JLI starts year looking at law

By Deborah Moon Seldner

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After years of taking adult education courses from various Jewish groups and synagogues in Portland, Sandra Oster said she was so impressed when she took last year's series of Jewish Learning Institute classes that she volunteered to coordinate the JLI's second year in Portland.
Sponsored by the Rohr family, the JLI is a program of the Chabad Lubavitch movement for adult students pursuing intellectual and spiritual growth. Every 12 months, JLI offers a new series of three courses in more than 200 cities around the world.
Rabbi Moshe Wilhelm, who teaches the classes locally, said this year's classes begin the week of Nov. 5 with "You be the Judge: Behind the Steering Wheel of Jewish Law."
Oster attended JLI's Eighth Annual Conference Aug. 8-9 in Newark, N.J., to learn more about the program that had already earned her commitment.
She said the conference gave her "an appreciation of the depth of learning and scholarship and camaraderie that the teachers share and how they are so concerned about bringing to the students exciting information and ensuring they learn how Judaism can be applied to this day and age."
Oster, a non-practicing attorney, said she especially is excited about the law course which compares and contrasts Jewish and secular American approaches to legal issues.
At the JLI conference, Oster attended numerous workshops including one focusing on the Judge class. She said that workshop featured attorneys and rabbis discussing their approaches to issues such as property, evidence and contracts.
"I personally had no idea how Jewish law thinks on such matters," she said, adding she is looking forward to learning even more during the six-week class.
Oster said Portland's JLI has applied to the Oregon State Bar to see if the class is eligible for Continuing Legal Education credit for any lawyers that take the class. She said she thinks the class will be fascinating for both attorneys and non-attorneys.
Oster said she sees the JLI as an excellent addition to the multitude of adult education offerings in Portland.
"Portland has a rich variety of courses," said Oster. "We are so blessed to have so many courses and so many top teachers."
Still, for Oster, JLI has offered insights she had failed to find in other offerings.
"I've seen myself as very Jewish my whole life," said Oster, adding last year's JLI courses gave her fresh understanding of Jewish tradition. "I've realized how the dominant culture of our society has influenced me."
For more information, see the course listing on page 9, visit the Web site at www.myJLI.com or call Oster at 503-642-3450.