Over 500 Young Jews to Gather for Limmud FSU Conference in Odessa

October 3, 2013

3 min read

Limmud

“And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”  (Deuteronomy 6:7)

Limmud
Over 500 volunteers from across the former Soviet Union are headed for Odessa, Ukraine for a Limmud FSU international conference. (Photo: Limmud FSU)

Odessa, Ukraine has a rich and varied Jewish history.  Once the second largest Jewish community in Russia (from the late 1800s until the 1920s), it has produced a number of famous Jews, from Revisionist Zionist Zeev Jabotinsky to Dancing with the Stars’ professional dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy, and is the subject of Jewish author Isaak Babel’s book, Tales of Odessa.  This week, the city will play host to Limmud FSU’s international conference, expected to draw over 500 participants from across the former Soviet Union.

During the Holocaust, most of Odessa’s Jews fled the city or were murdered, to the point where the city was once considered Judenrein (Jew-free).  After the war, however, survivors began returning to the city and reviving its Jewish heritage.  Although many Jews left again the 1990s, Odessa is now home to approximately 30,000 self-identified Jews, and it is suspected there are many more who keep their Jewish identities secret from fear of anti-Semitism.  According to Cahn, Odessa is renowned not only among the Jews of the Former Soviet Union, but also among those in the United States, Israel, Europe and Asia, as a symbol of free spirit, humor and creativity.  Even though Jews make up a mere 1% of the local population, the city is considered very “Jewish”, with its own unique humor, slang and culture, making it a terrific fit for the upcoming conference.

Over the course of the four day conference, which will take place October 5-8, participants will attend seminars, lectures, presentations, master-classes, round-table discussions and creative workshops on a wide variety of subjects.  Some of the topics included in the program are Jewish spirituality and philosophy, ethical issues, current topics in politics and society, the Arab-Israel conflict, Bible and Talmud, music, dance, and the secrets of Jewish cuisine. Among the presenters will be prominent historians, scientists, artists, politicians, businessmen, educators and musicians from Israel, America and the FSU.

Limmud is a volunteer-driven Jewish learning experience.  The first Limmud conference was held in London, England in 1978, and its success has spawned similar conferences around the world since 1990.  Limmud FSU, for Russian-speaking Jews, was founded in 2006 by Chaim Chesler, former head of JAFI’s delegation in the FSU, and Sandra Cahn, a philanthropist from New York.  “Limmud FSU is about the Jewish identity strengthening process in the lives of the Jews living in the Diaspora,” says Chesler.  Limmud FSU conferences take place anywhere there are communities of Russian-speaking adults, including Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Israel and the United States.

The theme of this year’s conference in Odessa is Tel Aviv-Odessa, and will focus on “the 140th anniversary of Chaim Nachman Bialik’s birth and the connection between Odessa and Tel-Aviv. This will be reflected in several of the sessions and lectures as well as exhibitions, discussions and conversations with outstanding lecturers and presenters from Odessa and Tel-Aviv,” according to Chesler.  Ayelet Bitan-Shlonsky, Chief Curator and Director of the Bialik Complex in Tel Aviv, will be the keynote speaker at the opening event at the conference.

Limmud FSU Odessa is taking place thanks to partnerships with Nativ – the Israeli Culture Center, KKL – JNF, Claims Conference, Embassy of Israel in Ukraine, Odessa City Hall, JDC, Jewish Agency For Israel, Beit Grand Jewish Cultural Center, Migdal Jewish Community Center, Hillel Ukraine, Tkuma – Ukrainian Institute for Holocaust Studies, and CAF Russia Foundation.

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