The Rohr Jewish Learning Institute
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The Jewish Student Center of GMU
Location 4601 Roberts Rd,, Fairfax, VA 22032 USA
Phone7034261980
Upcoming Course: Judaism's Gifts to the World

By most indications, modern society is a model of moral progress. Yet when it comes to everyday values, we still grapple with the big ones…

  • What are our responsibilities toward the less fortunate?
  • Does assisted suicide honor or devalue human life?
  • How can we make a move toward more cohesive family living?

Join us to unpack six of the world’s most cherished values and how they were delivered to humankind by the Torah. By tracing their fascinating journey to the mainstream, we’ll discover a timeless core of purpose, integrity, and clarity in each value—a powerful gift of guidance as we navigate our own daily choices.

Course Details
Lesson 1 The Gift of Social Responsibility

To the ancients, poverty and suffering were unfortunate facts of life for the unlucky to bear alone. It was the Torah that introduced the radical concept of social responsibility. So, what’s the true nature of that responsibility? Whose is it? And how should I relate to those receiving my help?

Lesson 2 The Gift of A Guiding Purpose

Abraham, the first Jew, discovered something that shook the foundations of the pagan society around him: there was one—only one—G-d, Creator of Heaven and earth. Monotheism drastically changed the way humanity has viewed life, purpose, and progress ever since. Discover how.

Lesson 3 The Gift of Respect for Life

It might seem axiomatic that human life is valuable, but a hard look at history reveals that the concept was once considered utterly radical. To discover how respect for life became a universal value, we’ll explore the underlying questions: What makes us human? And what are we here to do?

Lesson 4 The Gift of Equality and Individuality

Mastery over others was long deemed a birthright: some were born to rule; others to be ruled. Today, civil people agree that no one is intrinsically inferior or superior. This shift is thanks to the Torah’s revelation that we are all equally created in G-d’s image: just as G-d cannot be redundant, no human can be.

Lesson 5 The Gift of Work/Life Balance

Originally, those who labored did so endlessly. The Torah introduced us to Shabbat, mandating that Jewish people pause from work for a full day each week to focus on life’s purpose, on worship, and on family. As the modern world begins to recognize the benefits of Shabbat, our call to set aside that time of focus is more critical than ever.

Lesson 6 The Gift of Escaping the Cycle

Early societies considered human history locked in an endless cycle of war, conquest, peace, and more war. The Torah insists otherwise: we can, must, and will change the world for the better; war will eventually cease; justice and kindness will ultimately prevail. Today’s world is more eager than ever to hear this empowering message. Our closing lesson will suggest ways we can share it.

Dates & Times
The course date hasn't yet been announced for this location. Please email rabbi@chabadrh.org or call 7034261980 for more info.
Upcoming Course: Secrets of the Bible

The Bible is rich in tales, from the Garden of Eden to Noah’s Ark, from the selling of Joseph to Moses’s breaking of the Tablets. But what do these stories truly tell us? Review six famous and infamous biblical stories, and investigate the questions and mysteries they raise under the lens of the Torah’s mystical insights. The results bear both cosmic significance and practical relevance.   

Dates & Times
The course date hasn't yet been announced for this location. Please email rabbi@chabadrh.org or call 7034261980 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

Wrestling with Faith

October 2018
Wrestling with Faith

Most people, even the devout, struggle with beliefs about G-d. It is easy, for example, to affirm the basic tenets of Judaism during a prayer service, but when it comes to trusting G-d with our daily decisions, many share a secret, painful fear that G-d isn’t really looking out for them. Many of us have been brought up under the assumption that mainstream science is incompatible with our Jewish faith. So when we see compelling evidence for biological evolution, for example, we feel forced to choose between science and our faith. Wrestling with Faith was created to tackle questions like these—the “big issues” that keep people from an intimate relationship with G-d. The course acknowledges the often unspoken doubts and fears that all people share, and seizes their invitation for us to dig deeper for the answers.