LESSON 5

Judging Ourselves? Yes!

PERFECTLY HAPPY BEING IMPERFECT

Jewish guilt poses an intractable problem: How can I ever be at peace if I’ve made serious mistakes in my life or if I’m upset about my character shortcomings? This extraordinary lesson flips the script by introducing central teachings from the Chasidic masters that teach us how to embrace our never-ending quest for self-improvement and find the tremendous power and meaning in that struggle. Finally, a discussion about the place of regret and remorse shows us how to experience joy in spite of the failures of our past.

LESSON 6

Joining Others = Yields

INVESTING IN HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS

Compelling psychological research has demonstrated the many remarkable effects of friendship on happiness and emotional well-being. We are inescapably social beings. And yet, both social science and personal experience show that loneliness, disconnection, and division are stubborn realities of life. How can we arrest this disconcerting drift apart? This class analyzes how to mitigate some of the major impediments to our interpersonal relationships—namely, cynicism, disagreement, and an inability to listen to others.

LESSON 7

Jew’s Ongoing Yearning

DISCOVERING A DEEPER HAPPINESS

Study after study shows that leading a religious lifestyle tends to make people happier and more fulfilled. But that isn’t enough. Too often we forget that Judaism is itself supposed to be a joyful experience — not despite the many duties and strictures that come with keeping the Torah, but because of them. This final lesson reconceptualizes what our joy can look like by introducing a more transcendent form of joy that is available to each of us; although more difficult to achieve, it is crucial to our happiness because it allows for true self-actualization.