Limmud FSU

Limmud FSU
Founded 2006
Founders Chaim Chesler, founder (Israel); Sandra F. Cahn, co-founder (United States)
Type 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization
Focus To restore the traditions of lifelong Jewish learning and strengthen Jewish identity among Jews of Russian origin through informal Jewish education
Location
Method Limmud FSU raises funds among its partners and donors to create relevant programming and underwrite participation for low-income Russian-Jewish youngsters and adults, so everyone can attend their local Limmud FSU conference.
Key people
Matthew Bronfman, chair of the Limmud FSU International Steering Committee; Aaron Frenkel (Monaco), President
Website www.limmudfsu.org

Limmud FSU (former Soviet Union) is an international Jewish education organization that focuses on giving young Russian-Jewish adults the opportunity to revitalize and restore Jewish learning and to strengthen Jewish identity in their communities. It was developed in 2006 by Chaim Chesler, founder (Israel); Sandra F. Cahn, co-founder (United States). Limmud (from the Hebrew word meaning "to learn")[1] was originally a British-Jewish educational charity, which produces a large annual winter conference at Warwick University and several other events around the year in the UK on the theme of Jewish learning.

The Limmud model, first developed in the UK, has now spread to many other countries. According to the Charity Commission, Limmud operates throughout England and Wales and also in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Macedonia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Poland, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Serbia, South Africa, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine and the United States of America.[2] Nearly 70 communities in 34 countries on six continents have hosted Limmud events including, in 2013 for the first time, Hong Kong, Peru, India and Montenegro. There are 18 Limmud communities in the United States and eight in Israel.

History

Limmud FSU, which will celebrate its tenth anniversary in 2016, holds educational conferences, which have attracted more than 27,000 participants in Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Israel, and the United States, with forthcoming events in Canada and Australia. Limmud FSU engages with young Russian-speaking Jewish adults and Jewish people of Russian backgrounds, offering them the tools to gain a better understanding of their Jewish identity and if they wish, to assume leadership roles in their local communities.

Limmud FSU events present Jewish learning and culture in its broadest sense through pluralistic, egalitarian volunteer-run conferences covering traditional subjects like the Bible and Talmud, to history, politics, Israel, the Middle-East conflict, theater, music and dance, the arts, literature and poetry, to Jewish cuisine, humor and folklore and much more.

Limmud ("study" in Hebrew), the volunteer-driven Jewish learning experience, started in the United Kingdom in 1980[3] and since then has spread to over 80 Jewish communities across the world, awakening inspiration in tens of thousands of participants. In the words of The Jerusalem Post, "Every place that has Jews should have its own Limmud."

In adapting the Limmud model to the special requirements of Russian-speaking Jewish audiences world-wide, Limmud FSU has developed a unique approach to cultural and educational activities, through lectures, presentations and workshops specially designed for the needs of young Jewish adults who were deprived of the opportunity to learn about their culture during 70 years of Communist rule in the Soviet Union.

Goals

Limmud FSU New York

Limmud FSU seeks:

Organizational structure

Limmud FSU is governed by an International Steering Committee (ISC), which approves its programs and budgets. The ISC has representatives from supporting organizations, donor foundations and sponsors, as well as individuals who actively promote Limmud FSU’s educational and cultural work.

An Executive Committee sets operational policy for Limmud FSU, authorizes budgetary adjustments between ISC sessions and sets guidelines for the preparation of the annual work plan. Currently, its members include: Matthew Bronfman, Chairman, International Steering Committee; Aaron Frenkel, President; and Rabbi Yechiel Eckshtein, President, International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ), who joined the Limmud FSU Executive Committee following a partnership agreement concluded between IFCJ and Limmud FSU International in 2014. Rabbi Eckstein serves as a Dean for Jewish Though and Studies: Sandra Cahn, Co-Founder, chairs the FRD Committee, and Chaim Chesler, Founder, Limmud FSU, chairs the Executive Committee.

A professional project manager in each country reports to the Executive Director, Roman Kogan, based in Jerusalem. Carefully trained volunteer activists in each community comprise local organizing committees. The organizing committees work closely with project managers to develop the conference programming, volunteer and participant recruitment, marketing and outreach.

Limmud FSU Beer Sheva, Israel

Limmud FSU projects

Activities

Utilizing the strength of Limmud model, volunteer training sessions and annual Limmud FSU conferences in each location attract lecturers and educators from the countries of the former Soviet Union, Europe, Israel, and North America. Prominent writers, journalists, entrepreneurs and business leaders, scientists, actors and public personalities, including representatives from local Jewish organizations and communities, as well as a number of noted Jewish scholars and political figures, are among the presenters.

Local organizing committees in each country, composed mainly of young adults in their 20s and 30s, and programming and logistics committees are responsible for planning and implementing annual conferences and related local events.

Funding

Limmud FSU International Foundation is registered in the United States as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization,[4] recognized by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Limmud FSU follows a policy of gradual incremental rises in the level of participation fees to ensure appropriate payment for a quality program. The aim is to bring each community to a level of 80 percent of the direct costs of their conferences. Currently, a global network of private individuals and partner organizations funds annual Limmud FSU conferences and volunteer training sessions.

Timeline

Below is a timeline of Limmud FSU's key conferences:

Year City
2006 Moscow (Russia)
2007 Moscow (Russia)
2008 Moscow (Russia) Leadership Training
Ashqelon (Israel)
Yalta (Ukraine)
2009 Moscow (Russia)
Jerusalem (Israel)
Hamptons (New York)[5]
Birobidzhan (Far East Russia)[6]
2010 Jerusalem (Israel)
Hamptons (New York)
Moscow (Russia)
Truskavetz (Ukraine)
Odessa (Ukraine)
New Orleans – 5th Anniversary
2011 Moscow (Russia)
Beersheba (Israel)
Vinnitsa (Ukraine)
St Petersburg (Russia)[7]
Odessa (Ukraine)
Global Leadership Summit (Jerusalem, Israel)
2012 Moscow (Russia)
Princeton (USA)
Chișinău (Moldova)
St Petersburg (Russia)
Uzhgorod (Ukraine)
Nazareth Illit (Israel)
2013 Princeton (USA)
Moscow (Russia)
Vitebsk (Belarus)
Odessa (Ukraine)
St Petersburg (Russia)
Jerusalem (Israel)
New York – 7th Anniversary
2014 Parsippany New Jersey (USA)
Moscow (Russia)
Chișinău (Moldova)
Global Leadership Summit (Jerusalem, Israel)

See also

References

  1. Jeffay, Nathan (16 December 2008). "'It's more academic than academia'". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  2. "Limmud". Find charities. Charity Commission. 2 January 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  3. Easterman, Daniel (23 December 2013). "How Limmud has grown". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  4. "Limmud FSU International Foundation". National Center for Charitable Statistics. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  5. Dan Brown (16 August 2010). "Limmud FSU Hamptons NY: First Look". Ejewishphilanthropy.com. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  6. "From WestHampton, New York to Russia's Far East, Limmud FSU Makes Inroads". Jafi.org.il. 21 September 2009. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  7. "A Cultural Treat for the Jews of St. Petersburg". Ejewishphilanthropy.com. 2011-09-20. Retrieved 2014-02-24.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 6/16/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.