Limmud Festival 2025

Limmud Festival 2025 – Sunday 17:20

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"Only this fertile garden within can be the resting place for the thoughtful wanderer." On reading the art of Hilde Goldschmidt.

Rebecca Harris 

Red 9

Starting from Hilde Goldschmidt’s 'The Sphinx' (1948), this session considers interpretations of the Sphinx's intervention at Thebes, alongside archival research in London, the Lake District and Kitzbühel, Austria. Via a mid-century feminist lens, the session presents the multi-layered artistic development of Goldschmidt as she negotiated a life ‘in flux’.

Bitter women: gender and power at the medieval Passover table

Ellie Lerman 

Blue 34

How did medieval women engage with the Passover ritual? Three illuminated Haggadot (Seder books) from 14th-century Iberia are unusual in their depictions of women interacting with food. Take a closer look at their intricate illustrations while we analyse if these Haggadot could have female patrons.

Ethiopian-Israelis: the past, the present, and future - in conversation with Roni Fantanesh and Danny Limor

Daniel J Levy  Daniel Limor  Roni Fantanesh Malkai 

Orange 14

In 1979, Israel initiated its covert efforts to evacuate & facilitate Ethiopian Jewry's aliyah. Close to fifty years on from the first evacuations, join Danny Limor, retired senior Mossad officer, and Roni Fantanesh, journalist & former Knesset candidate, for an in-conversation on how Ethiopian Jewry reached Israel and what their future may hold.

Family Lounge puppet making

Family Team Limmud 

Blue 32

Come and join us in the Family Lounge - a friendly, relaxed space for families to play, create and hang out together! Crafts will focus on puppet making with Joel Barnett. Parents and carers need to stay with their children and keep an eye on them at all times - it’s a family space, not a drop-off!

From a black-and-white world to a world full of colours and possibility

Racheli Ollech 

Green 25

A painting that tells a story through emotion upon emotion. Rachel shares her and her husband’s journey from a black-and-white Chasidic world to one full of colour, creativity and possibility, blending traditional art with 3D animation to bring their story of courage and transformation to life.

Hear, oh hear

Diane Samuels  Maurice Chernick  Rivka Gottlieb  Ayala Gottlieb Alter 

Red 7

An opportunity to find out about the creative collaboration and inspiration behind ambitious oratorio 'Song of Dina' that gives voice to the only sister of Joseph of technicolour dream coat fame. Genesis Chapter 34 tells her challenging story from the viewpoint of the men involved. Now it's Dina's turn to sing and be heard. With live music and song.

Hooked online: How teens get caught - and how to stay safe

Paula Slier 

Red 4

International journalist Paula Slier shares her personal experience of betrayal to help teens recognise online traps. From romance scams to sexting blackmail, this session equips young people with the awareness to spot warning signs, protect themselves, and make safer choices. Above all, it shows them how to know when trust is being exploited.

Introducing Limmud's new vision, mission and theory of change!

Joe Hyman  Adam Rossano 

Yellow 21

Come and hear about Limmud's new vision, mission and theory of change and how we will use it to make even more positive change in the world. We will share the story of why this matters and explore together how we can take their learnings into our own Jewish lives and communities.

Kids-only bouncy castle time

Family Team Limmud 

Yellow 23

Calling all 0–8 year olds! Step into the magnificent land of Limmud Bouncy Castles for endless fun. As long as you have an adult supervising, you’re welcome to jump, bounce and play. No children over 8 allowed. This is not a drop-off activity.

Living-while-circumcised: to bris or not to bris?

Jay Geller 

Red 5

The hows and whys many Jewish parents answered the question posed for their newborn sons: 'to bris (ritually circumcise) or not to bris?' and the difficulties they faced during and after the Holocaust are discussed.

Music at world's end: how three exiled musicians changed Iceland's music - Robert Abraham (2 of 4)

Arni Ingolfsson 

Red 8

In Iceland in the 1930s, classical music was only beginning to be seriously practiced, at the same time as musicians of Jewish heritage were fleeing Nazi Germany and Austria. This session will tell the story of the conductor Robert Abraham, his dramatic escape from the Nazi regime, and his career in a country in which Jews were virtually unknown.

Social model of disability for your congregation

Josh Hepple 

Yellow 24

This session will look at language and the social model of disability. It will be theoretical and practical to find ways that disabled Jews can feel more included in synagogues and the community. We will explore ways of communicating and empowering disabled people. This is a safe space to passively learn or actively gain skills.

Tackling the cost-of-living crisis as a Jewish community

Rachel Vogler  Libi Sears 

Orange 11

This session explores how human rights frameworks can support daily needs, including food, healthcare and housing, to our ability to live a dignified life and live a Jewish life within the UK. Participants are encouraged to bring their personal experiences of cost-of-living challenges as we discuss how human rights encourage dignity and solidarity.

Verdi, Deutsch, Evans and TH

Rebecca Hames 

Orange 10

1848 and all that. The Age of Nationalism. Did it influence the authors of the 19th century? What about the founder of Zionism? Is there a connection? What is the truth? Come and join me and see what we can uncover!!!!!

 Daniel Deronda for Limmud 2.docx

Water is sacred in Judaism, yet the health of our ocean and rivers has never been worse - what can we do about it?

Jessica Robinson 

Red 3

Right at the start of Bereshit we are told “G-d's spirit hovers over the water” (Bereshit 1:2), but our waterways have never been more polluted. Learn about the issue, what we can do and how improving the health of waterways can help address other urgent global environmental issues like climate change.

Where tefillah begins and ends: why do we pray?

Yael Jaffe 

Red 2

Is prayer meant to a song of praise, or a cry for help? A collective experience, or a private meditation? In this session, we will study the evolution of Jewish prayer, from its earliest expressions in Tanach to rabbinic interpretations in the Talmud and beyond. Together, we'll explore the purpose of prayer in Jewish tradition and in our own lives.

You won't succeed on Broadway (if you don't have any Jews)!

Rachel Creeger  Estee Stimler  David Benkof  Jess Robinson  Daniel Cainer 

Orange 12

Jews and theatre: we love it, we make it, some say we run it! In this session, a panel of theatre aficionados and professionals will discuss Judaism's most theatrical elements and how that impacts on their own practice. Let's explore why we love the smell of the (kosher) greasepaint, the roar of the crowd and the power of storytelling on stage.

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