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

