Since its founding in a shack in London over 30 years ago, Limmud gatherings
have been held in dozens of countries, but on Sunday the network of Jewish
education confabs will reach a new milestone when it holds its first-ever event
in China.
About 100 participants are registered to attend the event, held
outside Beijing, which will feature workshops on Asian-Jewish cooking, debates
on the Torah and Talmud and a speech delivered by Limmud founder Clive Lawton on
why, contrary to popular opinion, Jews are the luckiest people in the history of
the world.
Though the number of participants is modest by international
standards – the last Limmud UK in Coventry drew 2,500 people and Limmud FSU, the
Russian-speaking branch of the network, has thousands taking part in its series
of yearly gatherings around the globe – organizers say it is a good
start.
“Until recently, the small but growing Jewish community of Beijing
has been somewhat isolated from the mainstream Jewish world,” said Roberta
Lipson, director and cofounder of Kehilat Beijing and one of Limmud China’s
local volunteer organizers.
“Although we have had the honor of being a
Jewish touch-point to increasing numbers of Jewish travelers to China, hosting
the upcoming Limmud will bring us closer to other Jewish communities from around
the region and binds us with a worldwide tradition of Jewish communal
learning.”
The event has the full backing – and perhaps more importantly,
the funding – of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and
Limmud International.
“One of the hallmarks of JDC’s work globally has
been its ability to unite Jews locally, regionally, and internationally in the
pursuit of innovating Jewish life, education, and culture,” said JDC’s outgoing
CEO Steven Schwager.
Several thousand Jews currently live and work in
China. As the country’s economic and political clout continues to grow, that
number is expected to rise. Their future in the country in particular and in
Asia as a whole will be one of the top issues debated at the
conference.
Of course, the Jewish presence on the continent is nothing
new. It is easy to forget Jews are themselves indigenous Asians originally
hailing from Southwest Asia, a region that most Europeans are probably more
familiar with as the Middle East.
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