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WHEN

4 Tuesdays,
Starting 4 November 2024

8:00-9:30 pm

(following 3 lessons 25 Nov, 2, and 9 Dec 2024)

Instructor: Rabbi Nochum Schapiro

This course is being offered for both online and in-person attendees

LOCATION

Chabad North Shore, 27 College Cr. St Ives

MORE INFO

rabbi@chabadhouse.org.au
Call Rabbi Schapiro 0425 214 522

FEES INC. STUDENT TEXTBOOK
Chabad Member: Single $120, Couple $200
Non-Member: Single $145, Couple $250

Colourful Profiles
Short Stories of Extraordinary and Unexpected Characters from Jewish History

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.

Lesson One
Onkelos, Ovadiah of Normandy, and Avraham ben Avraham

What attracted a Roman Caesar's nephew to convert to Judaism, and what message does his revolutionary Hebrew-to-Aramaic Torah translation provide us? Why did a twelfth-century Italian priest surrender his career to live as a wandering Jew, and what cultural gifts did he bring with him? How did a young Polish eighteenth-century nobleman become a legend of devotion and sacrifice for Judaism?

This lesson explores the fascinating life stories of three converts to Judaism: Onkelos, Ovadiah of Normandy, and Avraham ben Avraham. Through their remarkable lives we will discover what it means to become a Jew, and learn about the invaluable contributions converts have made to Jewish life.

Lesson Two
Shmuel Hanagid, Menashe ben Israel, and Ovadiah Seforno

How did a leading Torah sage of eleventh-century Spain command a Muslim army? How did a child born in the suffocating shadow of the Portuguese Inquisition fling open the gates of Jewish wisdom to non-Jewish scholars, and force open the gates of England for his oppressed brethren? How did the relationship between a leading Italian rabbi and his young non-Jewish German pupil save the Talmud from destruction and establish it as a source of wisdom for all humanity?

This lesson explores the respective dramas and triumphs of three rabbis: Shmuel Hanagid, Menashe ben Israel, and Ovadiah Seforno. These personalities provide us with remarkable insight into the historic Jewish mission of serving as “a light unto the nations,” and teach us how to become part of this mission ourselves.

Lesson Three
Doña Gracia, Rebbetzin Bayla Katz, and Glikl of Hameln

How did a clandestinely Jewish businesswoman smuggle thousands of her brethren from the clutches of the Inquisition and launch an ambitious settlement project in the Holy Land? How did a Polish rabbi’s wife influence Jewish ritual practice and custom? What profound life lessons did a seventeenth-century German Jewish entrepreneur impart via her remarkable autobiography?

This lesson delves into the experiences of three extraordinary women: Doña Gracia, Rebbetzin Bayla Katz, and Glikl of Hameln. They collectively gift us with fresh insight into the unique role of Jewish women as nurturers of their families, communities, and faith.

Lesson Four
The Four Captive Rabbis, Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg, and Rabbi Yaakov Koppel Margolis

How did a band of pirates’ capture of a ship ferrying four rabbis change the course of Jewish history? Why did the top German Talmudic sage of the thirteenth century refuse to be released from prison? How did a seventeenth-century hostage crisis in Ukraine unite the Jewish world for an unprecedented rescue mission?

This lesson explores the sagas of the four captive rabbis, as well as Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg and Rabbi Yaakov Koppel Margolis and his fellow captives from the 1648 Khmelnytskyi Massacres. Their moving stories of tragedy and bravery leave us with insightful reflections on the foundations of Jewish unity and the extent of our responsibilities toward Jewish hostages.

Course Overview

History is meaningful, but it can be boring. Entertainment is fun, but it can be meaningless. What if we can merge the two, and learn about our history in a riveting and exciting way? This is the entertaining and meaningful journey the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute’s (JLI) latest course, Colourful Portraits, will take us on.

We are here because of our history. If we wish to understand our present role and meaning as Jews, we need to understand our history that has shaped us. As we look for guidance in securing our Jewish future, we need to explore our past to understand what got us here in the first place.

But as important as it may be, for many of us the study of history seems tedious, even boring. The places, languages, and cultures are foreign to us, and the myriad facts and figures bore us.

Colourful Portraits takes a different approach, allowing us to learn from Jewish history through the fascinating and entertaining lives of some of its greatest and most colourful heroes. Told through original sources, historic documents, multimedia, and music, the adventures of these remarkable characters will entertain us, and the lessons we learn from them will educate us about who we are as a people, and the role we are supposed to play.

Each of the four lessons in this course focuses on a specific theme, and explores the fascinating and entertaining lives and accomplishments of remarkable personalities from Jewish history that express this theme.

Among others, we will meet a twelfth-century Italian priest who adopts Judaism and hands us his autobiography so that we can appreciate what it means to become a Jew. The poetry of the greatest Talmudic scholar in Spain, who was also a commander of a Muslim army, will teach us about our Jewish mission to be a light to the nations. The trials and tribulations of a secretly Jewish Portuguese businesswoman will teach us about the unique role of Jewish women as nurturers of family and tradition. And the experiences of four rabbis taken captive by pirates will reveal to us the secrets of Jewish unity and survival.

Colourful Personalities uncovers epic sagas and brave heroes. Through each, another segment of our past returns to life. With each, we are better guided in our private and collective lives.