The Jewish Learning Institute (JLI) will present To Be a Jew in the Free World: Jewish Identity Through the Lens of Modern History, the institute’s new six-session Winter 2014 course that will begin on Tuesday, February 11th.
Rabbi Shmuly Altein of Chabad-Lubavitch will conduct the six course sessions at 7:30 pm on Tuesdays at the Jewish Learning Centre.
“A recent PEW study exposed that 22% of Jews identify as ‘Jews with no religion’ and for many, this is a clear indication that the landscape of Jewish identity is changing rapidly” said Rabbi Zalman Abraham of JLI’s headquarters in Brooklyn, New York. “Our objective with this course is to initiate a discussion about Jewish identity, why it is still relevant, and what we can do to make it something our children and grandchildren will cherish for generations to come.”
In To Be a Jew in the Free World, participants will confront questions of allegiance and issues in which Judaism and contemporary society appear to be in conflict. Looking into the past, the course explores a series of fascinating case studies, such as arguments made in the 1650s to convince Oliver Cromwell to readmit Jews to England, and how Ulysses S. Grant’s 1862 expulsion of the Jews became a defining issue in his presidential election.
“The subject of identity is close to the hearts of many in our Jewish community, yet it’s a subject that is rarely discussed nowadays.” said Rabbi Shmuly Altein, the local JLI instructor in Winnipeg. “The course provides a rare opportunity to address this issue that will benefit the wider community and we invite everyone to attend.”
Like all JLI programs, To Be a Jew in the Free World is designed to appeal to people at all levels of Jewish knowledge, including those without any prior experience or background in Jewish learning.