Rabbi Joe Klein
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​                       Rabbi Klein teaches each year September- May
                  in the Federation's JLearn Adult Education Program.
                                  Max M. Fisher Jewish Federation Building, 
                                       6735 Tel
egraph Rd. Bloomfield Hills MI 48301. 
                              
For registration information and course fees 
           (248) 205-2557 • E-MAIL: JLearn@jccdet.org or go to www.jccdet.org/JLearn

                                                              Fall  2020     
The Invention of Judaism
Judaism didn’t exist in the time of Abraham, it did not come down from Sinai with Moses, it was not the religion of King David. “Jew” and “Jewish” are not part of our history until the 2nd C. BCE. Judaism had to be invented. From when and under what circumstances did Judaism emerge, and how are we to understand and appreciate the “Judaisms” that exist today?
(Eight week Zoom course, 11:30-1 pm Fridays, beginning October 9)


                                                              Winter 2021


Theology, Faith and Prayer
Biblical theology is simple and clear: God is omniscient, omnipotent and omnibenevolent; and God has chosen us as God’s favored people. How well has that worked for us? We have always struggled with questions of theology and faith: asking why bad things happen to good people, how does God work in our world, and the efficacy of prayer. From medieval to modern times, Jewish theologians have wrestled with these issues, as will we.
(Eight week Zoom course, 11:30-1 pm Fridays, beginning January 15, 2021)


     
                                                                                  Spring 2021

The History, Development and Challenge of Reform Judaism
Rabbi Klein will discuss the philosophical, theological and cultural issues that prompted the Reform of Judaism, first in the 19th C. in Germany and then in America. The class will contrast the major Reform Platforms of 1885, 1937, 1976 and 1999, and discuss current social and theological issues that continue to shape Reform Judaism, including the adoption of new prayerbooks.
(Four week Zoom course, 11:30-1 pm Fridays, beginning April 16, 2021)


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                                               Grosse Pointe Jewish Council
                       2020 Fall Sunday Series -- October 25, November 1 and 15 
Tell Me Why-- The History and Evolution of our Life-Cycle Events
Brit Milah, Pidyon haBen                                                                        
Bar/Bat Mitzvah      
Marriage and Divorce
Conversion 
Death, Burial and Mourning


                                          Grosse Pointe Jewish Council
                               2021 Spring Adult Education Series -- March 7, 14, 21

Tell Me Why-- The History and Evolution of Mitzvote
Kashrute   
Mikveh   
Tallit and Tzitzit
T'fillin
Kipa
M'zuzza
Shatnez
Shaytl
Peot
Synagogue Ritual and Choreography
Shabbat and Festival Rituals


                                        Grosse Pointe Jewish Council
                               2021 Spring Adult Education Series II -- April 18, 25; May 2

A Jewish Understanding of the Writings of Paul
The letters of Paul are the first record we have of the Jesus Movement. Were it not for Paul, a self-proclaimed Pharisaic Jew, the Jewish followers of Jesus would have disappeared by the end of the 1st C, and Christianity would not have emerged. His conflict with the Jewish Jesus believers led him to proclaim the “Christ event” to non-Jews in Asia Minor, before the Gospels were written.  Of the seven authentic letters of Paul we will be reading three, examining Paul’s theology as a blending of Hellenistic thought and Jewish history. The series will ultimately focus on the question of whether or not Paul “converted”, and his singular impact on the late 1st C community of Jesus-believers. 



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​Rabbi Klein is Adjunct Professor at Oakland University and Rochester University  
Introduction to Judaism, Oakland University, Fall Semester 2021
The Book of Exodus, Rochester University, Fall Semester 2021
Introduction to Judaism, Oakland University, Winter Semester 2022
The Book of Genesis, Oakland University, Winter Semester 2022
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