Last weekend was my first LimmudPhilly, but not my last. I’m hooked on this kind of learning fest experience.
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Over 600 gathered at the Gershman Y and University of the Arts in Philadelphia for an evening and a day of conversation, learning, music, dance, and crafts, and eating, of course. It began with the most exhilarating havdalah service I’ve ever attended: “Kosher Gospel” with pianist and singer Josh Nelson. And it ended with one of the most thought-provoking discussions I can remember on the Jewish concept of God. In between I found out why the Dead Sea Scrolls still matter (even though I knew they do, as I work on the JPS Lost Bible project); got a preview of the new National Museum of American Jewish History, opening this fall in Philadelphia; and listened to the Golem Psalms, a choral cantata based on the 16th century legend of the Golem of Prague.
But the session that most impressed me was the one on the changing nature of Jewish identity and community, because it confirmed what I see all around me: So many young Jews are looking beyond traditional ways of experiencing Judaism. They’re a diverse group who define themselves through self-expression, not through affiliation with one of the movements. They’re intellectually active, and they create social networks around their Jewish interests. In other words, the Limmud experience.
To find out more about Limmd programs around the US and world, go to www.limmudinternational.org
-Carol Hupping, Interim Director
