Limmud Seattle 2019

A common contemporary thought is that the Jewish People have been kept alive by religion. Does this fit today’s reality? How does religious practice fit into our sense of Jewishness today? What about the “gastronomical Jew?” Is belief in God foundational to being Jewish? Can you be spiritual and secular? In this "Philosopher's Cafe" you’ll hear about six points of entry to our Jewish heritage, and discuss how that applies to each of us for a meaningful Jewish identity.

“Are Jews White?” What do people mean when they ask that question, what does it assume, and what is it missing? This workshop will develop our understanding of Whiteness & White Supremacy by addressing the complexities of Jewish identities and experiences in the US - empowering us to be more effective learners and collaborators in multi-racial, multi-cultural spaces. We’ll build a common language, learn historical context and new ways of thinking, and practice having courageous conversations about ourselves and our communities. We invite Jews of all racial identities to bring their experiences to this multi-generational community discussion.

The Israeli government recognizes and has established as a strategic priority integrating the Arab minority into the workforce and has allocated substantial funds towards reaching that goal. This session will include a brief overview of Israel’s Arab community and why this issue is of utmost importance for the future of the Arab community and Israel in general. It will showcase promising initiatives and approaches funded by Israel’s Ministry of Education within the K-12 arena, and governmental plans to increase access to higher education. We will examine some of the successes, challenges and outcomes of these transformative strategic investments.

An early Hassidic rabbi seems an unlikely place to look for inspiration for today's social change maker. Through traditionally radical textual interpretation -- textual activism -- R. Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev read an activist Torah, one that authorized him and his contemporaries to take bold action to build the religious movement of Hasidut. His textual activism and social agenda provide opportunities for us to understand traditional Jewish interpretation as an important tool for social transformation.

In Genesis 21, Sarah demands that the Egyptian Hagar and Ishmael be expelled. Sarah turns to Abraham to make it happen. God gets involved communicating with Abraham, hearing Ishmael's cries and calling out to Hagar. This session will be a deep reading of Genesis 21:9-21 (and a few rabbinic interpretations on these verses) to see what insights we can learn about the Torah's message about treating immigrants, the impulse to expel that which threatens us and the process of dehumanizing. The Torah text has some powerful lessons about immigration and deportation, full of relevance for today's debates.

Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz, Leslie Feinberg, Mesha Irizzary and Aurora Levins Morales - through watching videos and lecture we will learn about the work these historical figures contributed to intersectional justice movements including the LGBT movement, Middle East peace movements, police accountability movements and labor struggles.