Join your peers, meet new people, and find community through discussing hot topics and studying accessible and insightful texts.

For AY 23-24 we’re redesigning JLF. It’s still a low-key atmosphere with the opportunity to meet new people and talk about what matters. Here are the changes:

• $200 stipend for first-time JLFs
• $100 stipend for JLF alumni
• Snacks served at each 1.5 hour session
• 8 sessions; 1 absence allowed without stipend consequences (more than 1 absence = a pro-rated stipend)
• Topics, listed in order of complexity and emotional challenge:
  1. Life’s Big Questions
  2. Ancient Wisdom for Modern Well-Being
  3. Sex, Love, and Relationships

Student Testimonials

 “JLF really helped me feel more connected to the idea of learning from Jewish texts despite not considering myself to be a religious Jew, which in turn made me feel a lot closer to the community as a whole.” 

“JLF was a welcoming exploration of what it means to be Jewish in the 21st century. The Jewish values that we discussed over the course of the semester are ones that will guide me for the rest of my life!”

“The discussions were super relevant to my day to day concerns and curiosities. You’re not getting lectures on abstract concepts; these are helpful ideas that will definitely resonate with you!”

(Still) figuring college out? Want to explore your Jewish roots? Do you have deep, burning questions about life? Then Life’s Big Questions is for you! Life decisions and meaning. Power. Money. Status. Friendship. Work/life balance. This 8-week experience brings students together to explore powerful questions about what it means to live life as a Jewish adult, such as: What does it mean to be a part of a community? What are my multiple identities? Can premarital sex be holy? What role does friendship play in my life? How do I balance work and life? What is success?

Open to all students who want to explore their Jewish identity in a new and meaningful way.

JLF/LBQs was something I truly did look forward to every week! It provided a really nice, stress-free break in the middle of the week in which I could clear my mind and interact with other Jewish students on campus, which is not always an easy-to-find opportunity!” 

— a Life’s Big Questions alum

 

Discuss how our health and well-being are influenced by decisions we make every day. Explore questions like:

• How do Jews understand mental health?
• What can we learn about well-being from Jewish tradition?
• How can I make time in my busy schedule for self-care?
• Is well-being possible in our frenetic, information-overloaded culture?

 

This learning cohort experience has been completely overhauled to explore powerful questions about what it means to live life as a Jewish adult, such as:

• What role does companionship play in our lives?
• How do we understand sex and intimacy?
• What does Jewish tradition say about premarital sex and birth control?
• What is kosher sex?