Saturday 7:30 PM–8:45 PM
Dinner
Saturday 7:30 PM–9:30 PM
Dining Room
Shavua Tov! (A Great Week!) Start a great week by making new friends at Saturday evening dinner.
Angry Poet or Defending Prophet?
Shmuel HaKattan and the Curse against Heretics
Elie Kaunfer
Saturday 7:30 PM–8:45 PM
Embassy Room 2
Ritual & Prayer,
Torah & Text
Who is the mysterious author of the 19th blessing of the Amidah, the curse against heretics? By examining other stories involving this character, we will paint a picture of this liturgical innovator and arrive at new understandings of this controversial prayer.
“Blessed is the Match”
The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh
Limmud NY International Film Festival
Saturday 7:30 PM–8:56 PM
Congressional Room 2
Film,
Global History & Culture
This documentary tells the amazing story of the poet, diarist, paratrooper, resistance fighter, and Jewish Joan of Arc, Hannah Senesh, and her mother, Catherine. In the final days of WWII, Hannah joined a unique rescue mission for Hungarian Jews. She parachuted behind enemy lines, and was captured by the Nazis. Incredibly, Catherine witnessed the entire ordeal—first as a prisoner with Hannah, and later as her advocate, in war-torn Budapest, as she tried to save her daughter from execution.
Fundraising for Grassroots Jewish Organizations
Alyssa Frank
Saturday 7:30 PM–8:45 PM
Empire Corner
How-To,
Identity & Responsibility
Do you work for a small Jewish organization that is looking to increase its funding base, but is not sure how? Are you a volunteer of a grassroots community that is struggling with the challenges of planning ahead for the future? Join me in a conversation about the many organizational challenges that grassroots Jewish organizations face, and some strategies we have found to overcome them.
How to Be an Effective Advocate for Israel
Larry Kluger
Saturday 7:30 PM–8:45 PM
Coffee Shop
College/University Student Recommended,
How-To,
Israel
Do you ever discuss pro-Israel issues with someone and feel that you are getting lost in a sea of details or spending too much time being defensive about the latest newspaper article? Then this session is for you! You will learn effective advocacy techniques and the four most effective pro-Israel arguments. Learn the skills and make a difference!
How to Revitalize and Renew American Jewry
Scott Shay
Saturday 7:30 PM–8:45 PM
Congressional Room 1
How-To,
Identity & Responsibility
During this session we will explore an agenda for renewing American Jewry. We will first review the agenda proposed in my book Getting Our Groove Back: How to Energize American Jewry and then we will talk about other broad-reaching visions proposed by other observers. The goal is to challenge participants to think about how their individual efforts can be part of a broader vision for the special role of the Jewish People.
“In God’s Bedroom”
Come and Hear from God as You Have Never Seen Her.
Natalie Krasnostein
Saturday 7:30 PM–8:50 PM
Festival Room
Additional schedule
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Friday 10:00 AM–11:20 AM
Stardust
Arts & Performance,
Torah & Text
This one-woman, one-God show is about a passionate relationship between God—portrayed as a woman who is lonely and wants to be loved—and David, poet, warrior, alpha male, charismatic political leader, king. Delivering a powerful theatrical interpretation of the astounding book of Samuel, the show features God, King David, Saul, Samuel, Jonathan, Batsheva, the moon, and some sheep, in a comedic, tragic, song-filled and physical theater piece, which has toured Australia, Limmud UK, Israel, and the US.
“Jews” (BBC Miniseries)
Part II
Limmud NY International Film Festival
Saturday 7:30 PM–8:30 PM
Sports Bar
Film,
Identity & Responsibility
Episode two looks at the psychological inheritance of the Holocaust in modern Britian. The Holocaust may have taken place over half a century ago, but the children of refugees and survivors find themselves carrying the inherited trauma from the past in their everyday lives.
Josh Nelson Project
Live in Concert
Josh Nelson
Canceled, sorry
Additional schedule
-
Saturday 6:30 PM–7:45 PM
Limmud Café
Join multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Josh Nelson for an evening of progressive and contemporary Jewish music. One of the most respected and promising young Jewish artists in the United States, Josh bridges a deep love of Judaism with a vibrant and explosive musicality. Come and experience a new approach, a new sound, and a new understanding of what Jewish music can be.
Not Another Panel on Gay Orthodox Jews!
The Inroads of the Gay Orthodox Jewish Community
Jayson Littman
Saturday 7:30 PM–8:45 PM
Embassy Room 1
Identity & Responsibility
Much has changed in the communal history of gay Orthodox Jews—from secret meetings in apartments to community organizations that cater to Orthodox Jews who retain their identity as both Jewish and Gay. Join this session to learn how a small grassroots community has evolved into a vibrant community of individuals who are proud of their Jewish heritage, and learn what changes are being seen in the non-gay Orthodox community as a result.
Russian-Jewish Film II: Roots (2005)
Olga Gershenson
Saturday 7:30 PM–9:40 PM
Congressional Room 2
Film,
Global History & Culture
Who are the Russian Jews today? How do they see themselves vis-à-vis Western Jews? “Roots” hints at some answers. The premise is a meeting between the naive westerners in search of long-lost relatives in the old country and enterprising locals trying to earn a few bucks on heritage tourism. Mixing and matching cultures, languages, and gags, “Roots” dishes out its bizarre twisted comedy.
When “Compassionate” Doctors Face “Unfeeling” Insurance Companies
Adrienne Asch
Saturday 7:30 PM–8:45 PM
Embassy Room 2
Identity & Responsibility
Compassionate doctors often believe that they are prevented from providing their patients with the high-quality treatments they deserve because of "the system". Health insurance plans often refuse to pay for lengths of stay in hospitals that doctors think patients need. At other times, an insurance company will refuse to cover treatments for a patient who doesn't present with a specified diagnosis. Sometimes doctors decide to shave the truth, exaggerate a patient's situation or change a diagnosis so that a patient will get the care that doctor and patient think is necessary. How should we as Jews regard such practices when doctors clearly undertake them to benefit patients?
White Fire and Black Fire
The Mystical art of the Torah Scribe
Rigoberto Viñas
Saturday 7:30 PM–8:45 PM
Tower Board Room
How-To
Torah scrolls are the most holy object in Judaism. They are prepared by trained scribes who practice this traditional art combining physical materials and spiritual teachings. This course will expose you to all the materials and methods used for creation of Torah scroll; the process of making parchment, inks & quill & the mystical/spiritual symbolism of the Hebrew alphabet & the symbolism of materials used for making Torah scrolls. Identification of styles of writing ie. Ashkenaz vs. Sefardi.
The Yin Yang of Jewish Practice & Ritual
David Ingber,
Joe Septimus
Saturday 7:30 PM–8:45 PM
LOBBY RIGHT NEXT TO SAFARI
Advanced,
Torah & Text
Jewish practices and rituals may be enriched and, possibly, redefined by considering how they participate in the dialectic of opposing forces and concepts that are intertwined, interdependent and give birth to one another. Texts from Talmud, Siddur, Rav Soloveitchik, Rav Kook, and Eastern and Western philosophy will be studied.
Camp Limmud NY: 2nd Annual PJ Party
All children aged 4+ are invited
Saturday 7:30 PM–9:30 PM
Presidential Suite
Children & Families
Following the success last year of our inaugural PJ Party we are repeating the experience! With three days to go till the Presidential inauguration, your children will be partying on down in the Presidential Suite. Highlights include a movie, a mac'n'cheese and ice cream dinner (no need to go to the early dinner if you want your children to eat here…) and a special art project with our artist-in-residence Laurie Bellet. Teddy bears, dolls and other similar companions are more than welcome.
