This winter, the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI) will launch its winter course, Portraits in Leadership: Timeless Tales for Inspired Living.

Portraits in Leadership is a study of the inspiring life story of six figures whose courage and determination helped Judaism weather its darkest hours. In the face of the first-century Roman assault on Jerusalem, the fundamental institutions of the Jewish people were utterly destroyed. But with wisdom and verve, these leaders took the radical steps that managed to preserve the essence of Judaism to this very day.

"This course is one part history, one part biography- all parts uplifting inspiration," says Rabbi Lazer Gurkow, course author. "It is about decisions made two thousand years ago that continue to shape the contours of contemporary Jewish life."

"Students are constantly looking for a deeper perspective on how to deal with challenges and struggles, whether they be financial, work or family related or spiritual," says JLI instructor Rabbi Mordechai Baumgarten. "What better way to find guidance than from the amazing lives of such luminaries as Hillel and Rabbi Akivah etc. Although many people are familiar with their names, the intricate details of their lives and philosophies, add a totally different dimension to their life picture."

Lessons will examine a range of classic Jewish sources, drawing extensively from the stories of the Talmud and modern commentaries that point out their personal significance to our lives.

Rabbi Mordechai Baumgarten, program director at the Chabad Center of Northwest New Jersey, will be teaching this course at the Chabad Educational Center, 65 Pawnee Ave. in Rockaway, for six Wednesdays, starting Jan. 27 at 7:45 p.m. For registration and more information, call 973-625-1525, ext. 202 for more information, or visit the Web site: www.onetorahway.org/JLI