Limmud

Limmud
Founded1980
FoundersClive Lawton, Alastair Falk, Michael May, Jonathan Benjamin
TypeJewish educational charity[1]
Location
Area served
UK (the movement is worldwide)
Websitewww.limmud.org

Limmud is a British-Jewish educational charity[1] which, in the UK, produces a large annual winter festival and several other regional events throughout the year on the theme of Jewish learning. Limmud is not affiliated to any strand of Judaism, stating "We have no part to play in the debates between/across denominations" in its mission statement.[2] Limmud markets itself as open to "anyone interested in Jewish learning". The Limmud event in the UK has inspired a worldwide movement of Limmud groups, so the name 'Limmud' now refers both to the UK charity and the worldwide network (Limmud itself only operates in the UK). Its motto is "wherever you find yourself, Limmud will take you one step further on your Jewish journey."

Limmud (from Hebrew 'to learn')[3] was originally a conference for "educators",[3] basing itself on CAJE, the Conference on Alternatives in Jewish Education of North America.[4][5] Taking CAJE's volunteer ethos, not paying presenters and not using people's titles, Limmud has grown to be a large international movement. During the 1990s there was the significant change as Limmud reinvented itself as a community gathering, giving rise to a significant increase in the number of attendees and leading it to be described as "British Jewry's greatest export".[6] The Limmud model has now spread to many other countries.[1][5]

A distinctive feature of Limmud is that the events are organised by volunteers,[7][8] who also take part as equals in what is now called the Limmud Festival (held in the UK).[6][9] Limmud Festival's largest group of volunteers are in their 20s and 30s.[9] Around half of the UK "Forty under 40" (a community-wide initiative to identify the future leaders of British Jewry, published by Jewish News) have volunteered for Limmud and a former Chair of Limmud, Elliott Goldstein, topped the list.[10]

  1. ^ a b c Limmud is registered with the Charity Commission as charity no. 1083414. According to the Charity Commission, Limmud operates throughout England and Wales and also in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Macedonia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Poland, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Serbia, South Africa, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine and the United States of America. "Limmud". Find charities. Charity Commission. 2 January 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  2. ^ "Mission & Values". Limmud. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  3. ^ a b Jeffay, Nathan (16 December 2008). "'It's more academic than academia'". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  4. ^ Oliver, Charlotte (5 September 2014). "The man leading from the front of the class". Interview with Alastair Falk in The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b Harman, Danna (7 January 2011). "All Jewish, all the time". Haaretz. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  7. ^ Kustanowitz, Esther D (11 November 2013). "Seven ways to disrupt a Jewish conference". Haaretz. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  8. ^ "'Volunticipants' Needed for Jewish Fest". New Wave. Tulane University. 8 March 2010. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  9. ^ a b Eisner, Jane (7 January 2014). "What Limmud Can Teach Us". The Forward. New York. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  10. ^ Marin, James (17 June 2010). "Elliott is number one". Jewish News. London. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2020.