New Season Starting
Wednesday, July 12 2023!
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 at Chabad Jewish Center 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,
Rabbi Chanoch Kaplan
375 Pulis Ave, Franklin Lakes NJ
G-d Doesn't Want It Darker If It Seems That Way, Great Things Must Be Coming
We all go through difficult, dark times-sometimes excruciatingly so. Judaism has long held the view that like the Jews' original odyssey through the desert, no stop on this journey of life is so dark as to be meaningless. In fact, the more difficult it is, the greater the growth thereafter.
How to Make a Successful Remake Transmitting Values in a New Language Is an Art Form
A remake is always hard. How do you maintain the original authentic theme and flavor while injecting new and relevant language? Two drastically different historic attempts at translating the Torah teach us how to ace this tough task: with creativity and an abundance of caution.
Struggle Isn't a Bug. It's a Feature Reframing Negativity Isn't Only about Looking to the Future
A Talmudic story of a sage laughing at the scene of tremendous destruction teaches us profound truths about the destruction in our lives: it's not just getting better ''some day''; the destruction is the very feature that's making it better right now.
The Big Picture Your Life Really Only Centers around One Thing
Modern life is a dizzying abundance of ''splintering.'' Every day brings so many different places to be, roles to fill, and projects to carry out. World events regularly turn things upside down. How do we maintain our sanity and peace through it all? By centering everything around one thing: serving G-d-in whichever capacity He wishes.
Jerusalem: Our Eternal Undivided Capital The Meeting Place of Heaven and Earth
It's the most hotly contested piece of real estate within the most hotly contested land in the world. What's so special about Jerusalem that evokes so much passion? Walk its cobblestone streets and you will feel that it is the nexus of Heaven and earth.
Wednesday, August 16 2023
Don't Worry; There's No Reason to Fear How to Maintain Calm When Life Goes Sideways
Jewish people throughout history have maintained legendary faith in G-d, no matter how worrisome the future may look. But how? How do we allay fears about the future when we truly don't know what will be? It's all about trusting in G-d and relying on His master plan.
Wednesday, August 23 2023
Why Evil Exists When Opposition Demonstrates the Greatest Support
Squaring the idea of an omnipresent G-d with the reality of evil has always been a thorny theological problem. Discover the surprising premise that upends this entire conversation: it's along the lines of, ''G-d can make a rock He can't pick up-and then pick it up, too.''
Wednesday, August 30 2023
''G-d, Once in a While, Can't You Choose Someone Else?'' The Privilege, Responsibility, and Humility of Being ''Chosen''
Our claim as the ''chosen nation'' has too often been misconstrued and misunderstood. It's time to set the record straight and internalize what this idea really means: We are entirely humble before G-d and here to serve. Now it's time to get to work.
Wednesday, September 6 2023
Kowtowed into Submission? Judaism Doesn't Believe That G-d Is Waving a Pitchfork over Your Head
''Fear of G-d'' and submitting to authority are central planks to religious Jewish life. But who wants to live in fear and submission? No one. The good news is that Judaism doesn't demand that from us. In fact, ''fearing G-d'' is quite the opposite: It is an edifying and empowering awareness to enrich your life. Discover how.
Wednesday, September 13 2023
''You Matter,'' G-d Said Discovering Our Immutable Value in the Shofar-Blowing Ceremony
There comes a time when thinking people stop and ask themselves, ''Do I really matter?'' It's a scary question. The shofar-blowing ceremony provides a reassuring answer: Beyond anything you might do, G-d decided you matter-and that's who you are. Go ahead and relish that.
Wednesday, September 20 2023
There's Always Room for Improvement It's Not Just Something Your Therapist Says. Your Soul Demands It
That we can always improve is pretty much a no-brainer. Yom Kippur comes along each year and adds: Today, your soul receives a reboot. You're a new person now. You can improve-and dramatically so.
Wednesday, September 27 2023
The Ascetic Materialist: A Welcome Paradox Developing a Cunning Approach to Everyday Life
Jewish tradition abounds with stories of pious ascetics who ate black bread and slept on wooden boards. But that doesn't seem to be so commonplace these days. Should we go back? The sukkah-a primal hut, but with all the trappings of a house-provides an innovative and healthy approach.
YOUR WEEKLY DOSE OF JEWISH INSPIRATION
Torah Studies is a program of the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute
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