Season

New Season Starting
Monday, July 29 2024!

Hi!

These days, it seems like nothing has a shelf life longer than a week. Every day brings another superhero franchise, fashion trend, or dieting fad. News cycles shift by the hour, social media feeds and timelines by the second. With everything flickering, flashing, and constantly updating, it’s little wonder life sometimes feel so impermanent.

For me, there’s no better way to slow things down than to pull back, if only for short while, and try to see things from a more timeless perspective. Our own Jewish traditions are filled with so many breathtaking insights, and they won’t fade away into irrelevance in a few days. Connecting to our own heritage, and ultimately to a divine wisdom, makes the all very human things we do feel richer, more meaningful, and part of something longer lasting.

The Torah Studies program tries to make this happen every single week. Each class take a topic or idea in Jewish thought to explore, tease out, and bring into play with our own lives. Each one is built around texts that we’ll learn together so that you can see these ideas for yourself, argue over them, and apply them to life your own way. Below, you can see an outline of a few of the upcoming sessions, and I’d love if you could join me for what promises to be a fun, engaging, and deeply rewarding learning experience. They are open to everyone, of all abilities, so bring along a friend too!

Shalom, and have a great week,

Weekly Women's Parsha Class
Mondays 10:00 - 11:00 AM
To register and order a student book:  wwjewish.org/torahstudies

Monday, July 29 2024

Why It Really Hurts

Understanding the Source of Our Pain–and How to Heal It

The world is filled with pain, grief, and so many challenges. But a surprising Chasidic text reveals that our pain is rooted in G‑d’s pain—providing a deep foray into Jewish mysticism and a novel pathway for healing.

Monday, August 5 2024

Holy Land, Holy People

Our Connection to Israel Is Sacred

The chronology of events leading up to our people’s first entry into the Land teaches us that to maintain our connection with this sacred land, we must guard not only its borders, but our own sacred heritage.

Monday, August 12 2024

The World Doesn’t Exist

Why Nothing Can Get in the Way of Good

The world around us feels very real, and even more real the more we experience it. But the kabbalists taught that it actually isn’t. Discover an entirely new way of looking at the universe, and emerge empowered to never back down from doing the right thing.

Monday, August 19 2024

G‑d Isn’t an Accountant

Why One Mitzvah Is Better than a Thousand Sins

Accepting bribes is an objective ethical no-no. G‑d, too, takes no bribes, the verse tells us. But some form of bribes He does take: the power of teshuvah, repairing our relationship with Him, will always be accepted on High.

Monday, August 26 2024

Portal to Infinity

To Activate the Magic, You’ve Got to Follow the Recipe

Many find the high level of detail in Jewish observance frustrating, or even petty; could an infinite G‑d really care if I light Shabbat candles a minute later or earlier? Well, actually, the answer is yes: deviating from the recipe will not bake the cake!

Monday, September 2 2024

To Be Human Is to Be Like a . . . Tree?

Identifying the Hallmark of Our Humanity—And How to Make It Last

We humans are funny creatures: we think and feel, we become inspired, and we understand; yet somehow those experiences rarely align. We think one way and feel another. Understanding the true source of humanity makes it all click.

Monday, September 9 2024

Arguing Effectively

Hint: Don’t Go in It to Win It

Public discourse has been poisoned, with debate almost always devolving into nasty bickering with no winners. An in-depth analysis of the Torah commentator Rashi’s silence on a verse offers a key to arguing effectively, with peaceful outcomes.

Monday, September 16 2024

Negative Newsfeeds: Not the New Normal

A Handy Hack to Living a More Positive Reality

Habituation can be a nasty thing; living a certain reality for too long normalizes it, no matter how inherently crazy it is. But a Talmudic comment about the nature of exile reveals it wasn’t meant to be this way—and empowers us to remain uncomfortable with, and challenge—aberrations.

Monday, September 23 2024

Unity Torah

Taking Your Part in a Community Legacy

The global Jewish family is much heralded. But what can you do practically to take a proactive role in it? Discover the beauty, depth, and power of purchasing just one small letter in a Torah scroll.

Monday, September 30 2024

Self-Generated

You Have What It Takes to Make Changes

The High Holidays bring with them feelings of inspiration and the need to change. But what will it take to really make that change, once and for all? The answer, in one word, is “You.” All you need is an honest appreciation of the need to change—and change will come.

Monday, October 7 2024

The True Story

Seeing Past the Noise

Why do people decide to improve? What motivates positive change? In the eyes of one Talmudic sage, the answer is always the same: a deep desire to return to G‑d. It’s the deeper story of your story: now take the time to uncover it.

Monday, October 14 2024

You’re Committed? Great. Now Appreciate It Too

Learning How to Like the Things We Love

Commitment is a wonderful thing. In fact, it’s the bedrock of all successful relationships. But it’s not enough. The progression of joyous steps in the Sukkot festival teaches us that it’s equally important to appreciate and like it, too.

 

 

 
 

YOUR WEEKLY DOSE OF JEWISH INSPIRATION

 

Torah Studies is a program of the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute