Enlivening Education Ann Arbor's Limud program pools resources for fresh learning opportunities. KAREN SCHWARTZ Special to the Jewish News . Ann Arbor inda Grekin of Ann Arbor is going to Poland in May, so she attended an hour- long class on Polish Jewish identity at the Jewish Community Center of Washtenaw County. While she learned about the revival of Jewish culture in post-Holocaust Poland, others learned new Jewish songs to share with their families. Grekin was one of about 60 community mem- bers participating in Limud: A Community Symposium for Jewish Learning, Ann Arbor's first collaborative adult education program. Organizers hope that the three-Tuesday program that began Feb. 10 is only the first of many of its kind in Ann Arbor. Limud is modeled after SAJE; Detroit Jewry's annual adult education program. Classes are taught by a variety of area leaders, and courses are aimed at exploring Jewish com- munities here and around the world, said Ann Arbor resident Robert Silver, a Temple Beth Emeth member on the Limud planning commitee. Planning for the community-wide academic program, which is both an educational effort and designed to strengthen bonds between Jews in Ann Arbor, started in November, Silver said. Limud, Hebrew for "to study or learn," allowed participants to take up to two sessions and select from two classes each session ranging from music to history to population studies and stories that shape Jewish experience. "For me, it is always important that we take an in-depth look at issues that involve Jews not only here in Ann Arbor but all over the world," he said. "This is an attempt to add on to what edu- cational programming goes on in the congrega- tions or in the JCC." Kaplan Seeks Court Seat Steven Kaplan, a Macomb County assis- tant prosecutor and West Bloomfield Township trustee, will seek to fill the open seat in the 48th District Court. Kaplan in 1992 - and 1996 ran races against Richard Thompson and David Gorcyca, respectively, for Oakland County prosecutor. The 48th District Court serves West Kaplan Bloomfield 3/19 2004 66 Jared Millen a University of Michigan business student from Holmdel NI, leads- Limud participants in song. Participants sing songs they can take home and enjoy with their families during a Limud learning session. He would like to see the program continue as suits the community, with themes changing from year to year. Helping to coordinate the program was Glenda Wucher, an intern from the University of Michigan's Sol Drachler Program in Jewish Communal Leadership, who works with the Jewish Federation of Washtenaw County. "We wanted, with the session leaders, to create a mix of fresh voices," she said. "A lot of the peo- ple we have leading sessions are not people who do a lot of speaking within the community. We do have some familiar speakers as well, but we've asked them to speak about something new." . Wucher hopes people leave wanting to learn more, and that they'll start taking a look at other opportunities for Jewish learning as well. "We're using this program to hopefully create an audience for the other programs already hap- pening in the community," she said. Ann Arbor resident -Paula Brown said she enjoyed the courses she attended and picked up some valuable hints for helping her son, Sam, 2 1 /2; enjoy saying the Shema. "That was very helpful, as were the speaker's handouts, her calendar with day-by-day ideas you can do, ideas for interacting with your kids," she said. Limud was sponsored by the Washtenaw Federation and as well as the Ann Arbor Orthodox Minyan, Beth Israel Congregation, Federation Young Adult Division, Hebrew Day School of Ann Arbor, the Jewish Cultural Society, Jewish Family Services, the Reconstructionist Havurah, Temple Beth Emeth and the Drachler program. Township, Bloomfield Township, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Keego Harbor, Orchard Lake and Sylvan Lake. Kaplan is a board member for Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the Anti-Defamation League of Michigan. Funfair Geared To Families Greater Detroit Chapter of Hadassah will host a Family Funfair on Sunday, March 28, from 12-4 p.m. at the Costick Activity Center in Farmington Hills. The community event is co-sponsored by the Detroit Jewish News, Metro Parent Magazine and the Observer & Eccentric Newspapers. ❑ Admission includes entertainment, carnival games and prizes, face painting, tattoos, moonwalk and a petting farm. Pizza, pop and other refreshments will be available for purchase. Community organizations, such as Young Judaea, Camp Tamarack, Oakland County Parks and Recreation, Shalom Street, Upland Hills Farm, West Bloomfield Township Public Library, will showcase their programs and offer activities for all ages. Admission is $5 per person and $20 for a family of five. All proceeds benefit Hadassah's programs, including pediatric cancer research and Young Judaea. For information, call Hadassah, (248) 683- 5030. WSU Alumni Visit HMC The Wayne State University Alumni Association and guests are invited to the faculty lecture series, "Knowledge Road Show," Sunday, March 28, at the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills. Wayne State Professor of English Anca Vlasopolos will discuss her book No Return Address: A Memoir of Displacement, about her mother's experi- ence in Auschwitz and three slave-labor camps, as well as a meditation on their influence on her life. A tour and recep- tion follow. Cost is $15 for alumni asso- ciation members and $20 for non-mem- bers. Call (313) 577-2166.