Instructor
Welcome to those of you who have come to this website looking for information about Judaism!
The four thousand year-old story of the Jews, their religion and their heritage is astonishing as well as fascinating. As Mark Twain observed: “All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains.”
The Introduction to Judaism class is one requirement for the Institute’s conversion process. In approximately 30 classes, I try to help students see the great beauties of Judaism – what Jacob Neusner calls “The Enchantments of Judaism.”
Everything we do in our lives can be suffused with Jewish values. The blessings we say before and after eating a meal; the celebration at the Passover Seder of the Exodus from Egypt; building a sukkah and remembering God’s sustenance in the wilderness; forgetting our workaday world on the Sabbath and concentrating not on things but on relationships; worshipping with the Jewish community; standing beneath a chuppah with a beloved; welcoming a newborn child into God’s Covenant – these are just a few of the many ways Jews express their Judaism.
People who participate in our Institute come from all walks of life and diverse backgrounds.
We have students who are engaged to be married, couples in interfaith marriages who wish to begin Jewish lives together, singles who have become interested in Judaism, and students from many different countries. This year, we have a married couple who are converting to Judaism together. Our students are a warm and welcoming group of people whose shared experiences transform them into a community. Many times, graduates of the class continue the friendships made during the time they studied together.
For more information or to contact me or a sponsoring Rabbi, please call the United Synagogue Office at 847-714-9130 or send an email to mwoffice@uscj.org. Because we have rolling admissions, students may register for the program and begin classes at any time from September to June.
Please feel free to contact us with any questions you have.
B’Shalom,
Nancy J. Labbie
About Nancy Labbie
Nancy converted to Judaism in 1998 after a year of study with Rabbi Dr. Victor Mirelman at West Suburban Temple Har Zion, a Conservative synagogue in River Forest, Illinois.
For the past 8 years, Nancy has taught classes about the extraordinary heritage of the Jewish People and the great richness of the Jewish tradition – what Jacob Neusner has called the “enchantments” of Judaism.
She has taught at Anshe Emet Synagogue in Chicago and at Beth Hillel Congregation B’nai Emunah in Wilmette, where she still teaches as the Instructor for the Conservative Conversion Institute.
Beginning in the fall of 2009, she will also teach at Congregation B’nai Tikvah in Deerfield. She is currently taking graduate classes at Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, with a concentration in Theology.
