Rivkah Slonim will offer the class “Beyond Right: The Values that Shape Judaism’s Civil Code,” a new six-session course by the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute, which will focus on personal ethics in the light of Jewish civil law. The class will be held on six Mondays beginning May 16, at 7 pm. The cost of the course is $79 per person or $140 for a couple. It will be offered in-person, as well as over Zoom. Sign-in information will be provided upon enrollment.
“Can you help yourself to someone else’s possessions if you are sure they won’t mind?” said organizers of the class. “Must you forgive and accept a repentant antisemitic tormentor? If your neighbor blocks your sunlight with a two-story fence, do you have legal recourse? Do you have a legal obligation to report someone’s plans to commit a violent crime? These are just a few of the questions among the many – large and small – that are addressed in this course.”
“Many people are surprised to discover the attention Jewish law devotes to disputes between neighbors, ethical dilemmas involving the workplace, and maintaining a peaceful and moral society,” commented Slonim. “They assume Jewish law mostly addresses religious practice.”
The course will explore six foundational Jewish values that underlie the practical application of Jewish civil legislation, translating abstract principles into detailed guidance on common real-life scenarios.
“The JLI course ‘Beyond Right’ explores fundamental topics that are of vital importance for any just society in light of the profound teachings of the Jewish legal tradition,” said Professor David Flatto of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Faculty of Law. “It highlights the central values and commitments that are at stake in addressing these issues. I commend JLI for developing this rich and illuminating course.”
“Informative, practical and insightful, ‘Beyond Right’ is sure to generate an appreciation for Jewish law as a distinctive Jewish system that can be utilized as a source of guidance and clarity when one is faced with professional or personal dilemmas,” said orgainzers. “Martin Pritikin, dean of Concord Law School at Purdue University, has praised ‘Beyond Right’ as a course that ‘helps shine a light on what it means to be a nation living under the rule of law, and indeed, what it means to be human.’”
“Beyond Right” is approved in New York state for legal professionals seeking to fulfill their CLE requirements. The course is designed for people at all levels, including those without prior experience or background in Jewish learning. All JLI courses are open to the public and attendees need not be affiliated.
To register, e-mail to rshea@Jewishbu.com, call the Chabad Center at 797-0015 or visit www.myJLI.com for registration and for other course-related information.
JLI, the adult-education branch of Chabad-Lubavitch, offers programs in more than 1,600 international locations in the U.S., Argentina, Australia, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Panama, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Uruguay and Venezuela. More than 400,000 students have attended JLI classes since we were founded in 1998.