Limmud eFestival

In a pioneering national project called Kenissa (entrance-way): Communities of Meaning Network, Rabbi Sid and his team have uncovered an array of organizations across North America that are literally re-inventing conceptions of Jewish identity and Jewish life. Many of these organizations are operating under the radar screen of the organized Jewish community yet they are attracting the next generation of American Jews who are, for the most part, bypassing the legacy institutions of the organized Jewish community. This talk will provide some insight into the people and ideas that make these Jewish communities of meaning tick.

Learn about the fascinating Jewish history of a Spanish island where a segregated group of devout Catholics were forced to marry amongst themselves and have suffered discrimination up until the last century for carrying last names that have Jewish roots. Some have decided to return to their ancestors' faith. They are the Chuetas and their story must be told.

After years as a political speechwriter—serving as head speechwriter for First Lady Michelle Obama, a senior speechwriter for President Barack Obama, and chief speechwriter for Hillary Clinton on her 2008 presidential campaign—Sarah Hurwitz decided to apply her communication skills to writing a book…about Judaism. And no one is more surprised than she is. In this session, she'll talk about what led her to engage in deep Jewish learning and the life-changing wisdom and insight that she discovered during her journey. Sarah will also speak about her time as a political speechwriter and share her best tips for effecitve speechwriting and communication.

Throughout Jewish history, allegations of dual loyalties have been projected on Jews. Looking at TaNaKh, the Black Plague, the Red Scare, the emergence of Modern Zionism, and the current Coronavirus crisis we will look at primary sources in a text study about the history of these allegations and modern manifestations of these anti-Semitic tropes.

We each go on many journeys during our lifetime and some are more noteworthy than others. One of the most important journeys I’ve taken, connected me with my ancestral family. This journey began in the early 1980s and continues to this day. It started as a way to assuage my seemingly endless curiosity about my grandmother who died when I was very young. No one would tell me her story, and I wanted to know her. My dad and I began an adventure to discover what seemed to be lost forever. During this journey I discovered the fate of my family in Europe and surprisingly met relatives who still remain in my ancestral home.

How do we deal with today's new-old Antisemitism? And how do we guarantee a vibrant future for our people with the many threats from within and from without? Join us as we explore three distinct approaches on Antisemitism and Jewish Continuity, as they are reflected in Jewish History, and modern-day perspectives. This course promises to inspire us with a passion and love for we are, a determination to build communities and alliances, and a commitment to the spiritual calling of our people.

Jewish communal institutions face acute financial challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Jewish Community Response Impact Fund (JCRIF), a currently $92 million philanthropic partnership of 8 foundations, was recently launched in order to provide both emergency and strategic funding in loans and grants to American Jewish organizations that advance Jewish education, engagement, and leadership. What is the vision for this extraordinary investment? What are the risks and the opportunities of building coordinated, collaborative philanthropic funds? Join Felicia Herman, who directs JCRIF's grant program, and Shira Hutt, who directs its no-interest loan fund, in conversation moderated by Yehuda Kurtzer, President of the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, about the future of our Jewish communal infrastructure during and beyond the pandemic.

Why does a rabbi driven by the core Jewish teaching that all people are equal choose to live and work in the enduring epicenter of American racial segregation? Join the rabbi of Central Virginia’s oldest and largest Conservative synagogue for a personal peek and candid conversation about the unique challenges and opportunities for building inclusive community, speaking out against oppression, and working for a just society in the heart of the Old South.

 A plague results in the sudden exodus of all the Jews from a place in which they know how to be Jewish to a new geography in which it’s not clear that anything they knew makes sense anymore. Whether the plague we are talking about is the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Romans, the Inquisition, the Cossacks, or the original 10 Plagues, it’s happened to us many times, and it’s just happened to us again in shocking fashion and incredible speed. Those who are saying, “We don’t have a playbook for how to deal with this” are wrong. Our ancestors left us messages in bottles as to what to do in just such a time.  We have at least two playbooks — the Torah and the Talmud — whose stories are vehicles to pass on Judaism’s “Wisdom of the Wilderness.” Hint: Don’t look back or you will turn into a pillar of salt. This session will help you kickstart your exploration of the Jewish mythic canon for the Jewish Wisdom of the Wilderness through a combination of text exploration, historical analogies, and application of that wisdom to the case study of the launch of jewishLIVE as a new startup, specifically designed to help navigate the Digital Wilderness and without an expectation that we will “return to Egypt” when the pandemic ends.