The Jewish Learning Institute will hold the class “Advice for Life: The Lubavitcher Rebbe’s Guidance for Leading a More Purposeful Life” on six Mondays beginning January 29 at 7 pm. The course fee, which includes the textbook, is $79 per person, or $150 per couple. The class will be held in person at the Chabad Center and on Zoom. For registration and additional information about the course, contact Ruth Shea at 607-797-0015 or rshea@chabadofbinghamton.com, or visit their website.
“This immersive journey explores the extensive communications of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of blessed memory,” said organizers of the course. “Through thousands of typewritten letters, in-person meetings and hundreds of thousands of spoken public discourses, referred to as farbrengens, the Rebbe interacted with individuals of all walks of life, both from within and outside the Jewish community on matters of work, family, health and well-being. The Rebbe’s spiritual leadership is the force behind the modern Chabad movement and his wisdom continues to inspire and guide countless individuals on their journeys of faith and personal growth.”
Organizers added, “On issues as far ranging as the daily work grind, family life, medicine and mental health and staring down adversity, the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s guidance offers invaluable – sometimes counterintuitive – insights for successful and wholesome living.”
“‘Advice for Life’ is an invitation to delve into ideas that guide us toward elevated living and mindful growth,” noted Rivkah Slonim, course instructor. “This course provides profound, but accessible, teachings, coupled with practical insights, much of it gleaned from heretofore unpublished correspondence.
“As a genre, self-help books and advice columns typically attempt to show how we can achieve success and happiness,” Slonim explained. “This course, too, offers a vision of a better life – but it does not pursue happiness for happiness’ sake. Instead, happiness and success are seen as inevitable by-products of a life spent in pursuit of our divine purpose. In each area of life this course addresses, we see the Rebbe’s guidance reflect this core insight: we cannot afford to divorce our everyday concerns from our spiritual life. We cannot relegate meaning, purpose and active engagement with Judaism to the hours we spend in synagogue. The Rebbe repeatedly demonstrates that inviting our identity and purpose as Jews into the workplace, the home and all of life’s dimensions, and sometimes, struggles, gives us tremendous clarity, comfort and confidence. While this course was constructed and slated for spring ‘24 a few years ago, I feel that it is especially applicable juxtaposed against the current conflict in the Middle East and the upheaval we are all feeling in the wake of 10/7.”
“The class welcomes participants from all backgrounds and levels of knowledge, embodying JLI’s commitment to making Jewish educational experiences accessible to all,” organizers said. “JLI providing its students with valuable insights and transformative educational experiences.”
JLI, the adult education arm of Chabad-Lubavitch, operates in more than 800 locations across the U.S. and various countries worldwide. Since its establishment in 1998, JLI has reached more than 400,000 students.