Sunday, 10th June 2018, Bristol hosted the first ever day Limmud in the South West. Limmud is the Hebrew for “to learn”.
This one-day Limmud was held at Bristol Cathedral Choir School, chosen for its easy central accessibility.
A seven strong volunteer group planned a day event to enable 240 participants – who didn’t have to be Jewish – to attend five sessions on Jewish themes.
It wasn’t, in fact, as easy as that. Participants chose their five from thirty sessions offered by local, national and international presenters, covering a wide range of subjects from the serious to the more light-hearted.
Topics covered art, music, philosophy, spirituality, intercultural dialogue, the environment, social history, food, the environment, international politics.
There’s not space to describe all thirty sessions offered. Some participants sang different melodies of a Jewish mourning prayer. Others heard the distinguished pianist, Allan Schiller, now a Bristol resident, describe his international concert career. Robert Hurst, known to many Bristolians for his musical performances and for his leadership of the Alzheimers Society “Singing for the Brain” initiative, described the Jewish birth of the Broadway musical.
Two presenters brought the past to light. One describing the approach to scriptural interpretation of Philo of Alexandria; one showing how archaeology corroborated or disproved the Jewish biblical version of history. Madge Dresser, well-known Bristol academic, asked: “Were Jews involved in Atlantic slavery?” – a topic of particular relevance to Bristol’s commercial and shipping story.
There was a second “first”. The attendance of a well-behaved, session presenting, dog; in spirit, if not in presence in the room. Not just any dog. Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg’s dog, reminiscent of the dog who appeared in his enchanting account of a long-distance walk taken with his dog some years ago. A captivated, jam-packed, room heard Rabbi Jonathan reiterate how tad enabled him to work through how he might become a better person.
“Best Limmud I’ve been to – I thoroughly enjoyed each session.” “So stimulating – a remarkable choice of sessions.” “So valuable to hear radical but practical perspectives on how to enable school students to learn critical thinking and conflict resolution techniques in relation to the Middle East and other conflict areas.”
To end the day, some hardy participants walked up Bristol’s steep Park Street to visit Bristol’s historic Park Row synagogue. A visit led by the synagogue’s current President, who had earlier presented a lively session describing notable characters of the past in Bristol and Bath Jewry.
The Bristol Limmud Planning Group feel proud that, through this event, the Bristol Jewish community has augmented its appearance on the Bristol scene, as well as on the British Jewry map.
Martin Vegoda
12 June 2018