ט״ו מרחשון ה׳תשפ״ו | November 5, 2025
First Look at JLI’s Biggest Project to Date
JLI has unveiled The Complete Guide to Keeping Kosher, a comprehensive and user-friendly study book that enables any Jew to master hilchos kashrus. The full Living Jewish series will encompass Shabbos, tefillah, and more.
It’s been nearly four years since the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute embarked on its most ambitious project to date: creating the first complete guide to halacha for the Chabad House audience that’s both comprehensive and user-friendly. It’s a multi-volume series called Living Jewish. Now, JLI has unveiled the first book in the series: The Complete Guide to Keeping Kosher.
The initiative was inspired by Rabbi Roberto and Margie Szerer, who recognized its need and generously provided the seed funding that helped bring it to life. JLI also received a significant grant from the Lax Family Foundation, whose support has been instrumental in the program’s development.
“This is unlike any previous JLI course,” says Rabbi Mordechai Dinerman, who oversaw the project’s development, “It’s a book perfect for group study and self-study alike.” This groundbreaking tool enables shluchim worldwide to deliver in-depth learning for those seeking Jewish growth.
Written over four years by Rabbi Berel Polityko—a halachic expert, author, and moreh hora’ah in Airmont, New York—alongside Rabbi Meir Kerzner and Rabbi Mendy Goldberg, under the guidance of Rabbi Mordechai Farkash, The Complete Guide to Keeping Kosher enables any growth-oriented Jew of any background to fully master hilchos kashrus.
“Living Jewish resonates with a wide audience,” says program director Rabbi Tzaly Dubov. “It conveys the depth and nuance of Halachah with clarity and simplicity.” Accessible for the complete beginner, the book is also invaluable to longtime kosher-keepers, delivering a user-friendly, down‑to‑earth guide to all the Halachic principles and practical applications of keeping kosher.
“For nearly twenty years, JLI has partnered with shluchim to inspire and uplift their communities through limud haTorah,” says JLI’s executive director Rabbi Efraim Mintz. “Now, we’re partnering to teach ma’aseh hamitzvos—the practical know-how of a Jewish life.”
Beautifully designed with illustrations and diagrams, illuminated with insights from chassidus, and packed with a wealth of background information, there has never been a more enjoyable way to learn everything there is to know about keeping kosher.
Visit myjli.com/livingjewish to pre-order.
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