Red 8
The role of the rabbi as a spiritual guide, helping his students and congregants in their mental and emotional struggles.
Main Bar
Fulfil this ancient wisdom from Ethics of the Fathers ‘and acquire for yourself a friend’. This teaches that a person should acquire a friend who will eat with them, drink with them and help them choose the best Limmud sessions. All are welcome.
Yellow 21
Neurodiversity is a new strand being rapidly added to EDI and accessibility programmes everywhere, but what does this mean for our community? Sarah will talk briefly on her experiences of Jewish spaces and autistic inclusion as a justification for this talk title and then take questions on loving and supporting the autistic people in your life.
Blue 34
Hoffman will discuss her acclaimed book about 'the greatest American screenwriter', Ben Hecht (1894-1964). Besides writing dozens of now-classic scripts, Hecht was known as reporter, playwright, novelist and all-around provocateur. This self-declared 'child of the century' came to embody much that defined America - especially Jewish America - in his time.
Blue 33
Analyzing a text from 'Lekutei Halachot' of Natan of Nemirov (Rebbe Nahman of Breslov's main student), we will explore together how the nightly progression of the Hanukah candles leads us on an individual spiritual journey of introspection and spiritual growth. This will help us to illuminate Hanukah in a new and dazzling mystical light.
Red 3
Hear some stories about Chelm, the 'village of idiots', in Eddie's own shaggy-dog style - some clever, comical, pathetic, poignant and idiotic. Some of the stories are legends, but many are made up to present-day Chelm, now a pleasant tourist centre. You are invited to complete the limerick, 'There was a young man from Chell-em' and bring it with you!
Red 4
Weizmann collects the Balfour Declaration, leads the British Government Palestine Commission and thirty years later extracts three essential diplomatic concessions from US President Harry Truman. Weizmann's emphasis on education leverages the birth of the Technion and leads to the Hebrew University and the eponymous Institute in Rechovot.
Isaac Brynjegard-Bialik Shawna Brynjegard-Bialik
Red 5
How do you know if a comic book super-hero is Jewish? When December rolls around, they bring out a menorah or mention it at the Justice League Holiday Party. But there’s more to being a Jewish super-hero. Join us for an entertaining look at the stories of the Maccabees and Judith, and find out which super-heroes are lighting a hanukiyah this year.
Bat-Sheva Margalit Stern Hagit Peer
Red 2
How did 'bubba' (grandma) influence young women to join the Zionist movement, become 'chalutzot' (pioneers) and found a women's worker’ movement (today’s Naamat). How did they overcome their frustration at their exclusion from the majority of roles that were integral to the eventual founding of the State of Israel? We give you the women’s take on life in pre-state Israel.
Yellow 22
What role does kindness play in the day-to-day decision-making process of a progressive rabbi? Drawing on contemporary responsa literature (‘she’elot u-teshuvot’) in which people submit challenging ethical and legal questions to rabbis. We will discuss their responses and consider how kindness factored into their reply.
Red 1
Torah often emphasises the importance of our familial, social and communal lives. But there is also a tradition of solitude as a means of relating to ourselves, God and reality that is often understated. In this session we will explore how the benefits of solitude manifest in Jewish teaching and tradition.
Tilla Crowne Jacqueline Nicholls
Orange 11
Venice, the site of the world's oldest casino, is the starting point for this imaginative reinterpretation of the Book of Esther as a pack of playing cards. This exciting new project from Beit Venezia had the artists exploring the themes of gambling, reversal of fortunes and masked identities.
Orange 15
Sefaria has digitized over 300,000,000 words of Torah and created over 3,000,000 intertextual links across the Jewish canon. This has allowed us to build computer-generated visualizations that allow us to envision Jewish texts in new and exciting ways. In this workshop we’ll look at some of them and begin to construct some new ones together.
Michah Gottlieb Ezra Margulies Naomi Seidman
Orange 12
A light-hearted conversation featuring two leading scholars of modern Jewish history, Naomi Seidman and Joshua Shanes. We will shed light on our favourite recent books and breakthroughs in the field, contemporary debates, and what makes the study of Jews in recent centuries so interesting!
Daniel Daniel UK Jewish Film Festival Irene Wise
Orange 13
A screening of the new animated film, 'Where Is Anne Frank'. Israeli director Ari Folman brings Kitty to life for the first time, telling her own story. In search of her best friend Anne Frank, Kitty becomes a witness to the Frank family’s last months in the Holocaust, and to Europe after the Second World War.
Orange 10
Join Yachad for a discussion with movement workers, tour leaders and madrichim/ot (youth leaders) from several different Zionist youth movements. We will be considering how each movement approaches conversations around Israel-Palestine and how/why these conversations might be changing. How, as Zionist movements, can we deliver programming on conflict resolution?
Orange 14
The world is a complicated place, and adding the Jewish world to the mix makes the challenge more cumbersome. While advocating for Jewish rights on the larger stage, it is vital to have the communities in mind while doing good. In this talk, we will discuss promoting Jewish issues on the world stage.