This Can Happen

This spring, Rabbi Ari Sollish of Atlanta’s Intown Jewish Academy will offer This Can Happen, a new six-session course by the acclaimed Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI) that will address a pressing question on many minds: is the current situation going to get any better?

“Many people nurse this idea that matters are getting progressively worse, and, fostered by much hysterical media and general dialogue, an environment of fear and despair is all too rampant,” says Rabbi Ari Sollish, director of the Intown Jewish Academy and the course instructor. “Exploring the science of world history and looking at the actual facts paint an eye-opening picture, one that can provide real, practical hope.”

Beginning Tuesday, April 20, at 8pm and Thursday, April 22, at 12pm, students who enroll in this course will embark on a journey that will explore one of the most misunderstood and maligned topics in the Jewish canon—the future redemption and the belief in a better future.

This Can Happen presents audiences with an opportunity to finally appreciate what Judaism really means when it talks about a “Messiah.” Considering that for many in the modern world, utopian visions of world peace and endless bounty sound like the stuff of fairy tales, this course summons the sources and the data to dispel such primitive notions and educate audiences that the Messianic era is a deep, broad climax to the entire story of the universe.

The subtitle of This Can Happen, “A credible case for feeling good about the future,” is indicative of an approach to the topic that is particularly timely. “Recent events have put so many on the edge, and the longer matters drag on, the louder the voice of helplessness becomes,” explained Rabbi Sollish. “If we can make a ‘credible case’ to be optimistic about times ahead, that is remarkably edifying.”

As with all of the Academy’s programs, This Can Happen is designed to appeal to people at all levels of knowledge, including those without any prior experience or background in Jewish learning. All Intown Jewish Academy courses are open to the public, and attendees need not be affiliated with a synagogue, temple, or other house of worship.

People interested in participating may call the Intown Jewish Academy at (404) 898-0434 for other course-related information.