‘Lift & Learn’ Brings Jews to the Gym—and Shul

Gilad Gvili had two goals when he stood up at a Shabbat dinner at Manhattan’s Chelsea Shul in February.

“For this Lift & Learn season, my physical goal is to bench press 225 pounds three times,” he told the room of about 60 people. “Today I can only do 135.”

Then came the second part.

“My spiritual goal is to put on tefillin every day, something I’ve never done before.”

Gvili is one of 150 participants in the fifth season of Lift & Learn, an 18-week program that runs each year from Thanksgiving to Passover at the Chelsea Shul and Rohr Center for Jgrads, a Chabad-Lubavitch center in New York led by Rabbi Chezky and Perry Wolff.

Each participant sets two goals at the start: one physical, one spiritual. Every week, they log both their workouts and their Jewish practice and hold each other accountable (risking elimination from the group if they fall too far behind).

Around the room that February evening, others followed with their own commitments. One participant pledged to study the weekly Torah portion. Another spoke about beginning to keep Shabbat as a family. Some aimed to lose 15 pounds or run faster. Others committed to synagogue attendance, more regular Torah study, or simply showing up more consistently in their Jewish practice. This is the purpose of the Lift & Learn program: fusing the physical and spiritual for every Jew.

A gathering at the Chelsea Shul and Rohr Center for Jgrads in Manhattan.

From Two to 150

The program began during the pandemic. Elon Packin had moved into an apartment directly across the street from the Chelsea Shul and was looking for a rabbi and a sense of Jewish community. Wolff invited him to study Torah, and Packin agreed with one condition: “If I learn with you, you have to work out with me.”

Wolff accepted.

What followed were near-daily workouts paired with Tanya podcast episodes, and in-person study sessions covering Mishnah, Talmud, and the writings of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory. Five years later, Wolff regularly runs half-marathons, and Packin quotes the Rebbe’s teachings with comfort. Seeing the success of their partnership, other Chelsea Shul members started joining, and by the fifth year (or season, as they call it), 150 people were taking part in what was dubbed “Lift & Learn.”

"Lift and Learn" participants commit to daily workouts and Jewish activities for the 18 weeks between Thanksgiving and Passover.

The program the community developed has strict rules: A “lift” is any activity that raises the heart rate for at least 30 minutes. A “learn” is a few minutes of Jewish practice — attending shul, Torah study, tefillin, lighting Shabbat candles, or anything else that builds Jewish life. Participants commit to four lifts and two learns each week, all logged in a dedicated app built by Elon Packin’s brother, Assaf. Miss more than three weeks, and you’re out.

“The elimination is a feature, not a bug,” Packin says. “Accountability to yourself, but also to others, is a key motivating factor.”

Charity is also an important value promoted by the program. Each participant selects a charity that their friends can pledge donations to if the participant reaches their fitness goal and the pledges are donated if the participant reaches their goal after all 18 weeks. In Season 4, more than $10,000 was raised. In Season 5, they hit $40,000.

Combing both elements of "Lift and Learn", participants wrap tefillin after completing the 10 km track of the Jerusalem Marathon.

Longterm Effects

For many participants, the commitments outlast the Thanksgiving-to-Passover season.

Elisa Berger and her husband joined together and got into the habit of hosting Shabbat dinners or attending synagogue as part of their weekly “learn.”

Now, “It just feels like part of what we do,” she says, “even if this season of Lift & Learn is over.”

Kaitlin Schuster joined in Season 3, after her husband James participated in Season 2.

“Lift & Learn has become a core part of how I engage with my Judaism,” she says. James credits the program with deepening their Shabbat observance. “After one of the Tuesday classes on Shabbat, we decided to try a no-phone Shabbat. Now it’s something we do every week.”

Josh Burton set a goal of staying consistent with tefillin. “I would stop altogether and then try to start back up,” he says. “With Lift & Learn, I've been consistent for 16 weeks.”

“The willingness to try, to set goals you might not meet, but the drive to keep showing up — that's such a serious part of the project,” says Rabbi Shua Mermelstein of the nearby Adereth El synagogue, who has completed three seasons, and this year is teaching an introductory class on Jewish learning and lifestyle for his “learn.” “Jewish practice is all about showing up day in and day out. Sometimes you face setbacks, but you get back on the mat."

This year, Season 5 drew participants from Indianapolis, Seattle, Los Angeles, Miami, Tampa, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem, among other cities, totaling 150 participants.

“It’s a community where we push physically and grow spiritually,” says Wolff. “This is what Chabad is all about: helping people grow in their Judaism, study Torah and engage with Jewish life, through connection, joy and encouragement.”

Rabbi Chezky Wolff with members of his community.