Jews of Every Stripe Find Connections and Community at Limmud NY 2005

By Miriam Feldman, Limmud NY 2006 Marketing & Outreach Team

Before Miami Beach and Caribbean cruises, New York Jews flocked to the Catskills. Now, they're returning to the borscht belt--but--not for the borscht. In mid-January, over 800 New York area Jews will head for the Catskills for the second annual Limmud NY conference. A three-day learning experience for Jews of all ages and backgrounds, Limmud NY will take place over Martin Luther King Weekend, January 13-16, 2006 at Kutsher's in the Catskills.

Over 600 people attended the first Limmud NY in January 2005. A small but diverse group of these "Limmudnyks" share their impressions of this new Catskills experience.

"When you're not from NY or don't live on the Upper West Side, it's a little harder to feel Jewishly nourished and connected," said Dana Ostomel, 28, who moved to Murray Hill from San Francisco five years ago. While not religious, Dana considers herself a proud Jew for whom heritage and traditions are important. Dana grew up in a post-World War II, first-generation family. She attended Jewish summer camp and lived in Israel for a year.

During her first four years in New York, Dana invested a lot of time and energy in her career--she works in advertising to the Hispanic community--but hadn't "found a place to invest my personal time." Although she'd joined a Rosh Chodesh group, Dana didn't really feel connected to Jewish life in New York.

Jonathan Baron, 46, an interior designer living on the Upper West Side, has been searching for Jewish community for nearly four years. Born in New York and raised in New Orleans, Jonathan had no Jewish education. He never had a bar mitzvah. Despite professional and financial success, he felt he lacked a goal in his life. "About four years ago, shortly before Passover, I suddenly realized I was spiritually bankrupt." That realization was the first step in his journey.

"I had been addicted to work," he said. "but I was looking for friendship, for connections with other gay Jews, and for a connection to Judaism. The music and dancing at B'nai Jeshurun's Friday night services were Jonathan's first powerful connection to Judaism. A lecture on the construction of the First Temple, which engaged him as a designer, was another milestone. Jonathan began attending services at BJ regularly and became a member--the first member of his family in three generations to belong to a synagogue. He was ready for a new level of Jewish connection.

The Ingber family of Huntington, Long Island has a high level of Jewish involvement. Scott, a physician, and Jennifer, a nurse, are active members of the Huntington Jewish Center. Jennifer has served on the synagogue Board. Scott is on the Board of SAJES (Suffolk Association for Jewish Educational Services). Both he and Jennifer are active in the Long Island region of UJA-Federation of New York and have visited Israel several times. Alexandra, 15, and Zachary 12, attend Hebrew school and, with their parents, frequently attend Shabbat services. Alexandra had a bat mitzvah, and Zach will celebrate his bar mitzvah in January 2006.

Jewish learning is important to the Ingbers. Scott was a Wexner Heritage Fellow, and Jennifer is participating in J-Learn, an adult education initiatives program supported by UJA-Federation of New York. Always alert to new opportunities for Jewish learning, they were seeking a concentrated Jewish learning experience, where they could learn together as a family.

What connects Dana, Jonathan and the Ingber family? They all attended Limmud NY 2005 and agree that it enriched their lives.

"Limmud" is the Hebrew word for "learning," and Limmud NY, a three-day learning experience for Jews of all ages and backgrounds, creates a community of learning, teaching and exchanging ideas.

This grass-roots, volunteer-run event attracts Jews from every walk of life. The conference offers diverse, innovative programs ranging from interactive topical lectures, concerts by renowned musical artists, and activities for children and youth, to film screenings, dance performances, opportunities for artistic creation, text study, and panel discussions around the social issues that shape the daily lives of New York area Jews.

"Limmud brings together a wealth of resources," said Dana, "It puts everything on a platter for us to sample."

Sampling Limmud's creative programming opened doors for Dana to the wealth of Jewish activities in New York that tap into her interests, including film and music. She's made new friends and is a volunteer for Limmud NY 2006. One of her goals as co-chair of the Marketing/Outreach team and a member of the Limmud NY 2006 Steering Committee is "to ensure that the participants at Limmud NY 2006 are as diverse as the programming."

Zach enjoyed sampling Orthodox and Reconstructionist services. He also enjoyed a lecture by Rabbi Leonid Feldman, who talked about his life in Russia and the difficulties he'd encountered trying to leave.

"It made me realize that other Jews have had a difficult time, and that we are very fortunate," Zach observed.

He also thought learning for a whole weekend--not just a few hours twice a week--was great and that learning together as a family was really nice.

Scott was proud of both Zach's and Alexandra's enthusiastic response to Rabbi Feldman's lecture. "They weren't around when we marched for Soviet Jewry," he noted. "Rabbi Feldman gave them a first-person insight into an important part of Jewish history."

The family also loved 'Storah Telling and the exposure to different kinds of Jewish music.

Jennifer was delighted with the opportunity to reconnect with Deborah Lipstadt, whom she'd met before, and to meet and talk with Daniel Gordis and JJ Goldberg.

"Most of all," she observed, " I enjoyed seeing the kids connecting with each other and with other kids in a venue that isn't synagogue based. Limmud provides a different avenue for Jewish awareness and opens up new avenues of being Jewish."

At Limmud NY, Jonathan discovered "the sense of community I'd been seeking. The LGBT program was terrific, and the arts programming really spoke to me." At one of the arts sessions, Jonathan made mezuzot. "Every time I glued a bead onto the test tube, I felt connected to God," he said. When he got home, he put the mezuzot on his apartment doors.

Before attending Limmud NY, Jonathan had never considered visiting Israel, but in August, he traveled to Israel on a UJC Mission for Gay and Lesbian Jews--and not only as a participant. He was involved in promotion and recruitment for the mission, and as the mission's artist-in-residence, did watercolor sketches to document the experience.

"A whole new world opened up for me in Israel," Jonathan said. "It's so beautiful and varied. As a designer, I found it inspiring: so many communities being built, the contrasts of ancient and modern, the diversity of people, of landscape, of architecture and design. I can't wait to go back."

"Now I feel totally connected and centered," he says. "Limmud NY has played a role in transforming my life."

Limmud NY is a volunteer-run organization. It is supported by UJA-Federation of NY through a grant from the Picower Foundation and by numerous foundations and individuals.