
dent services at the OCC-Orchard Ridge cam-
pus. She claims this is the first program of its
kind in the country.
"I think this partnership is unique in that
sense: Here we are asking the congregation
and the community what they want and we
are giving it to them in a convenient location,"
she said.
Under the agreement, OCC will have the
right to teach a variety of classes at the new
temple at Orchard Lake and Walnut Lake
roads in its multilevel, lecture-style class-
rooms. The courses will be geared to the in-
terests of congregants and the general
community.
In addition, OCC will draw on the temple's
resources to offer Introduction to Judaism, a
general-interest, semester-long course designed
to teach the principles and practices of the faith,
including rituals and holidays.
A class bearing the same name already is
taught at the temple. It attracts those con-
templating conversion as well as those plan-
ning an interfaith marriage. That class will
become a four-week extension to the one of-
fered by OCC and will focus on belief. Both the
OCC course and the additional classes for con-
verts will be taught by Rabbis Dannel Schwartz
and Michael Moskowitz.
"Those who want to convert
will have to take extra classes
in belief," Rabbi Schwartz said.
The additional classes for con-
version were designed to follow
the OCC unit so the OCC class
"doesn't become a proselytizing
course."
Similar classes taught at oth-
er area Reform temples and
through the area Conservative
movement are not offered for
credit.
"So far, it is not an option," said
Rabbi David Nelson of

CONVERSION 101 page 10

rn

e West Bank protesters becoming
an obstacle to peace?

lose UP

Beating The Heat

During the hot days of summer, a little golf
tournament spices up the neighborhood.

ALAN HITSKY ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Jeffrey
Sobel
distributed
score cards
and putters.

I

t takes a lot of planning to design a
golf course, build it, and advertise a
tournament for charity.
It even takes coordination to make the
lemonade.
Joel and Aaron Siegel of West

Bloomfield and their cousins, Brian and Jeffrey Sobel
of Pt. Lauderdale, Fla., managed all that in the last
two months — and raised $100 for charity last week-
end.
The cousins conceived the idea of building a course
while playing their favorite sport during a family va-
cation this spring near Mackinac Island. With Brian
and Jeffrey returning to Michigan for a nine-day
visit this month, the boys decided to build a driveway
golf course at the Siegel home on Hardwoods Drive.
Design ideas were exchanged through the mail.
Six holes were devised, debated, modified.
During construction last week, more changes were

THE HEAT page 10