MK Haim Amsalem and Rabbi Uri Regev, who heads “Hiddush - For Freedom of Religion and Equality,” will be among the presenters at Taste of Limmud Jerusalem, on Thursday, May 10, 2012, at the Herzl Center, on Jerusalem's Mt. Herzl. At a time when extremism and discrimination against women and immigrants is grabbing headlines, Limmud Jerusalem joins the worldwide Limmud family to promote and celebrate diversity, inclusiveness, dialogue and tolerance. “Limmud Jerusalem is the beginning of a revolution to break down the ghetto walls separating Jews of all stripes in this city,” says Limmud Jerusalem Founding Co-Chair Yogev Karasenty. “We are bringing to Zion Limmud’s grassroots, volunteer-led, cross-communal, multi-generational Jewish model, underscoring the strength in diversity and the … Continue Reading
1000 Gather in Moscow for Limmud FSU
Moscow's seventh Limmud FSU conference for Russian-speaking Jews opens today at the Klyazma retreat center near Moscow. One of the central themes will focus on Russia as a society undergoing change, both in general and in particular for its Jewish citizens. Limmud FSU conferences are considered to be the most prestigious of Jewish cultural events in the former Soviet Union and one thousand participants have registered to attend, both the largest ever Limmud FSU event in Moscow and, the flagship event on the Limmud FSU calendar. Chaim Chesler of Limmud FSU, speaking on the eve of the Moscow event, said, “Our dream was to present to the new generation of young Russian-speaking Jews throughout the world, topics which are close to their hearts and excite their imagination, such as Jewish history … Continue Reading
Limmud FSU Princeton: Bridging the Disconnect
With the goal of helping to bridge their disconnect from the American Jewish community, over 500 Russian-Jewish-American young adults will gather at Princeton University, May 11th-13th, for the first-ever three-day Limmud FSU Conference in the United States. The entire conference, including its content, is organized by volunteers from the U.S. Russian-speaking Jewish community and reflects the participants’ desire to maintain their Russian Jewish culture while living in the United States. An estimated 750,000 to 1 million Russian-American Jews live in the country, with about half residing in New York and New Jersey. Among the presenters at the conference are leading academics, politicians, writers and artists hailing from the United States, Israel, Russia and elsewhere including, Yossi Bachar, … Continue Reading
An Israeli Experiences Limmud NY
by Regev Ben David While being very active in the area of Jewish renewal in Israel for several years now, I only heard the name Limmud for the first time during ROI summit 2011 - but there I heard it over and over and over. So when LimmudNY approached and I was fortunate to obtain ROI's Micro Grant to participate in my first Limmud, I tried to contribute back by volunteering in several positions (which definitely seems to be the great spirit of the conference) and by giving three workshops. Even though I heard many good things, what I found there was above and beyond my expectations: it was an exciting, vibrant, and vital celebration of Judaism and Jewishness in all of its forms, colors and sounds; a huge collection (over 600 participants) of open-minded and welcoming people which were … Continue Reading
Limmud Modiin 2012 Kicks Off by Tackling Current Israeli Social Controversy
It is said to be better to light one candle than to curse the darkness. On Wednesday, January 4, eighty Modi’in residents chose to light such a candle, together. Over the past few weeks, Israel has been in a whirlwind about a social issue that has been burning on a low flame since - well - maybe forever. One by one, stories of the exclusion of women (or in Hebrew, “Hadarat Nashim”) kept popping up in the news. Soldiers walked out of a ceremony in which women were singing on stage. High ranking army officers and the Minister of Defense had a laugh at the expense of women soldiers. Ultra orthodox communities in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh maintained separate sidewalks for men and women. Advertisements were censored to exclude pictures of women. The final straw - when a man spat on an eight-year … Continue Reading
Covenant Foundation Announces New Grants
The Covenant Foundation today announced nearly $900,000 in new grants as part of its mission to support and advance excellence and impact in Jewish education. The new round of grants underscores a commitment to initiatives across the landscape of Jewish educational experiences, settings and audiences, and propel innovative work in technology, new media, youth engagement and community building through education. Foundation grants are divided into two categories: Signature grants, which provide funding for up to $250,000 for up to five years, and Ignition grants, of up to $20,000 for one year to support new and untested approaches. The grants announced today are part of approximately $1.7 million to be distributed this year. Signature grantees include: The Center for Jewish Living and … Continue Reading
Are Israelis the Backward Ones?
from Israel Hayom: A great miracle happened there We are on the campus of Warwick University, a little over an hour from London... And yet, against all expectations, Limmud was conceived in England, not Brooklyn or Jerusalem. Every year it grows and branches out to all corners of the Jewish world, and even includes an Israeli component, which is why I was there... They do not really need us. Of course, they care about Israel. Some more, and some less so. They are certainly not indifferent to what goes on here. But beyond that, they get along very well without us. For a long time Israel has been telling itself all kinds of stories. We Israelis are dying to have world Jewry need us like they need air to breathe. We wanted to think that at least from the point of view of Judaism, we are the … Continue Reading
Network-Weaving with David Wolkin
Deborah Fishman sits with David Wolkin. This interview is part of the Network-Weaver Series. [After serving for many years as a volunteer, David Wolkin is now the Executive Director of Limmud NY. This transition has given him an interesting perspective on networks, the value they hold for participants, and their role in the Jewish world. David has also served in a variety of Jewish educational capacities and received his MA in Jewish education from the Jewish Theological Seminary.] What is a network? It’s an overlapping series of webs between people. In many cases, some subset of these webs are entirely aware of the connections that exist; others aren’t aware of how they are a part of that system that forms and shares relationships. What emerges as a result of that tends to be very … Continue Reading
Today on Limmud TV
Conference in the UK concludes today; but you can still catch a few sessions on Limmud TV: Rebuilding Noah's Ark: Does the Story of the Flood Really Hold Water? (Rachel Zarum) and God Is Not Righteous and the Torah Is Not Moral (Nathan Lopes Cardozo) limmud on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free Here’s the complete Limmud UK livestream session schedule. (note all times are GMT). There are over 50 Limmud events happening around the world in 2012. To find a Limmud close to you see limmudinternational.org. … Continue Reading
Limmud FSU Leaders Gather for Global Summit
More than 40 Russian-speaking leaders of Limmud FSU coming from Russia, Ukraine, the U.S., Belarus, Moldova and Israel participated in an intensive four-day conference here in Jerusalem this past week. The international Limmud movement, founded in Great Britain 32 years ago, has become one of the most successful and important educational enterprises in the Jewish world. Pluralistic, egalitarian, non-political and volunteer-based, Limmud events take place in more than 60 countries across the globe. Limmud FSU for Russian speakers was founded six years ago and thousands of young people have taken part in its conferences and festivals. Speaking to eJewish Philanthropy, Sandra Cahn (who co-founded Limmud FSU along with Chaim Chesler) said, "This Summit represents a very important juncture in … Continue Reading
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