Limmud Baltics: Making Jewish History

At a conference center on the outskirts of Vilnius, meeting rooms were at capacity from February 22nd through 24th, brimming with the staggering 1,200 participants in this year’s Limmud Baltics event. The fifth anniversary of this grassroots Jewish study fest—a partnership among JDC, the Baltic Jewish communities, and the Los Angeles Jewish Federation with collaboration from Limmud UK—brought an unprecedented number of Jews of all stripes together to teach and learn from one another.

"Proportionally, it is as if someone could manage to coordinate a conference of half a million participants in the United States," explains Andres Spokoiny, JDC Country Director for the Baltic States of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, as well as Poland.

Attendance at the event is the most recent evidence of the Jewish renaissance being generated by the small Jewish communities of the Baltic States in collaboration with JDC.

But figures alone, even impressive figures, don’t tell the whole story. The conference is a unique venue, where people from all walks of community life come together to study, learn, and discover the joys of being Jewish. This year, Limmud offered a kaleidoscope of over 150 workshops that reflect the diversity of Judaism itself, from Yiddish language to Jewish music, the practice of prayer to Israeli cinema, the philosophy of Maimonides to Russian Jewish humor, and Talmud to the Middle East conflict.

"It has become a place where one discovers that, as the Bible says, Judaism ‘is not in the heights of the sky, nor in the depths of the sea; it belongs to us and to our children,’" reflects Spokoiny.

Limmud Baltics exemplifies this sense of ownership and personal interaction with the Jewish tradition, as it is truly grassroots event, done by the people for the people.

Madrichim (counselors) thoughtfully tailored a track of Limmud to engage the more than 200 children who participated in the weekend, while some 90 volunteers collaborated to bring the event to fruition.

Similarly, those who teach their fellow Jews in Limmud sessions—all volunteers—are not necessarily scholars or typical "keynote speakers"—they are the men and women of the local Jewish communities who continue to rise to the challenge of rebuilding Jewish life in a part of the world where Jews and Judaism have suffered near annihilation through the combined effect of Nazism and Communism.

And in many cases, just a few years ago these lecturers did not even know that they were Jewish. Indeed, each one of the Limmud participants has his/her own unique story of how they rediscovered their roots and reconnected with Jewish roots.

Thirteen-year-old Mark, who discovered Judaism not long ago through the JDC-sponsored Olameinu Baltics summer camp, specifically asked to have his bar mitzvah during this year’s Limmud. "Where else do you have so many Jews and find such a strong Jewish spirit?" he asked in his speech. During this special weekend, as Mark experienced his first aliyah to the Torah, so did his father. And it was a milestone experience for his mother, Lena, as well—her son’s bar mitzvah was the first she ever attended.

"I think our life is going like a circle—we came back to our traditions, to our roots," said Lena, who was pleasantly surprised that her son asked to have a bar mitzvah, particularly during Limmud. "I think it was a holy day not only for us, but for the whole community. Limmud is very special event for me: It gives the possibility to combine meetings with friends and learning something new from Jewish history and life today."

As is the case with so many of the "lost generation" who grew up without a real knowledge of their Jewish roots, Mark and his sister’s involvement in Jewish community programming brought their parents back to it. Mark’s mother is now a very active volunteer in the Latvian Jewish community.

"The bar mitzvah is a very significant moment in one’s life," said Mark, "and so is Limmud in the lives of the Baltic Jews."

March 2008