Monday 9:45 AM–11:00 AM
“As If:” R. Nachman of Bratslav’s Radical Theology
The Joke That is at the Root of it All
Mishael Zion
Monday 9:45 AM–11:00 AM
Embassy Room 2
Ritual & Prayer,
Torah & Text
One of the most remarkable Hassidic teachers, Reb Nachman continues to excite and challenge our hearts and minds even 200 years after his death. Hidden among his stories and teachings, lies a radical theology of divine worship as... well... a joke. How does this idea of ritual life as comedy actually serve to empower our connection to Judaism and the Divine, especially in post-modern times? Join us as we discover the secret joke that is at the center of it all.
Backstage with Storahtelling
Annie Levy
Canceled, sorry
Additional schedule
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Monday 11:15 AM–12:30 PM
Sports Bar
Arts & Performance
This is an engaging and interactive workshop designed to inspire participants to experiment with Torah translation and to increase comprehension and relevancy of Judaism's ancient texts. Using theater exercises and translation techniques, participants get on their feet and go backstage and between the lines, exploring Torah translation via the performing arts. This workshop has a maximum of 30 participants and therefore has limited space. Show up early!
Baruch Atah...Blessed Are You
Mark Novak
Canceled, sorry
Additional schedule
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Monday 11:15 AM–12:30 PM
Sports Bar
Ritual & Prayer,
Torah & Text
“Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheynu Melech haOlam” is the traditional path which leads us into every blessing. Each time we make a bracha (blessing), we are engaged in the practice of mindfulness. Come explore “the path of blessing” and develop a deeper understanding of this ancient vocabulary. If possible, please BYOS (Bring Your Own Siddur)
Besamin and Simanim (Spices and Signs)
The Healing Properties of the Foods of Eastern European Jewry
Elana Fine
Monday 9:45 AM–11:00 AM
Empire Corner
Global History & Culture
In this session we will look at the foods of Eastern European Jewry, in particular, the foods that are identified for blessings in the Art Scroll Rosh Hashana Machzor (High Holy Day prayer book). We will look at the healing and helping properties of these foods.
Our forebearers had a different knowledge of food than we do. In this discussion we will try to reconnect with the foods of our recent ancestors and learn about the healing properties of what and how they cooked.
Biblical Stranger And American Experiences in American Jewish World
Dmitri Daniel Glinski
Monday 9:45 AM–11:00 AM
HELP DESK AREA
Our discussion in this group will focus on the first generation immigrant experiences within the US Jewish communal world, viewed through the prism of Biblical texts about "the stranger(ger). We will share our insights and some of the barriers between immigrant Jews and American Jewish organizational life.
Black-Jewish Relations
Presidential Election Volunteering
Maital Guttman
Monday 9:45 AM–11:00 AM
Festival Room
Film
This week the United States will inaugurate its first black President. From Obama's top advisors to the volunteers on the frontlines, Jews played a significant role in this historic election. What similarities did this movement have with the role that Jews played during the civil rights years, and what does this mean for Black-Jewish relations today? This session will be a discussion facilitated by documentary filmmaker Maital Guttman, who returned to her homestate of North Carolina to volunteer with the Obama and Kay Hagan campaigns. We will watch her video that was posted on CNN's homepage as well as other media and how it relates to diversity in the Obama era.
Bringing Limmud to Your Community
Part 2: Practical Issues
Steve Kay Kupietzky,
Karen Radkowsky,
Ruthie Warshenbrot
Monday 9:45 AM–11:00 AM
Embassy Room 1
How-To
This discussion is part two of a two-part series designed specifically for those exploring the feasibility of creating a Limmud conference in another community. Participants should plan to attend both sessions.
Chvaruta IV:Ahavat Yisreal
When You Walk Through a Storm: Fear and Ahavas Yisrael
Goldie Milgram
Canceled, sorry
Additional schedule
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Monday 8:15 AM–9:30 AM
CAFE CORNER LEFT
Ritual & Prayer,
Torah & Text
Our next set of texts for chevruta regarding Ahavat Yisrael look at energetic practices regarding prayer that the sages designed to support this mitzvah. There are surprising portals to higher consciousness in the Talmud selection we will study today. Facing east may never be the same for you again. Chevruta (partner study) is an empowering study form in which, no matter what your level of experience, your connection to the text will soar in small groups and partner study. The session will include a creative review of the four sessions held at Limmud 09. **Please note that this session will run for 90 minutes.
Ethical Issues in Testing Embryos and Fetuses
Adrienne Asch
Monday 9:45 AM–11:00 AM
Empire Room 3 South
Identity & Responsibility
In this session, we will look at many contrasting views on an increasingly common practice: testing embryos or fetuses to learn about their health status or sex. Such techniques can help prospective parents make decisions that support their goals for their future families. Avoiding the birth of a child who would experience a disease or disability may avert pain and hardship for families. Jewish and non-Jewish ethical sources will be discussed that explore the potential problems as well as the benefits of such testing for families and society.
The Forgotten Refugees
Presented by co-director & co-producer
Tommy Schwarcz
Monday 9:45 AM–11:00 AM
Sports Bar
Film,
Global History & Culture,
Identity & Responsibility
A look at the history and destruction of Jewish communities in Muslim lands, some of which had existed for over 2,500 years. The film recounts the stories – of joy and of suffering – of nearly a million forgotten refugees, through the moving testimony of survivors from Egypt, Yemen, Libya and Iraq. Given that Palestinian are demanding a “right of return”, shouldn’t we also present a claim on behalf of these Jews and their descendants?
From the Ideal to the Real
Organizing Your Office, Organizing Your Life
Marla Alt
Monday 9:45 AM–11:00 AM
Tower VIP Room
Start the year off with a clean slate. Beginning with the goals you seek to achieve, you'll learn how being organized starting way back from Jewish Biblical times helps support those goals and helps you achieve and maintain focus. You'll explore your resistance to getting and staying organized, and you'll learn simple tips and techniques for surmounting organizing and other time-management challenges. Lastly, you'll consider how creating an aesthetically pleasing environment affects your attitude and your ability to get things done.
From White Russia To The Green Mountains
The Odyssey of a Synagogue
Shmuel Simenowitz
Monday 9:45 AM–11:00 AM
Sports Bar
College/University Student Recommended,
Identity & Responsibility
This inspiring and humorous saga of survival and sustainability shares the story of how our new sugarhouse/activity center came to look like the synagogue in my great-grandparents shtetl in Belarus, which was destroyed by the Nazis in 1942. The seminar comes complete with an award-winning slide show showing the old fashioned post and beam structure being built by Rabbi Simenowitz and his friends and family, and then raised by the Timber Framers Guild.
Humans, Organizations and Strategies in the Digital Age
How The Jewish People Can Prepare for Action Unbound by Space or Time
Ariel Beery
Monday 9:45 AM–11:00 AM
Congressional Room 2
Identity & Responsibility
Who are you, now that your "friends" are listed online? Think a website is good enough to bring your organization into the digital age? The revolution in information technologies we are living through has affected everything from who we call our "friend" to what causes we are drawn to--and this new environment affects how we organize as Jews at our very core. In this workshop, we will review Transmedia thinking -- and discuss how a world unbound by space and time affects the Jewish People on everything from organizational structure to strategy.
The Hunt for Mid-East Peace from 1948 to Hamas
An Insider’s Report: The History of Obstruction
Shimon Erem
Monday 9:45 AM–11:00 AM
CAFE CORNER LEFT
Israel
Once upon a time, Arab leadership actually acknowledged their readiness to recognize Jewish rights over Palestine, including both sides of the Jordan. We will trace the British campaign that very effectively eroded that opinion - from the Balfour Declaration to the UN decision for partition in 1948. We will visit the British agendas and their deliberate work to undercut the implementation of the Jewish State. We will go on from there.
Is Veal Kosher?
The Rhetoric of Halakha and Ethics
Dov Linzer
Monday 9:45 AM–11:00 AM
Tower Board Room
Torah & Text
Is there a religious mandate to alleviate the suffering of animals? Are we allowed to cause such suffering to serve human needs and desires? Are there any limits? Should it be forbidden to farm veal?
Some of these questions, we will see, are answered with recourse to Jewish values, not law. We will then explore the weight that is given to Jewish values and principles that undergird the law, and discuss whether a values-based obligation does or should differ from a technical, legal one.
Jewish Song Leading Basics
Daniel Nichols
Monday 9:45 AM–11:00 AM
Tower Board Room
How-To
Learn the basic skills to help your Jewish community find their voice in t’filah (prayer), in shira (song), and in the classroom.
Moving Torah
Jacob and the “Ish”
Andrea Hodos
Monday 9:45 AM–11:00 AM
Congressional Room 1
Arts & Performance,
Torah & Text
Join us for a creative exploration of Jacob’s mysterious wrestling match. We will learn the story together and create our own interpretations, using easily accessible writing, theater, and movement techniques. Step by step, let yourself be guided through very simple exercises, based on everyday movements and words, designed to help everyone create interesting and engaging work. Everyone from bar/bat mitzvah age to retirement age is welcome.
Open Art Studio
Creative Space for Limmudnyks Young and Old
Laurie Bellet
Monday 9:00 AM–12:00 PM
Coffee Shop
Additional schedule
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Sunday 1:30 PM–4:30 PM
Coffee Shop
Arts & Performance
Treat yourself to sacred space and time in the Limmud Art Studio. Facilitated by artist-in-residence Laurie Bellet, the Art Studio offers a wide range of art mediums and heirloom quality crafts of all sorts, perfect for artists of every age and ability. Not an artist?...Don't worry...Laurie will help you discover your unique creative spark! (note - children under 8 must bring an adult)
Racism in the Jewish Community
Inside/Out; Outside/In
Aliza Hausman,
Yehuda Hausman
Monday 9:45 AM–11:00 AM
Tower VIP Room
Global History & Culture,
Identity & Responsibility
We will explore racism in the Jewish community on both the personal and the community level. We will discuss stereotypes, anti-Semitism, relations with non-Jews, and people of other races. We will also explore issues that Jews of color encounter in the community. We will look at how culture influences self-perception and how cultural perceptions affect others. We will use both Jewish sources and anecdotal statements from popular publications.
Talmudic Personalities IV:
Leadership in Rehabilitation
Leah Rosenthal
Monday 9:45 AM–11:00 AM
Empire Room 3 North
Advanced,
Torah & Text
In this session we explore the character of Rabban Gamliel, the patriarch of the Jewish community in the Land of Israel during a severe time of crisis – the period immediately following the destruction of the Temple. We will read some of the tensions existing between the patriarch and the Rabbis and through these narratives attempt to achieve a deeper appreciation of the complexities of leadership and authority.
When Faith Becomes Distorted
Applying a Talmudic Text to 21st Century Religion
Leon Morris
Monday 9:45 AM–11:00 AM
LOBBY RIGHT NEXT TO SAFARI
Torah & Text
Religious life attempts to transform (or at least sublimate) our base and violent impulses. But too often, these same inclinations manifest themselves within the religious practice with which they are meant to be at odds. With a powerfully critical and relevant Talmudic text as our guide (Yoma 23 a and b), explore why “being religious” often causes us to miss the forest for the trees. A courageous story of the Rabbis suggests how we might reprioritize religious life for the 21st century.
Camp Limmud NY--Alim
Debby Miller
Monday 9:45 AM–11:00 AM
Tennis Center Corner
Camp Limmud session. Please see the Camp Limmud program for detail.
Camp Limmud NY--Anafim
Monday 9:45 AM–11:00 AM
Racquetball Court 2
Camp Limmud session. Please see the Camp Limmud program for details.
Camp Limmud NY--Middle School
Howard Rypp
Monday 9:45 AM–11:00 AM
Middle School Room, Presidential Suite
Camp Limmud session. Please see the Camp Limmud program for details.
Camp Limmud NY--Shorashim
Lindsay Waldman
Monday 9:45 AM–11:00 AM
Racquetball Court 1
Camp Limmud session. Please see the Camp Limmud program for details.
