Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Chabad to offer SoulQuest course

Contributed By Shauna Steigerwald | The Enquirer 

This November, the Goldstein Family Learning Academy will unveil its fall JLI course, SoulQuest: The Journey Through Life, Death and Beyond. 

This new course will be offered at Chabad Jewish Center in Blue Ash for either six Thursday mornings or Monday evenings. Morning classes begin: on Thursday, Nov. 5 and run from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Evening classes begin Monday, Nov. 9 and run from 7:30 to 9 p.m.

“This is a classic case of the market creating the demand for this course,” says local JLI instructor Rabbi Yisroel Mangel. “We have received consistent requests from students to create a course that addresses these issues head on. Sooner or later, everybody must reckon with questions of their own mortality.”

“This course addresses the most commonly asked questions about the soul’s journey,” says Rabbi Yisrael Rice, the course author, “and then some not-so-common questions that many people have never even thought of.

“Though there are many traditions that deal with the nature of the soul and its journey through this life and beyond,” continues Rice, “this course reveals a counterintuitive conclusion that is unique to the Jewish tradition.” 

In addition to its focus on understanding the soul’s journey, the course consistently brings the study of before and after back to its practical ramifications of day-to-day living.

Lessons will examine a range of classic Jewish sources, drawing extensively from the Talmud and Kabbalah.

The course costs $70. There is a 10 percent discount for couples, and a 50 percent discount is being offered for those who sign up with a new student, which includes a beautiful student textbook. 

Interested parties may attend the first lesson free, with no obligation.

SoulQuest, like all JLI’s courses, is designed for people at all levels of Jewish knowledge. Participants without any prior experience or background in Jewish learning can attend. All Goldstein Family Learning Academy courses are open to the public, and attendees need not to be a member of any particular synagogue or temple.

JLI’s classes and programs are offered at more than 300 locations in more than 250 cities nationwide and internationally. More than 100,000 people have attended JLI classes since its founding in 1998. Every course offered by JLI is taught concurrently in all locations. This feature has helped create a global learning community. JLI courses are presented in Cincinnati under the auspices of the Chabad Jewish Center.

For more information or reservations, call Chabad Jewish Center at 513-793-5200 or visit www.chabadba.com. Visit www.soulquestion.com for up-to-date information about SoulQuest.