Limmud FSU - A Retrospective 2014 - Looking Back with Pride Our ninth year, encompassing an in its widest sense to a generation intensive program of festivals, con- of (mostly) young people who were Limmud FSU ferences, events and exhibitions, deprived for so many years of expo- has come to a close and we are glad sure to Jewish life, culture, educa- to present in the following pages, tion. These are the qualities that we Celebrates this retrospective account of some have pledged ourselves to impart to of the highlights. First and foremost, this new generation, together with a we would like to welcome to our spirit of national identity – wherever leadership ranks, Rabbi Yechiel they may be – not just in the coun- Nine Years of Eckstein, President of the Interna- tries of the former Soviet Union, but tional Fellowship of Christians and across the world. Jews, who has agreed to serve as This rich program could not have dean of Limmud FSU (see “New Successful taken place without the support and Faces” on page 16.) backing of many devoted partners, We held nine events in seven differ- donors and friends, both private and Activity ent countries which were attended institutional (see page 14). by over 5,000 Russian-speaking They have our heartfelt appreciation Jews. With our tenth anniversry in a and thanks. year’s time already within our sights, we continue to bring Jewish culture ל ל Matthew Bronfman Aaron Frenkel Yechiel Eckstein Chair, Limmud FSU President, Limmud FSU Dean, Limmud FSU International Steering Committee Another Packed Year MAJOR EVENTS IN It is with a distinct feeling of pride and achievement that we look back on the previous year’s activities marking nine years since we founded Limmud FSU “on a wing and a prayer,” back in 2006. In that time, we estimate that about 30,000 young administration of each event. It is this spirit of volun- Russian speaking people, overwhelmingly in their 20s teerism, which was a guiding principle of the first Lim- 2014 to 40s, have been exposed for the first time to their mud in the UK, over 34 years ago, that motivates and Jewish heritage, which, under 70 years of Communist drives Limmud FSU. This is even more remarkable rule in the USSR, was suppressed or expressly for- inasmuch as the concept of volunteering was virtually bidden. Only a handful of brave and devoted individu- unknown in the USSR where the ruling authorities 115 0 als were able to teach Hebrew and something of Jew- were meant to provide everything. Moscow ish tradition – many of whom paid for their attempts Nor of course would there be a Limmud FSU without by long prison sentences. the enthusiastic and devoted support of our donors 800 The world around us has changed radically since and sponsors. From the outset they have appreci- then – and the Jewish world together with it. With ated the importance of the challenge and rose to it 750 Kinneret free immigration from the USSR beginning in the late nobly. 30,000 Russian-speaking Jews owe them an 700 (Israel) 1980’s, Russian-speaking Jews have spread across enormous vote of appreciation. New York the world (nearly one million to Israel alone), while Vitebsk The following pages give the highlights of the past Parsippany others choosing to remain in their countries of origin (Belarus) year and we enter 2015 – our tenth year! – with great New Jersey 500 are rebuilding a world of Jewish involvement in their enthusiasm and anticipation. Three new venues will 600 own communities. 350 Toronto 350 join the Limmud FSU community – Melbourne, Aus- 80 (Canada) Lviv We at Limmud FSU are a prime facilitator of all this. tralia, in March, Kazan in the Volga region of Russia in Kishinev 11 communities (Ukraine) St. Petersburg Global Our conferences, festivals and events bring a spirit of September and in Los Angeles for the US West Coast (Moldova) (Russia) intellectual freedom and enquiry to Russian-speakers early in 2016. All that apart from the usual program Summit Participants (Israel) in a pluralistic, egalitarian, non-demanding atmo- of ongoing events in the countries of the FSU, Israel, sphere of study (Limmud) in the broadest sense. USA and Canada. September October November December Anything “Jewish” is grist to our mill: not just the Bible March April May June We look forward to meeting many of you at a Limmud and Talmud, important as they are, but Jewish history, FSU event during the coming year. culture, prose and poetry, theater, dance, music, folk- lore, the Arab-Jewish conflict, the Middle East, Israeli politics - even Jewish cuisine, and much more. None of this would be possible without the active involvement of the volunteers who take upon them- selves, the planning, programming, recruitment and ת א ל Chaim Chesler Sandra Cahn Roman Kogan Founder, Chair, Co-Founder, Chair, Executive Director Executive Committee FRD Committee 3 Limmud FSU 2014 LIMMUD 6 March Limmud FSU Israel: FSU Jerusalem Bronfman Memorial Limmud FSU co-sponsored a memorial event de- voted to the life of Edgar Bronfman (1929-2013), together with Hillel Israel and the Bronfman Youth Fellowships. The event, held in the Israel Museum, celebrated the life of the famous philanthropist and 2014 entrepreneur, who was involved in and supported so many Jewish activities, including Limmud FSU. EVENT BY The event was attended by some 200 associates, admirers, colleagues and family friends, including MK Isaac Herzog, Museum Director James Sny- der, Edgar’s son Matthew, who is Chairman of the International Steering Committee of Limmud FSU, EVENT Avraham Infield, President of Hillel Israel and other leaders of Jewish institutions in the United States, Israel and elsewhere. Limmud FSU produced a me- 28-30 March morial booklet “Edgar M. Bronfman: The Man. The Life” which included tributes from Presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Shimon Peres, Prime Min- Limmud FSU USA: ister Benjamin Netanyahu, Speaker of the Knesset Yuli Edelstein and others. New York The fifth Limmud FSU event for Rus- included the popular Israeli writer Lihi sian-speakers to be held in the United Lapid, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, the en- States took place at the Sheraton Parsip- trepreneur Eli Itin of Amdocs, the philan- pany Hotel, New Jersey and was attended thropist Feliks Frenkel and Adam Shwartz, by 750 participants, mostly aged between director of the Technion-Cornell Innovation 20 and 40, mainly from the greater New Institute. Alina Bitel, Chair of Limmud FSU York and New Jersey areas. The theme in the USA says, “Limmud FSU New York of this year’s event was “Innovation” and allows us to write our own story where ev- many of the nearly 90 sessions, dealt di- erything that happens is a reflection of our rectly or tangentially in innovative thinking, unique heritage and our passions. It gives research, business initiatives and techno- us a voice in the very important contempo- logical developments, including a program rary American-Jewish dialogue and helps for children aged three to 12 which also us claim our name and place.” included innovative concepts. Presenters 5 Limmud FSU 2014 Limmud FSU 2014 24-27 April 23-25 May 12-16 June Limmud FSU, Russia: Limmud FSU Moldova: Limmud FSU Global Leadership Moscow Chişinău Summit, Jerusalem Moscow was the venue of the first Limmud FSU The second Limmud FSU to take place in Moldova, This bi-annual gathering of the world know-how with other Limmud FSU teams. conference back in 2006 and is still the largest was held at the Chişinău Labor Institute with spon- Limmud FSU leadership took place at the The participants visited the Knesset and annual event. This year for the ninth conference, sorship from the Jewish Community of Moldova and Jerusalem Gardens Hotel and gathered were addressed by several ministers and 1,150 participants gathered at the Klyazma Retreat the US Embassy. With one of the smallest Jewish together some 80 activists and volunteers Knesset members, including Faina Center, some 12 kilometers from the city, and had communities in Europe, the conference was attend- from nine countries and eleven projects, Kirshenbaum, Ronen Hoffman, Elazar the choice of a massive 175 sessions, with as many ed by 350 people who had the choice of 80 different including from Australia and Canada where Stern, Omer Bar-Lev, Zeev Elkin, Isaac as eight taking place simultaneously, leaving the sessions. In a country where the average salary is Limmud FSU conferences were going to Herzog, and Ronen Plot, Director-General participant with agonizing decisions on what to see 50 dollars a month, a decision by so many young be held for the first time; (Canada, see be- of the Knesset. Some of the participants and hear and what had to be missed, delivered by Jewish people to invest in a participation fee is clear low; Australia in March 2015.) The packed had the opportunity to attend a concert by nearly 150 presenters. Among prominent speakers proof of their desire to draw closer to Judaism and program included lectures on developing Idan Raichel at Massada, others went on were Prof. Raphael Walden, the chair of “Physi- to share in the Jewish dialectic. Chișinău (then Limmud, courting the media, the new stra- guided walking tours of Jerusalem, cians for Human Rights,” on ethics and medicine in Kishinev) is embedded in the Jewish consciousness tegic partnership with the International Fel- attended the city’s Festival of Lights and times of conflict, and his wife, Prof. Tzvia Walden because of the infamous pogrom of 1903, immor- lowship of Christians and Jews, developing visited the Israel Museum. (the daughter of then President Shimon Peres), on talized in Chaim Nachman Bialik’s iconic poem volunteerism and sharing knowledge and the psychology of speech, many film presentations “City of Slaughter." Participants heard lectures from followed by discussions, and workshops on music, academics, journalists, business people from Mol- dance, jewelry-making, baking challot for Shabbat, dova, Russia and Israel, and had the opportunity and much more.