Summer Lovin' - Limmud Style

 By Anna McGann, Limmud Fest  Co Chair

Summer has officially ended, but my so called “summer” holiday memory is still very much alive and buzzing.

To the untrained eye the gathering of 3000 Jews of all ages and backgrounds in a Hilton in Birmingham might be mistaken for a strange Jewish Mecca. However, this was Limmud. A week long British conference over Christmas about all things Jewish: comedy, Klezmer and pickles, to name a few. While Limmud has very British roots, it’s participants came from over 30 countries, including us from Australia. And when our Australian accents were inevitably discovered, came the same shocked follow up question, “And you came all the way here for Limmud??” Yes, yes we did.

The conference opened with a large, yet intimate Shabbat. With five different Kabbalat Shabbat services choose from, as well as a session titled “This is not the Shabbat service,” there was a place for everyone to feel comfortable or an opportunity to experience something new. Despite these separations everyone joined seamlessly together for a Shabbat dinner laden with chicken soup and family.

With over 20 sessions to choose from, between 9am and midnight, we truly were spoilt for choice. At any hour during the day we could pick between hearing Miri Eisen deliver a powerful take on the current situation in the Middle East, a communal discussion surrounding the state of the Jewish schools in the UK, revisiting a familiar Torah story with fresh eyes or addressing the pressing question ‘Will Jews keep winning so many Noble Peace prizes?’ Other times it was simple, how could we miss Ashkenazi cocktail making? Or Midnight Pub Trivia? Particularly with a high stakes round titled “British Minister or County.”

One of the highlights of the week was the JDOV (Jewish Dreams, Observations or Visions) talk series. These were done in the form of TED talks, and introduced us to nine different and inspiring presenters, including the duo behind ‘YidLife Crisis,’ the world’s first Yiddish sitcom.  Their talk encapsulated the common struggle between modern and Jewish identity, with a strong serving of humour. And they’re single: 

Whilst the program was incredible, the food abundant and the company engaging, it was made all the more special by the fact that all the presenters and organizers were volunteers, but without this it wouldn’t be Limmud.

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Yom Limmud- The Festival of Jewish Ideas

Save the date: 3 July 2016 

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Limmud is a not-for-profit, volunteer based event supported by the Shalom Institute.