New JLI Course Explores Underpinnings of Hate and How to Respond to Rising Antisemitism

October 5, 2021

This fall, the Chabad Center will offer a new four-session course from the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI), titled Outsmarting Antisemitism.

Using history, Talmudic sources, Jewish mysticism, and contemporary expert analysis, the course addresses some of the niggling questions we grapple with as individuals and as a community. Why does antisemitism persist? How can we make hate go away? How can we counter Israel-focused antisemitism and prevent our own youth from unwittingly lending their voices to antisemitic agendas?

“Many Jews are anxious about rising antisemitism today and worry about how to respond to it,” Rabbi Levi Teldon of Chabad Center, the local JLI instructor. “By exploring the mechanics of antisemitism and probing historical strategies for reducing it, this course offers a framework for confronting it head-on with purpose, positivity, and pride.”

Informative, interesting, and empowering, Outsmarting Antisemitism is well suited for community leaders and laypersons alike. “We all have to be knowledgeable about the history of antisemitism and its current manifestations if we are to be equipped to combat its spread— that is why this course matters,” said Cary Nelson, past president of the American Association of University Professors.

The four-week course is being offered on 4 Tuesdays at noon beginning Nov. 2 with Rabbi Chaim Block, and 4 Wednesdays at 7:30 pm beginning Nov. 3 with Rabbi Levi Teldon.

No prior experience or background in Jewish learning, nor is synagogue affiliation necessary.

The course will be offered in-person, COVID permitting, but may have to switch to Zoom. Interested students may call (210) 764-0300 or visit www.chabadsa.com/JLI for registration and for other course-related information.