A new six session adult education course by the world’s largest adult education network, will begin next Tuesday and Wednesday in Clear Lake, Galveston and Pearland. The course, developed by the renowned Jewish Learning Institute (JLI), is part of a series of courses covering a spectrum of topics ranging from the moral to the mystical.

The kick-off course this fall, Life in the Balance: Jewish Perspectives on Everyday Medical Dilemmas, will examine modern and everyday ethical medical dilemmas through the perspective of the hundreds of generations of Jewish scholarship rooted in the Torah (Bible) and Talmud. Ethical topics addressed in the course include: End-of-life care, elective genetic screening, fetal reduction in pregnancy, respect for the human body, organ transplants and surrogate motherhood.

Life in the Balance will be offered in Clear Lake at the Holiday Inn Express on six Tuesdays, 7:30 to 9:00 pm, starting October 29; in Galveston at the Rosenberg Library on six Wednesdays, 10:30 am to 12 pm, starting October 30; and in Pearland at the Courtyard Marriott on six Wednesdays, 7:30 to 9:00 pm, starting October 30.

“All of us are likely to face a serious medical dilemma at one point or another in our lives,” explains Rabbi Yitzi Schmukler, director of the local JLI affiliate. “The objective of this course is to help enrich your ethics knowledgebase so that you are better equipped when you are faced with life’s toughest decisions. This is a unique opportunity and we invite everyone to attend.”

The course is produced by a team of scholars at the Jewish Learning Institute (JLI), the world’s largest Jewish adult education network, and is presented locally by Chabad of the Bay Area. Like all JLI programs, Life in the Balance is designed to appeal to people at all levels of Jewish knowledge, including those without any prior experience or background in Jewish learning. More than 320,000 students have attended JLI classes worldwide since the organization was founded in 1998.

This course is approved for AMA PRA Category 1 CME credits for medical professionals, and AGD PACE credits for dentists (please see details on website).

To register or for more information, visit www.JBayArea.org/4JLI, email [email protected] or call 713-398-2460. Students are invited to try out the first lesson free of charge – email or call to make your free reservation. For a limited time, those who wish to register for the entire course will receive the official student textbook at a discounted price of only $99 by using the promo code ‘LIFE’.