Courses

To Believe or Not to Believe in Yourself

How to Achieve Self-Mastery

How do we navigate our inner complexity and chart a clear path for ourselves?

The Rosh Chodesh Society’s upcoming course, TO BElieve OR NOT TO BElieve In YOURSELF, introduces the students to Tanya, a 225-year-old text whose portrayal of human psychology in general, and of our inner spiritual composition in particular, remains as revolutionary—and as refreshing—as ever. Tanya was authored by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of the Chabad school of thought, to serve as a substitute for his personal mentorship. The kabbalah-based tools it presents help us understand ourselves, in order to better regulate how we think and feel, and ultimately emerge victorious from life’s inner struggles.

Well-Connected

It's Not What You Know. It's What You Do.

Well-Connected is just the thing if you’re feeling mitzvah-curious, or if you simply want to find out more about practical Judaism. Beyond that—if you’re looking for a deeper engagement with Jewish ritual and how to live in deed—indeed, this is just the thing to do.

What comes to mind when you think of religion?
A way of looking at life, perhaps, a story about the world, or a way to pray? For many, a faith is a core set of beliefs surrounded by a little ceremony. For us, that’s precisely backwards: Judaism is less a system of belief than a system of action.

But what’s so inspiring about all those dreary dos and don’ts?
Well-Connected will reveal the soul of Jewish ritual life by showing how to make each mitzvah personal, and a way to connect to something beyond ourselves. Each month, we put one area of Jewish law under the microscope and explore its rationale, relevance, and practical application. As we proceed, a complete vision of the mysticism, the beauty, and the richness of divinely inspired life will emerge.

Joy

Code To Joy: The World’s Happiest Kept Secret

IT’S A QUESTION that has launched a thousand self-help seminars, a riddle that has perplexed multitudes, a mystery that enthralled the ancients: What is the secret of happiness? Jewish thought has long emphasized the importance of living with joy. But how? And can you really choose to be happy?

This extraordinary course goes beneath the surface to find answers. Synthesizing timeless Jewish wisdom and the latest findings from the field of positive psychology, we look at how wealth, meaning, trust, optimism, regret, faith, introspection, mindfulness, relationships, and ritual all interrelate with our outlook on life. Packed with spiritual insights you can apply to real life, you’ll love every minute of discover-ing the Code to Joy.

We invite you to crack the code and find the key to J-O-Y in every lesson.

Insight

Infused with Wisdom of the Lubavitcher Rebbe

Insight, the Rosh Chodesh Society’s newest course, is a remarkably transformative experience that unveils the purpose, beauty, and power buried within ourselves, our destiny, and all of existence. It does so by distilling the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s unique wisdom, and infusing our lives with the ability to see things from his empowering perspective.

Contrary to the idiom, “What you see is what you get,” our sight is superficial, taking in the exterior and leaving the interior undiscovered. With insight, however, we enter within and encounter a deeper, more truthful, and divine reality begging to be embraced.

This seven-part course explores the Rebbe’s broad view of the world at large, our personal failures, the feminine role, current trends and events, and more. We invite you on a journey in which wild jungles morph into beautiful gardens, dreadful weakness becomes cathartic strength, and blind adherents become conductors of insight. . .

Sight is seeing what is. Insight is seeing what could be.

Larger Than Life

Weaving G-d Into the Details

For centuries, Jewish values have shaped the moral compass of Western society. This course explores and provides the students with an in-depth understanding of the key Jewish values that were so influential in molding our civilization. This course focuses on areas outside the domain of the synagogue and Jewish ritual and explore what it means to live as a Jew in “the rest of our life,” and how a Jewish woman is expected to interact with the world around her. It shines a spotlight on the Torah view of our social and ethical responsibilities.

Each lesson of this course will contain an applicable, resonant, change-your-daily-life personal takeaway message for every woman who attends.

Pause & Affect

A Shabbat Outlook

Shabbat, says the Talmud, is G-d’s gift to the Jewish people— and what a gift it is! It offers respite from labor and a break from the intrusion of our ubiquitous technologies. It allows family and community the time to connect and reflect without distraction. The warm smell of challah, the glowing candles, and the comfort of ritual all leave their imprint, shaping forever the meaning of family, peoplehood, and one’s place in the universe.

Yet to many, Shabbat is archaic, restrictive, and daunting, and it is therefore altogether ignored. The objective of this course is to remove the barriers that keep people from enjoying what Shabbat has to offer. We invite women of every level of observance to experience the mystery of this most precious of Jewish treasures on their own level. This mitzvah is not an all-or-nothing proposition, and so this course provides multiple entry points so that students at every level of affiliation can explore meaningful ways to enrich their lives with the lessons of Shabbat.

 

 

Simple Truths

Pivotal Jewish Insights for Centered Living

Life is complicated and, like a ship being tossed about by a raging sea, we often struggle to stay above water amidst the chaos. We constantly wrestle with questions surrounding family, relationships, career, and identity, questions about how to be more successful and fulfilled; how to be happier; how to stay focused on what’s important; how to align ourselves with our true values. Yet, in life’s turbulent waters, it’s easy to lose our sense of direction. 


Simple Truths, a new seven-part course for women, explores twelve foundational core beliefs and perspectives of Judaism. They are insights that anchor us, empower us, and guide us in times of doubt and uncertainty; that nourish our inner oasis of calm and stability; that give us the confidence and know-how to navigate life’s most difficult challenges. 

Leonardo da Vinci once said, “Simplicity is the ultimate form of sophistication.” While the beauty of Judaism’s “simple truths” lies in their power to simplify our lives, they require us to think deeply about ourselves and our world, to uncover layers of sophistication and nuance, to examine and reexamine our preconceived notions. Throughout the seven lessons of this course, students will delve into these core ideas through hands-on workshops and a kaleidoscope of both ancient and contemporary Jewish texts—from the biblical to Talmudic to Kabbalistic and Chasidic—and leave with transformational, concrete tools for weathering the storms of life. 

 

Art and Soul

Live Creatively

We are fascinated by artists. Their work embodies what we want our lives to be: beautiful, meaningful, purposeful. But art is not only for artists. It’s for anyone who craves to know how to live more creatively, more deeply. Join us on a seven-part journey as we explore Judaism's insights into the arts and how they beautify and transform our lives, one brushstroke at a time...

Soulmates

Jewish Secrets to Meaningful Relationships

Romantics of all ages have waxed poetic on the notion of “soulmates,” seeking to grasp what makes love and passion so potent, what drives the inexplicable magnetism between two people, and what makes true love last. Yet millennia of Jewish text and tradition are rich with insights on this very topic, from the mystical and spiritual to the no-nonsense and practical. Whether you are currently married, considering someday tying the knot, or simply seek to better understand the spiritual root of love and marriage, Soulmates is a seven-session course drawing on timeless Jewish wisdom that will forever change how you think about the important relationship in your life, in all its beauty and complexity.

A Reason to Celebrate

Illuminating Our Lives through the Jewish Holidays

What’s your reason to celebrate? The Jewish holidays are the centerpieces of our year. Days when we remember events that forever changed the course of our history. But they are much more than that. The festivals are pauses in time, primed for personal introspection and spiritual re-connection. Windows to the psyche, fortifying us with tools for facing everyday challenges. Kaleidoscopes of beauty and meaning, changing how we see ourselves, our relationships, and our world. Join us for this eye-opening new learning series from the Rosh Chodesh Society, coming this November, 2013.

It's About Time

Kabbalistic Insights for Taking Charge of Your Life

Test drive the wisdom of the ages in this balance of practical and insightful spiritual self-help, focused on making your life happier, more fulfilled, and more effective. In each session, learn to master one aspect of your personal life related to the kabbalistic energies of the month. Learn. Grow. Be inspired. Be empowered. Take action. Implement change.

Portrait of A Woman

Seven Dimensions of the Feminine Mystique

Do you have what it takes to be a woman? In this course, over seven sessions, we will uncover the soul, spirit, and mystical dynamism of the woman, discovering a pragmatic approach to implement these feminine strengths in practice. Guided by classical Jewish and kabalistic texts, we will examine issues such as beauty, love, relationships, career, family, education, and spirituality; tying together the various facets of womanhood in synchronized harmony. Do you have what it takes to be a woman? The answer is an unequivocal and resounding YES! We welcome you to join us in exploring the seven dimensions of YOUR feminine mystique.

Heroines of the Bible

Her Story. My Story.

In our course, "Heroines of the Bible: Her Story - My Story", we will explore the struggles and challenges, the celebration and redemption, of six key personalities who are central figures in the history of the Jewish people. Empowered by their uniquely feminine qualities and prophetic vision, they inspired not only the women of their respective generations, but also the people as a whole, to identify with their personal mission and spiritual purpose. Today, living in our modern world, we too can connect with these great women, and by tapping into their stories we can attain personal fulfillment and success within our very own stories.

Rivka's Tent

The three miracles of Sarah’s Tent ceased upon her passing. They returned when Rivkah built her home. These miracles correspond to the three mitzvot given specifically to Jewish women. It is our mandate, through observing and beautifying these mitzvot, to bring light, peace and blessing into our homes and into the world at large.

One Wow Moment

7 biblical women who used 1 moment to change everything and how we can do the same

How do we empower ourselves to make courageous and meaningful decisions?

The Rosh Chodesh Society’s upcoming course, One Wow Moment, takes a scholarly peek at pivotal moments of personal decision within the lives of seven women of biblical fame, and investigates the psychology and internal strengths that propelled these women, with remarkable effectiveness, across chasms of doubt and timidity. Recognizing that modern life rears a rapid series of crossroads bearing mixed signals, this course is a valuable and intriguing guide to exerting confidence, courage, empowerment, altruism, and deeper purpose when faced with unexpected opportunity, personal dilemmas, and moments of consequential decision.