JLI - Colorful Profiles

Join this four-week journey to encounter twelve stories of Jewish history’s most fascinating men and women. Discover the incredible Jewish lives of converts, captives, royal advisors, philosophers, philanthropists, and more. You’ll be fascinated by their sacrifices, adventures, and achievements and get a vivid look at our people’s rich heritage and history. 

See how yesterday's Jews navigated today's issues: 

Lesson 1: Courageous Converts - A Roman prince outwits his uncle to study Torah, an Italian priest studies his way to a new life, and a Polish noble meets an old Jew studying Talmud on a Paris park bench—see their journey to Judaism and what came next. 

Lesson 2: Influential Jews - Spain’s top Torah scholar leads a Muslim Army, an Amsterdam rabbi with a printshop talks England into readmitting Jews, and a rabbi teaches a Catholic scholar and saves Central Europe’s Jewish books— how did they integrate Judaism into their influence? 

Lesson 3: Unsung Heroines - A businesswoman saves thousands from the Inquisition and rebuilds Jewish life across the Mediterranean, and a female Torah scholar shapes Halachic discourse while raising a family, feeding students, and caring for the sick—see the secret ways women shaped Jewish history.

Lesson 4: Heroes and Hostages - Four rabbis are captured by 10th-century pirates, Germany’s foremost Jewish leader is held for ransom, and thousands of East European Jews languish in Ottoman slave markets—how did Jewish communities respond?

The course is free to chai club members and residents of Lansdowne Woods community, you will only pay the costs for textbooks.

All 4 lessons will be on Sundays  from 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm from June 22nd, 2025 - July 20th, 2025. Please note, we will not have class on July 13 due to Fast day of Shiva Tammuz.

All 4 lessons will be taught in person at Lansdowne Woods. There will be an option to attend online via Zoom. Please check your email confirmation for the Zoom.