‘The barriers which seem impermeable don’t exist at Limmud’

Yehudis Fletcher[Missing Credit]

Yehudis, who founded Nahamu, a think-tank which focuses on the harms done by religious extremism, said that highlights for her had been a women-only Shabbat service and a session on women’s prayer. “I’m a Jewish woman who prays, and that’s sometimes considered very threatening in the frum world, so the session was very relevant to me,” she said of the latter.

Now a trustee of Limmud, she added that her “lowlight” was having a room on the fifth floor, “as I’m Shomrei Shabbos so don’t use the lift. At least it meant that I could eat as much challah as I wanted as I was running up and down the stairs all day.”

Judy Weleminsky, 75, a member of Wimbledon Synagogue, was at her tenth Limmud with her husband, Robert Smith.

Judy Weleminsky[Missing Credit]

“We’ve been coming here over a period of 25 years. It’s fun, the sessions are interesting and you meet great people. We are big fans of [Limmud co-founder and educator] Clive Lawton and went to one of his talks. He can extemporise on any topic under the sun and make it interesting and amusing. I think he could read the telephone directory and still be amusing.”

Saying that they prefer arriving on Shabbat as it’s “less frenetic” than arriving on Sunday, when the main festival starts, Judy said she had attended the Progressive service on Friday night, while her husband had opted for the humanist one. “It’s wonderful that we can all be Jews together but, at the same time, attend our own choice of service. I also love seeing young people getting so enthusiastically involved. It gives me hope for the future.”

Her husband, Robert, said that having not been for about three years, they felt they “needed to reconnect with the Jewish community”.

Robert Smith [Missing Credit]

While he isn’t Jewish, Robert said that he “fitted in quite well” with the community “as I like asking questions and have a thirst for knowledge. I’m keen to learn, and Limmud is good for that.”

Christopher Nash, 44, from Finchley was attending his “fourth or fifth” festival. “I’m a member of both Masorti and Liberal congregations, but here, you have religious and secular people, and everything in between. It’s the one place you can have that.”

Christopher Nash[Missing Credit]

“Given what’s going on in the world at the moment – the antisemitism and the anxiety – it’s wonderful that you can come to Limmud and connect to everyone. We are all different, but there is a common thread. You can walk up to a stranger and within minutes, you are best friends.”

Student rabbi Emily Carp, 32, was on her sixth Limmud, enticed back every year primarily because of the people who attended, she said. “You have the most bizarre, incredible interactions with people you wouldn’t otherwise meet. Most of the time we engage Jewishly is with our family, our shul or our school. At Limmud, our minds are expanded to understand what it means to be a Jew. We are reminded that there are lots of people doing Judaism differently to us.”

Emily Carp[Missing Credit]

Emily, who is leading the Beit Midrash, said the festival provided a valuable opportunity to hear opinions she might not agree with or usually be party to, “but I get to go and listen and learn respectfully. I think it’s really unhealthy when people feel they already know everything. Limmud is a free market of ideas – you have people talking about the future of the right in Israel and people talking about Na’amod in another room. It’s an incredible feat to have that level of diversity.”

Second-timer Abe, from London, discovered Limmud after he “drifted away” from his strictly Orthodox community in Stamford Hill, where he was brought up. “I’m still trying to figure out where I fit in on the Jewish spectrum, and Limmud gives you variety in what it means to be a Jew and shows how different denominations intersect.”

As a participant on Limmud’s Young Leadership Programme, Abe, who is in his 20s, said that a highlight had been the “great conversations” he had had with one of his mentors on the scheme.

Student Daniel Dable, 18, from Preston, has grown up on Limmud, having come every year since the age of two.

Daniel Dable[Missing Credit]

Speaking to the JC following a popular talk he had given, titled: “Is the BBC really biased?”, Daniel described the festival as “the most Jewish place I know in the UK. The highlight for me is the gala on the last night, where you have 1,000 people dancing in a circle.”

Limmud volunteers (Photo: Instagram/Limmud)[Missing Credit]

Chairs Jake Berger and Sarah Rose were delighted by how Limmud had kicked off. “We’ve had a brilliant Shabbat at Festival. Being here at the biggest event in the Jewish communal calendar is incredibly uplifting - all the more so as it has been created by our talented and creative team of volunteers. We can’t wait to welcome more participants today.”

Places are still available at Limmud. Go to: limmud.org for more information and to book, go to: limmud.org or click here. For the first time, some of the sessions are being livestreamed on the Limmud Festival at Home programme. To find out more, go to: https://limmud.org/festival/limmud-festival-2025-at-home/ or click here