Chabad of Hunterdon County’s Rohr Jewish Learning Institute will present "Living with Integrity: Navigating Everyday Ethical Dilemmas," a new six-session winter course that will begin on Tuesday, Jan. 29.

“There’s a lot of talk about ethics for government and big corporations, but almost every day we confront complex ethical decisions in our own relationships,” said Rabbi Eli Kornfeld. “From nanny cams to our responsibilities to our parents, 'Living with Integrity' will provide a framework for making balanced decisions for ourselves and for the people we care about.”

The course will cover six important topics:

Privacy: Are you obligated to share sensitive information about your friend with his or her potential employer or spouse? Are you allowed to read information embedded in an electronic file that the sender didn’t intend for you to see? Is it ethical to use a covert nanny cam to protect your children?

Forgiveness: Should you forgive domestic violence? Is it correct to forgive the one who harmed you when you cannot do so with sincerity? How far do the moral responsibilities of forgiveness go?

Charity: When faced with a choice to save the whales, feed the starving in Africa, or give to your local temple, where should your charitable priorities lie? Do taxes, tuition, and community dues count as charity? Should you give to a beggar when he may use your donation to buy drugs or alcohol?

Parents: When your children and parents both need care, where do your responsibilities lie? What are your responsibilities to your in-laws? What is the extent of your financial obligation to your parents? When there are multiple siblings, how should the filial responsibility be delegated?

Honesty: Should you lie to avoid hurting your parents’ feelings, protect your kids from a frightening truth, or keep a dying man from knowing his fate? How about speaking a white lie to keep a surprise party secret, or exaggerating in an interview to get a job? Where do you draw the line?

Commitments: Your friend is depending on your investment to get his business up and running. You agreed to help your friend move. You made a large pledge, but circumstances have since changed. Just how binding are your commitments? When is it all right to renege?

Packed with real-life scenarios, Living with Integrity challenges students to articulate their own opinions, while providing practical Talmudic wisdom to help them navigate through life’s inevitable ethical challenges. This course will not only provide the tools to make appropriate decisions, it will also enhance their interaction with family and friends.

The course is CLE accredited in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York and affords local attorneys a way to receive their credits. Attorneys can receive 10.8 CLE credits for N.J. and 9 for N.Y. and Pa.

“I have taken a number of the JLI courses dealing with business, medical and legal issues and have found them very interesting and enlightening” said Mark H. Chazin partner at Gebhardt & Kiefer “The materials are comprehensive, with well researched references and documents, covering the whole gambit of Jewish and secular civil law. The examples in the materials are very relevant and applicable to modern day situations, and provide guidance and a moral framework for dealing with the issues which we face in the real world”.

Like all previous JLI programs,' Living with Integrity' is designed to appeal to people at all levels of Jewish knowledge, including those without any prior experience or background in Jewish learning. All JLI courses are open to the public, and attendees need not be affiliated with a particular synagogue or other house of worship.

The JLI of Hunterdon County is underwritten by a generous grant from Dr. and Mrs. Gary Shangold Tewksbury.

Rabbi Kornfeld will conduct the six course sessions at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, starting Jan. 29 at the Chabad Center, 90 Beaver Ave., Clinton. The cost for the course is $90, which includes textbooks and related materials. Visit jewishhunterdon.com, call 908-238-9002 or email [email protected] to register or find out more information.