ing together is more effective,"
Courses, which are open to the
community, included a pre-High
Holiday's series and a diverse lineup
for the fall: Wednesday night classes
at Hilkl Day School; a monthly
Rosh Fiodesh series at I3orders book-
store; an eight-part "lane and learn-
ing' series at Borders; a four-part
text study series on medical ethics; a
series on women
fakir- art series
n g

well as Eilu v'Eilu. She formerly
worked at AJE.
But synagogue-based education
and consortiums like Eilu v'Eilu do
not eliminate the need for long-term
courses at the Federation-funded
Midrasha, Kaplan said.
"The vacuum is what drove us to
put something out there. If IVIidrasha
were all that it could be, there would
be less need for what we're doi
but then we'd offer differenFi
There is so much to learn that no
e organization or agency cou
ibly cover all of it."
ergman, who once taught at t
Midrasha, says that Eilu v'Eilu is not
to compete with the

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people, says former Midrasha
Director Naomi Blumenberg. While
only three Barnes & Noble pro-
grams are scheduled for the fall,
AJE's adult education chair Bernie
Mindell says twice-monthly events
are in place for spring 1998.
The Midrasha is also moving
away from the role of direct service
provider, focusing instead — with a
$100,000 grant proposal pending at
the Federation — on plans to become
a clearinghouse for adult Jewish edu-
cation. ,
If the proposal submitted last
spring goes through, the Midrasha will
maintain a Website and a phone ser-
vice listing courses and programs

The conclusion: the community need-
ed commitment-free classes in conve-
nient and "upbeat" locations, with
exciting instructors and interesting
topics, says Mindell.
But what the AJE describes as an
attempt to meet the time constraints
of modern life, others criticize as
merely an excuse to scale back com-
munity-wide offerings, cut spending,
and transfer responsibility to syna-
gogues, many of which are pressed for
funds.
Adat Shalom Rabbi Daniel Nevins
thinks the AJE should be increasing
adult study options rather than cut-
ting them.
"Detroit is missing college-level
Jewish studies that are community-
wide," said Nevins. "I'd like to see the
Midrasha fill that void. We have splin-
tered efforts, but we have no real cen-
tral address for Jewish education. The
three things missing in Detroit's
Jewish community are kosher restau-
rants, a community high school and a
college of Jewish studies."
Nevins rejects the assertion that
people won't commit to long-term
classes.
"I don't buy it. Why is Eilu v'Eilu
taking off? My classes [at Adat
Shalom] get consistent atten-
dance. Barnes & Noble is not
o getting massive crowds. [The AJE
has] the potential to be a corn-
]; munity-wide force. Now adult
0
education is one more thing
splintering the community."
In addition, while no one dis-
putes that Barnes & Noble pro-
grams serve a larger number of
people than long-term classes, it
is questionable whether they pro-
vide the same depth of learning.
But that's not the point, says
Mindell, explaining that the pro-
grams are designed as a first step,
in order to attract people who
would not think of taking a long-
term class.
"I don't think sampler courses
are enough, but they're certainly
better than nothing," he said.
Because Gelberd would not,,dis-
close the AJE's budgets from the
past 10 years, it is difficult to ascer-
tain the extent to which Midrasha
spending has changed. Furthermore,
claiming that it would be too difficult
for The Jewish News to interpret,
Gelberd insisted on providing only a
partial 1997-98 budget over the
phone and not in writing.
Randie Levin, assistant director of
Federation's planning department, said

going on throughout the community
and will facilitate networking among
education providers.
- "The [Midrasha's] role has changed
and is changing," says Lainie Phillips,
who was hired this summer to coordi-
nate Midrasha and school services. "In
the past, [Midrasha] was a huge school
and people earned credits. We learned
that's not in demand — synagogues
do their own adult education, and we

Shaarey Zedek's Rabbi Stephen Weiss
lectures at a recent Barnes and Noble
lecture sponsored by the Midrasha.

don't want to compete. We want to
promote education. We see ourselves
as a clearinghouse, advertising all pro-
grams."
Bernie Mindell says the Midrasha's
shift comes as a result of discussions
held with rabbis and other leaders.

10/31

1997

85

