The Rohr Jewish Learning Institute
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Jewish Community Center
Location Lanckhorstlaan 42, Heemstede, WK 2101 BE Netherlands
Phone+31 23 5320707
Upcoming Course: Decoding the Talmud

Decoding the Talmud

Inside the Story, Substance, and Significance of the Book that Defines Judaism

Enter the intricate world of the Talmud: the monumental classic that has defined Jewish learning for centuries. Join this six-week course from the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute to discover the Talmud, its history, authors, and significance—and experience it for yourself.

You'll learn the key terms, logical principles, and historical context required to decode every part of the Talmudic page. Plus, see how it became central to Jewish life and why it inspires fascination, debate, and study today.

Dates & Times
The course date hasn't yet been announced for this location. Please email [email protected] or call +31 23 5320707 for more info.
Upcoming Course: Colorful Profiles

Colorful Profiles

Short Stories of Extraordinary and Unexpected Characters from Jewish History

Join this four-week journey to encounter twelve stories of Jewish history’s most fascinating men and women. Discover the incredible Jewish lives of converts, captives, royal advisors, philosophers, philanthropists, and more. You’ll be fascinated by their sacrifices, adventures, and achievements, and get a vivid look at our people’s rich heritage and history.

Dates & Times
The course date hasn't yet been announced for this location. Please email [email protected] or call +31 23 5320707 for more info.
Endorsements Endorsements, Reviews and Comments of JLI's Courses and Programs.
Professor Judea Pearl (Father of Daniel Pearl) Director, Cognitive Systems Laboratory, University of California, Los Angeles

It is history that gives humans the sense of immortality and a bond that transcends passing differences. I applaud JLI for launching this worldwide study of Jewish history, a unique opportunity to rediscover our collective identity.

Natan Sharansky Noted Soviet dissident, Former Member of Israeli Knesset

In these tumultuous times, strengthening our identity is critical. JLI's course, The Land and the Spirit, provides an intriguing opportunity to connect to our roots, to be empowered by a personal link with our people and history, and to understand our bond to Israel. It is only by drawing a clear line from the past to the present that each of us can chart a course for a creative, constructive, and fulfilling future as part of the Jewish People.

Professor Alan M. Dershowitz Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law, Harvard Law School

I found the Rohr JLI course You Be The Judge fascinating. If my first-year students had been exposed to this material before starting law school, they would be better prepared for the rigors of the Socratic method.

Elyakim Rubinstein Israeli Supreme Court Justice, Former Attorney General of Israel

Many thanks for sharing with me the exciting Rohr JLI curriculum of You Be The Judge and for the excellent idea of bringing the treasure of Jewish law, a major point of Jewish life and Jewish ethos, to the attention of interested people.

Ellen Langer, PhD Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, Bestselling Author of eleven books including Mindfulness, Counterclockwise: Mindful Health and The Power of Possibility, Cambridge, MA

On the level of the individual to the level of culture, the ills we experience, by and large, result from mindlessness. The wisdom discussed in Toward a Meaningful Life should be widely read to help provoke a reversal of this trend and lead us to mindful lives full of everyday meaning.

Professor Jonathan D. Sarna Director, Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership Program, Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, Brandeis University

I am delighted to learn that the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute has created the course entitled Flashbacks in Jewish History. The great encounters between Judaism and its surrounding civilizations are of paramount importance for anyone seeking to understand Jewish life in the past as well as in the present.

Sir Martin Gilbert Leading Historian Official Biographer of Sir Winston Churchill

The Rohr Jewish Learning Institute and Rabbi Aaron Herman are to be congratulated for their challenging course, The Land and The Spirit, in which the spiritual values and centrality of the Land of Israel are expounded through a fascinating range of religious and secular texts. These texts span a remarkably wide range of opinions, from Moses to Herzl, from Rashi to Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, from Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson to Natan Sharansky (There is No Zionism Without Judaism), from the Talmud to the opinion writers of the Jerusalem Post. These texts, like the course itself, will serve a noble cause in stimulating thought and encouraging understanding.

Marlene Post President, Hadassah International, Chair for North America, Birthright Israel (Taglit)

The story of our people is filled with tales of leadership and vision, kindness and compassion. These are the gifts that enriched our own communities, and they are gifts we have shared with others around the world. The past provides us the inspiration to continue to work for the betterment of society.

Past Courses

Judaism Decoded

November 2016
Judaism Decoded
Just as science follows the scientific method, Jewish tradition has its own system to ensure its authenticity remains intact.
Judaism Decoded sheds light on the mysteries surrounding biblical interpretation. How do we know our interpretation is true? If it is true, why is it subject to differences of opinion? And with so many interpretations to choose from, how do we know which one reflects its original intent?
Discover the sheer elegance of the “source code” on which Torah law is built; enjoy the razor-sharp reasoning, intelligent debate, and compelling arguments of the Talmudic dialectic; and get a fascinating, behind-the-scenes glimpse of the most intellectually sophisticated religion in existence.