18 | OCTOBER 20 • 2022
OUR COMMUNITY
J
Learn, The J Detroit’s lifelong
learning department, has
long offered a wide variety of
courses for adult learners in a non-
denominational environment. Areas
of study include Bible, Talmud, Jewish
history, Hebrew language, literature,
ethics, culture and philosophy. Through
partnerships with area congregations,
organizations and institutions, JLearn
reaches a large segment of the Jewish
community.
But since the pandemic, JLearn
has turned things in an entirely new
direction and started a new chapter.
Even with much of the world returning
to in-person events and classes, most
of JLearn’s classes have remained on
Zoom. Lifestyles and the world have
changed, and JLearn is keeping up with
that demand.
During COVID lockdown, Shelley
Wish Chaness, senior
director of JLearn, heard
over and over again how
grateful the community was
to still be able to connect
with their friends, meet new
people, have stimulating
conversations and continue
learning while being
isolated.
“At that point, it was all about
staying safe and healthy; that’s why we
were doing it,” Chaness said. “What
we’re finding now is the emerging
post-COVID lifestyles are all about
convenience and enjoyment. It’s a
general change in people’s lifestyles.”
Looking to welcome opportunities
the pandemic presented them, the shift
to virtual has opened JLearn up to all
kinds of possibilities.
“We have friends and families
learning in classes together from across
the country. We’re able to find talented
instructors from all over, and we’re
not limited to our geographic region
anymore,” Chaness said. “We’ve got
instructors from Israel to Kansas City.
Our students can travel with us; they
can miss a class for an appointment. We
record all of our classes. It’s really the
best of both worlds for many people.”
No longer restricted by location,
JLearn is running national Facebook
ads — encountering students whose
cities do not offer anything like JLearn
in the process. “This is filling a void for
a lot of people,” Chaness said.
Due to the shift, JLearn has seen a
noticeable increase in students as well
as the number of classes each student is
taking.
“Our thing is to offer a wide-
open invitation to anybody
interested in learning about
Judaism. Any level of learning,
any degree of Judaism — we
don’t care where you are on the
spectrum,” Chaness said. “We’ve
really opened up our topics for
everyone. If you want to take
a deep dive into Talmud or if
you prefer to take a nostalgic trip back
to Jewish Detroit, we’ve got classes for
you.”
Chaness has also started JLearn
Now — a series of short pop-up classes
offered throughout the year as current
events provide them with the ability,
used as a springboard for Jewish-based
learning.
“With the passing of Queen
Elizabeth, which put England in the
world spotlight, we used that as a
springboard about the roles Jews are
playing, and the history, culture and
future of England. We have over 50
people registered for a two-part class on
that. Last year we did Ukraine and had
almost 200 people in a two-part Zoom
class. We’re finding the more relevant
the topics are, the more accessible
people feel they are.”
Chaness estimates 85% of JLearn is
virtual right now.
“We want people to enter our
program wherever they’re comfortable
doing it. Because of that, we’re seeing a
big increase in people who previously
thought this maybe wasn’t for them,”
Chaness said. “We’re calling ourselves
‘limitless Jewish learning.’ There are
no limits to where you learn, how you
learn, what you learn or who you’re
learning with.”
JLearn’s Fall 2022-23 course catalog includes an
enormous number of offerings. Learn more at Jccdet.
org/JLearn.
More students are taking more classes online.
JLearn Enters New Chapter
Shelley
Wish
Chaness
DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER