7/29/2019 Ottawa now part of worldwide Limmud community

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Page 4 Ottawa Jewish Bulletin September 9, 2013

Ottawa now part of worldwide Limmud communityBy Ilana Belfer

Limmud is so many

things, its hard to define.

Its been described as Jew-

ish learning without limits or

boundaries, a place to craft

Jewish identity, or a com-

muniversity.

Limmud, which was

founded in the United King-

dom in 1980, has grown to

be a global phenomenon

with Limmud events now

taking place in more than

65 communities around the

world.

Limmud Ottawa, which

is being described as an in-

spiring weekend of Jewish

learning and culture, will

take place October 19 and

20 at Beth Shalom.

While this is the third

year Limmud Ottawa is tak-

ing place, the 2013 version

will be the first time Lim-

mud Ottawa will be official-ly affiliated with Limmud

International.

If youve got a stereo-

type of what Jewish learning

is, then you have to be pre-

pared to shed it when you

arrive, said Limmud In-

ternationals London-based

senior consultant Clive

Lawton, who visited the Ot-

tawa Jewish Bulletin office,

August 16, during a trip to

Ottawa to meet with local

organizers.

Lawton said he co-found-

ed Limmud 33 years ago

because British Jewry was

exceptionally boring and

tame, happy with being ig-

norant Jewishly, and terribly

divided.

Seventy people turned up

for the first Limmud, Lawton

recalled. But, more signifi-cantly, the Limmud concept

was born and the model soon

began to spread around the

world. Communities from

Europe to North Ameri-

ca, and from Asia to South

America, no matter how dis-

similar, integrate the same

fundamental features into

their Limmud events, con-

ventions of Jewish learning

with a shared Limmudy

twist, and a common man-

ifesto: Wherever you find

yourself, Limmud will take

you one step further on your

Jewish journey.

Limmuds core principles

include expanding horizons,

enabling cross-communal

connections and valuing di-

versity, both in terms of the

participants themselves and

the sessions from which they

can choose.

The ideal Limmud pro-

gram has, in every time slot,

something for everyone.

That goes for content and

style. So it might be that

you prefer making stuff and

I prefer talking about stuff

and somebody else preferswatching films or singing,

Lawton explained. This

one will say, You know I

love Limmud because I love

doing history. And the oth-

er one will go, History? I

didnt know there was his-

tory.

Without money to hire

employees, the inaugural

event relied on volunteers. In

retrospect, Lawton said this

was lucky because volun-

teerism, which empowers

individuals to contribute, be-

came another of Limmuds

key characteristics. Volun-

teers drive every aspect from

planning to presenting ses-

sions.

When someone ap-

proaches Limmud with a

suggestion, Lawton ex-

plained, the response is to

tell them, Step up guy and

do it! Make it happen.

This has been particularly

effective in drawing young

adults the emerging gener-

ation who are looking for

a way to get involved in the

community.

Limmud, though, is

meant to be cross-genera-

tional in nature.

It engages the 20s and30s and it engages the se-

niors and elders, and they

find themselves working on

things together, Lawton

said. That, of course, is true

community, not sliced up:

youre in this lot and not that

lot.

Debate is encouraged

amongst Jews of different

denominations and ages, but

only when arguments are

about gaining understand-

ing, rather than about ego

and winning. Limmudniks

will often stop in the middle

of a point to ask, Wait. Is

this for the sake of heaven or

not? Lawton said.

Limmud Ottawa will be-

gin on Saturday, October

19, 7:30 pm, with Laurence

Wall hosting The Music We

Love: An Evening of He-

brew, Yiddish, Chazzanut,

and Broadway Melodies.

The concert will feature pia-

nist Evelyn Greenberg, Can-

tor Daniel Benlolo, Cantor

Jeremy Burko, Adam Mos-

coe, Shira Taylor and the

Beth Shalom Choir.

Highlights for Sunday,

October 20 will include

yoga with a Jewish bent, art

displays, a cooking class,

a presentation by Almonte

farmer Rebecca Bloomfield

on Jewish eco-education and

farming, text study with lo-

cal rabbis, and sessions such

as, Not Your Zaidies Yid-

dish, Once Upon a Time:

A Perspective on Shtetl Ot-

tawa, and Why Do Young

Adults Abandon Shul?

We hope this infuses

more interest within each

other, inter-community wise,

and hopefully we can build

a more vibrant collective

Jewish Ottawa, said Jenny

Roberge, whos leading the

Limmud Ottawa team.

For more information,

visit facebook.com/limmudottawa or contact limmudottawa@gmail.com.

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(From left) Limmud Ottawa organizers Margie Moscoe and Jenny Roberge with

Limmud International senior consultant Clive Lawton, August 16. (Photo: Ilana Belfer)