Course Overview
Colorful Profiles
Short Stories of Extraordinary and Unexpected Characters from Jewish History
Join this four-week journey to encounter twelve stories of Jewish history’s most fascinating men and women.
Discover the incredible Jewish lives of converts, captives, royal advisors, philosophers, philanthropists, and more. You’ll be fascinated by their sacrifices, adventures, and achievements and get a vivid look at our people’s rich heritage and history.
The Details
The course will be offered twice each week. Students are welcome to alternate between course tracks. The evening class will also be available virtually on Zoom.
Morning Track:
4 Wednesday mornings, beginning May 14: 10:30 am - 12:00pm
Evening Track (New Canaan):
4 Wednesday Evenings, beginning May 14: 7:00 - 8:30pm
Both tracks will take place at Chabad of New Canaan
137 Putnam Road, New Canaan, CT 06840
Full course - $120 (Includes textbook)
Your Registration
Lesson Outline
Lesson 1
Courageous Converts
A Roman prince outwits his uncle to study Torah, an Italian priest studies his way to a new life, and a Polish noble meets an old Jew studying Talmud on a Paris park bench—see their journey to Judaism and what came next.
Lesson 2
Influential Jews
Spain’s top Torah scholar leads a Muslim Army, an Amsterdam rabbi with a printshop talks England into readmitting Jews, and a rabbi teaches a Catholic scholar and saves Central Europe’s Jewish books— how did they integrate Judaism into their influence?
Lesson 3
Unsung Heroines
A businesswoman saves thousands from the Inquisition and rebuilds Jewish life across the Mediterranean, and a female Torah scholar shapes Halachic discourse while raising a family, feeding students, and caring for the sick—see the secret ways women shaped Jewish history.
Lesson 4
Heroes and Hostages
Four rabbis are captured by 10th-century pirates, Germany’s foremost Jewish leader is held for ransom, and thousands of East European Jews languish in Ottoman slave markets—how did Jewish communities respond?
