Jewish Learning Institute
New Season Starting Thursday, Oct 15 2026!
Life moves fast. Between work, family, the news cycle, and a phone that never stops buzzing, it's rare to get an hour that makes you think differently about something that matters.
That's what Torah Studies is for. Each week we take one big question, like what makes love last, how to handle fear, how to use the power of the word, or why struggle can matter more than perfection, and look at what 3,000 years of Jewish wisdom has to say about it. The classes are produced by the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI), and they're built for real conversation, not lectures. You'll read the sources yourself, share your own take, and walk away with ideas you can actually use.
See dates and topics below.
No background, Hebrew, or level of observance required. Curious, skeptical, or somewhere in between, you're welcome here. Bring a friend!
Thursdays at 7:45pm, starting October 15 In person: Chabad of Augusta, 3924 Old Furys Ferry Rd, Augusta GA On Zoom: (link will be send after registration)
Course fee: Free to join in person or listen in on zoom. Course book is $36 for all classes.
RSVP required : Just email [email protected] or call 706.722.7659 to save your spot, or simply show up. I'd love to see you there.
This course is sponsored by Drs Julian Nussbaum and Stephanie Goei. (If you'd like to sponsor a future course, please let me know.)
Thursday, October 15 2026
Why ordinary people sometimes need extraordinary words
The Torah rarely praises its heroes, yet it pauses to praise Noah again and again. Strangely, the same Torah also lets us know that Noah was not a towering spiritual giant. Perhaps that’s precisely the point: sometimes a person becomes capable of more when someone calls them up for it.
Thursday, October 22 2026
Why Judaism Begins with the Body
How brit milah reveals where the deepest connection to G‑d lives
If Judaism is about the soul, why does it begin with such a physical act? Circumcision seems like an intrusion into G‑d’s perfect creation. But what if it is not correcting the body, but revealing something about it: that the deepest bond with G‑d is forged specifically in the physical?
Thursday, October 29 2026
Why belief in G‑d doesn’t come from proof—and isn’t undone by it either
We usually think of faith as something we choose or build, especially when life raises hard questions. But Abraham’s story suggests something different: a kind of certainty that isn’t based on evidence at all. What if faith is not something we arrive at, but something woven into who we are?
Thursday, November 19 2026
Why G‑d treasures the struggler more than the flawless saint
Jacob wanted Rachel, who represented beauty, ease, and wholeness. But his life was bound instead to Leah, whose tears and struggle became the foundation of Jewish resilience, leadership, and hope. This class explores a powerful idea: life’s deepest value is not found in perfection, but in the courage to grow, change, and become better than yesterday.
Thursday, December 3 2026
Some moments ask for more than doing your duty.
Joseph knew his brothers hated him, yet he went when Jacob sent him. This class explores what makes a person go beyond self-protection: not recklessness, but deep commitment to family, faith, and a message worth risking everything for.
Light the Living Room First
The surprisingly private work of keeping Judaism alive
Chanukah candles were meant to face the street, yet many light them inside. This class explores what that shift says about modern life: before we can light up the world, we need to make home a place of warmth, love, and living Jewish identity
No Such Thing as Someone Else
Why every Jew’s struggle, failure, and hurt belongs to all of us
When Yehudah offered to become a slave in Binyamin’s place, he revealed a deeper truth: the Jewish people are not separate individuals who care for each other, but one soul in many bodies. This class explores the notion of Jewish responsibility, and how oneness changes the way we respond to another’s struggle, failure, or hurt.
3924 Old Furys Ferry Rd Augusta GA www.chabadaugusta.org
YOUR WEEKLY DOSE OF JEWISH INSPIRATION
Torah Studies is a program of the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute