Chabad course applies Talmudic wisdom to ‘modern conundrums’

Chabad of Greater St. Louis will offer a new six-week course starting in late January on “The Dilemma: Modern Conundrums. Talmudic Debates. Your Solutions.” Chabad will lead two sessions of the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute course: 

• On Mondays at 7:30 p.m., beginning Jan. 30, at Total Wine & More, 1781 Clarkson Road in Chesterfield 

• On Tuesdays at 7 p.m., beginning Jan. 31, at the Lazaroff Chabad Center, 8124 Delmar Blvd. in University City. 

Each class runs 90 minutes. Among the “conundrums” that may be explored involve ethical questions raised by self-driving cars or the Pokémon Go mobile app. 

“In ‘The Dilemma’ we encounter fascinating, real-life situations in which your gut instinctively responds one way, but your brain might tell you quite the opposite,” said Rabbi Yosef Landa, a presenter of the course. “The Dilemma course is a mental expedition in which participants mind-wrestle with situations that force them to choose between two seemingly reasonable positions.”

To solve these dilemmas, students explore, discuss and debate Talmudic arguments and then apply them to solve the cases using new, interactive polling technology. 

The course is designed to appeal to people at all levels of knowledge, including those without any prior experience or background in Jewish learning. 

The course is accredited for Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits for attorneys and other legal professionals. 

JLI courses are open to the public, and attendees need not be affiliated with any Jewish institution. Interested students may call Chabad at 314-725-0400 or 314-258-3401 (for Chesterfield classes) or visit myJLI.com for registration and other course-related information.