Torah Studies - Adult Education
A Torah Studies course delving into the modern lessons from the ancient themes of the weekly Parsha.
Torah Studies is a series of stimulating text and discussion-based classes that take place on a weekly basis. These classes will engage and challenge you intellectually, spiritually and emotionally. They explore contemporary issues through a Torah perspective as well as tackling timeless questions in the Jewish tradition.
Each class is a standalone unit, so feel free to come along or join virtually when you can!
Instructor: Rabbi Mendy Singer.
Registration is free. The student textbook is available on Amazon here.
The classes are held every Thursday at 7:30 pm, in person at Chabad and virtually. Join us on Zoom at www.jewishbristol.com/zoom or watch live on Facebook @ www.facebook.com/chabadbristol.
Weekly: Thursday, 7:30 - 8:30 pm
Thursday, 8 October
One More Child
Why the Torah treats every birth as the creation of a world
Bringing another child into the world comes with real costs—time, money, energy, and uncertainty. The Torah doesn’t ignore those concerns, and offers a radical perspective: every child is not just part of the world, but a world unto themselves—making each birth an act of creation that changes everything.
Thursday 15 October
The Man G-d Praised
Why ordinary people sometimes need extraordinary words
The Torah rarely praises its heroes, yet it pauses to praise Noah again and again. Strangely, the same Torah also lets us know that Noah was not a towering spiritual giant. Perhaps that’s precisely the point: sometimes a person becomes capable of more when someone calls them up for it.
Thursday 22 October
Why Judaism Begins with the Body
How brit milah reveals where the deepest connection to G-d lives
If Judaism is about the soul, why does it begin with such a physical act? Circumcision seems like an intrusion into G-d’s perfect creation. But what if it is not correcting the body, but revealing something about it: that the deepest bond with G-d is forged specifically in the physical?
Thursday 29 October
A Faith You Can’t Lose
Why belief in G-d doesn’t come from proof—and isn’t undone by it either
We usually think of faith as something we choose or build, especially when life raises hard questions. But Abraham’s story suggests something different: a kind of certainty that isn’t based on evidence at all. What if faith is not something we arrive at, but something woven into who we are?
Thursday 5 November
The Myth of Falling in Love
Why lasting love begins after the wedding
We assume strong relationships begin with strong feelings—and fall apart when those feelings fade. But the Torah’s first portrait of love tells a different story, one that unfolds only after commitment. What if real love isn’t something you find, but something you build?
Thursday 12 November
Whose Money Is It?
Why giving isn’t generosity, but a matter of ownership
We tend to think of charity as an act of kindness: giving away what we earned. But the Torah frames it very differently: as returning money that was never fully ours to begin with. The real question isn’t how much to give, but whose money we’re holding in the first place.
Thursday 19 November
Better than Perfect
Why G-d treasures the struggler more than the flawless saint
Jacob wanted Rachel, who represented beauty, ease, and wholeness. But his life was bound instead to Leah, whose tears and struggle became the foundation of Jewish resilience, leadership, and hope. This class explores a powerful idea: life’s deepest value is not found in perfection, but in the courage to grow, change, and become better than yesterday.
Thursday 26 November
Fear Has a Weak Spot
How trust can loosen anxiety’s grip before reality even changes
Jacob faced a violent brother. Moses faced powerful enemies. Both felt fear, and the Torah does not ignore it. This class explores the Jewish path from fear to faith to trust, showing how a person can move from bracing for the worst to leaning into the belief that life is guided, purposeful, and capable of turning toward good.
Thursday 3 December
Beyond the Minimum
Some moments ask for more than doing your duty.
Joseph knew his brothers hated him, yet he went when Jacob sent him. This class explores what makes a person go beyond self-protection: not recklessness, but deep commitment to family, faith, and a message worth risking everything for.
Thursday 10 December
Light the Living Room First
The surprisingly private work of keeping Judaism alive
Chanukah candles were meant to face the street, yet many light them inside. This class explores what that shift says about modern life: before we can light up the world, we need to make home a place of warmth, love, and living Jewish identity
Thursday 16 December
No Such Thing as Someone Else
Why every Jew’s struggle, failure, and hurt belongs to all of us
When Yehudah offered to become a slave in Binyamin’s place, he revealed a deeper truth: the Jewish people are not separate individuals who care for each other, but one soul in many bodies. This class explores the notion of Jewish responsibility, and how oneness changes the way we respond to another’s struggle, failure, or hurt.