Limmud Festival 2024: How was it for you?

Rabbi Elazar Symon, from Jerusalem

“As an Israeli, I have avoided Israel-related sessions, so as to be able to take a moment to escape. I very much enjoyed the Beit Midrash and talks about Jewish philosophy. What is new to me is Limmud’s ability to create a pluralistic environment without judgement and host the most varied Shabbat in the world. People are open to new conversations and to new ideas. This has been done far more successfully than any dialogue between religious and secular people in Israel.

Even though the Orthodox leadership hasn’t hugged the idea of Limmud, there are still a lot of Orthodox congregants who come here and love it. The fact that many Orthodox leaders don’t want to be a part of it is weird to me.”

Eliav Morris, 11, from north-west London

“I wanted to come for the learning experience. I really enjoyed the adult education programme, especially sessions on untold stories and musicals. My favourite lecture was about how a person in a concentration camp was given the job of providing a typhus vaccine to the Nazis, but he actually gave them typhus. I also enjoyed a session on hummus.”

Dave Shaw, 38, from Cricklewood, north-west London

“I was on panel for Keshet UK (the Jewish LGBT+ education and training charity for the Jewish community). I love the diversity and the breadth of people from all walks of life, both domestically and internationally. Limmud’s ‘affliction’ is the clash of sessions and having to choose what to go to and what to forgo. The advice I would give to someone who is new to Limmud is not to decide on a session according to its title, but if you find a good speaker, the session will be good, whatever they are talking about.”

Marcel Manson, 71, from Stanmore

“It was my first time here, and I really enjoyed the excellent choice of lectures, from Torah study to film. People at Limmud were very friendly and gave very helpful tips on who to listen to. I particularly enjoyed the sessions with [Talmud scholar] Gila Fine. She is dynamite.

I also loved Shabbat and joining the oneg (post-Friday night dinner singing). I was the oldest person there, but there was a lot of scotch, so I was very happy.

Rona Asaf, 13, from Israel

“It was my first time on Limmud and at the start, it was a bit weird. In Israel, there is a way people are expected to behave, but this place is more accepting. There are lots of different kinds of Jews at Limmud. They are really nice and such fun, with good, strong opinions. I’d like to communicate even more with Jews living outside of Israel.”

Eitan Asaf, 15, from Israel

“I was on Limmud for the first time, and it was excellent. I came across many interesting people, and it was fascinating to hear about what they do in their lives. Sessions were really interesting and at a high level intellectually. Two highlights were hearing Sharone Lifschitz, the daughter of hostage, which was very emotional and affected me a lot, and Rabbi Leo Dee [whose wife and two daughters were murdered in a terrorist attack], which also really impacted me. If I had heard them speak in Israel, it would have been more political, but here in the UK, there is more distance, so you are able to communicate more easily.”

Rob Marco, 53, from Bushey

“There is such a wide range of things that you can do each day. The text-based sessions and the ones about music have been brilliant this year. I went to an amazing talk about the Blue Note jazz record label and its Jewish connections. When you come to Limmud for the first time, it can be overwhelming, but what I would say to anyone who is thinking about it: ‘Forget your preconceptions and do it anyway.’”

Libby Marco, 13, from Bushey

“I love the freedom to do whatever I want when I’m at Limmud. There are so many options to choose from. In 2011, as a one-year-old, I was the youngest participant here. I love coming back every year and seeing the same friends. A highlight for me is YTL (the Young & Teen Limmud programme).”

Aurelie Freoua, from Paris, now living in London

“It’s my second Limmud Festival, and I was really interested to learn about topics that I didn’t know anything about before. I like the fact that anyone can run a session about something they are passionate about and that there are a lot of sessions on culture and art. I am an artist, a painter, a performer and a poet. I performed some of my poetry at the open mic evening, but the festival has inspired me to do my own session next year.”

Barbara Guttmann, 69, from the Netherlands

“I have been coming to Limmud since 2011. I like being together with so many Jewish people and have enjoyed all the sessions, but particularly Israeli dancing and the introduction to Ladino. We do have Limmud in the Netherlands, but it’s only for one day. In the UK, it’s a fuller experience and I get to meet people from all over the world. I’ll be coming back next year.

Rachel Creeger, comedian, London

As the only Orthodox female stand-up comedian in the UK, what I do is quite unusual, which means it attracts quite a lot of interest, which is a privilege. But it also attracts judgment as Jewish people like to have an opinion on everybody and how they live their Jewishness. This is my 15th Limmud, and, here, people don’t have those expectations that you have to be a certain kind of Jew. You can be whatever kind of Jew you are, and that is quite powerful for me.”

Einat, presenter from Beit Shemesh in Israel

“It was my first time, and it was extraordinary. I was surprised by how diverse it was, how many sessions there were and that none of them were empty. In this digital era, Limmud is a unique phenomenon. In Israel, people tend to think in black and white. When you come to Limmud, you suddenly see how many different shades of grey there are. It opened my mind and inspired me – I want to come every year.”

The Chrismukah Rebbe

“I love Limmud as it’s a no-broiges space. All the Yidden love each other, and they don’t care for divisions. All the light of Chanukah comes to Limmud.”