A circle of dancers gently turn to the sounds of Shir LeShalom, the Song of Peace.
For one of them, it is a song that would have had particular resonance at the end of has been “a crazy year”.
Just a few days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in spring, Aviva Rozenwald and her husband left Moscow and took a flight to Israel.
“A month before the war started, I felt we should leave because nothing good was going to happen,” she said. But she acknowledged, “I didn’t imagine there was going to be a war.”
Her move to Israel was actually a homecoming because she was born there, to Russian-speaking parents who had emigrated from the USSR. At the age of 10, the family moved to Moscow for economic reasons as Russia was developing and life getting better.
She, now 28, and her husband both had good jobs with British companies but as the political climate changed, they began to have misgivings. “I realised I didn’t want to live the country without knowing whether I would be able to have contact with the global world,” she said. “I felt much more Israeli at that point.”
And 10 days after Russia attacked Ukraine, she and her husband left with suitcase in hand. “It was hard to leave Moscow, we loved the city so much.”
Her appearance at Limmud arose through an invitation by the Israeli Dance Institute’s Maurice Stone to help teach there - last month she went to Kishinev in Moldova to teach Israeli dance to young Jews not only from there but also from Ukraine.
A visitor to the Limmud festival three years ago, she was, like others, “concerned whether it would have the same atmosphere and energy” after the pandemic interlude.
“I heard it was going to be smaller and I thought maybe few people would come to dance sessions. But we had different crowds to all our sessions,” she said.
“I met a lot of interesting people from different countries and backgrounds.The main thing is you get to meet people you won’t get the opportunity to meet in other circumstances.”
Another guest from abroad, Lisette van Lieshout, chair of Limmud Netherlands from Amsterdam, was “positively impressed” with the event. “I was afraid that only young people would show up and elderly participants would say ‘No, thank you’. But it’s still the same mix of everybody.”
After two years online, Limmud Netherlands will be staqing its own in-person event in April - part of an initiative to encourage Limmud in Europe, which receives financial support from the European Union as long as five speakers from other countries are invited. Even though English is often the common language at Euro-Limmuds, the EU, however, will no longer pay for presenters from the UK - because of Brexit.
Cindy, a first-time attender from New Jersey, found Limmud "quite an amazing place where so many interesting topics are discussed in a welcoming environment. Even though I might not agree personally with some of the opinions or attitudes of the talks, I have benefitted from an atmosphere of openness and acceptance.”
Harry Brown, 18, another first time attender from closer to home - Manchester, said "he didn’t know what to expect, but it’s been pretty fun. I think the social aspect appeals to me more than the kind of academic sessions. It’s like one-long Jewish meet and greet. Which I think is great for people of all ages.”
Chava Stone, who had been to Limmud five years but was now volunteering for the first time as the event's resident artist, said Limmud had been "a great opportunity to network with people who you might never have met otherwise. The event provides a fantastic space to find my voice and artistic medium, and get inspired too. I’ve been able to network with like-minded creative people who are in similar situations and positions in life."
