Jewish Learning Institute begins classes

Portland is one of 160 cities worldwide where the Jewish Learning Institute will offer courses.

The Jewish Learning Institute is a program of the Chabad Lubavitch movement for adult students pursuing intellectual and spiritual growth.

Rabbi Moshe Wilhelm of the Northwest Campus of Jewish Life, Chabad Lubavitch of Oregon, said the institute will offer three six-week courses to be held consecutively in the fall, winter and spring.

The first course begins on Wednesday, Nov. 9. Entitled "Beyond Never Again: The Holocaust—A View From the Soul," it is described as "not a history, not an explanation, not about the pain and suffering."

Course planners call the curriculum "an intense journey into the realm of meaning," and say that the Holocaust "has never been taught like this."

The late Simon Wiesenthal recommended this course.

"I strongly support this JLI course, as information is our defense against the repetition of history, and keeping memory alive is our moral obligation," he said.

Fred S. Seidman, the chairman of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, and Dan Michman, chief historian at Yad Vashem: Israel Holocaust Memorial Museum, also have recommended the course.

The second course in the series is called "The Kabbalah of Time." It will examine time and the Jewish calendar through the mystical lens of Kabbalah.

The third course is called "The Messiah Myster: Toward a Perfect World." It will explore the Jewish ideal of Mashiach, the Messiah, its source, evolution and relevance today.

The classes will take place at the Northwest Campus of Jewish Life, 6686 S.W. Capitol Hwy.

Tuition for each of the three courses is $100.

Register is available online at www.myJLI.com. Wilhelm urged that students use the online registration tool.

Wilhelm will teach the curriculum.