In my free time I enjoy music a lot – I attend hip-hop dance
classes and am constantly searching for new music to listen to. Karaoke is
definitely a fun time when I’m around too.
I have also been heavily involved in the Jewish community
since the end of high school. I have been involved with AUJS, Masada College,
CSG, and Beit Midrash Minyan. And now, of course, Yom Limmud Sydney.
This is my first time volunteering for Yom Limmud Sydney,
and I certainly have no regrets. I have always believed heavily in the merit
and ethos of the program, and hope to bring it the attention it deserves.
The key strength of Limmud taps into one of the fundamental
cultural tenets of what it means to be Jewish - a strong focus and engagement
with critical thought. The reason I say critical thought over education as a
whole, is that in today’s world across many societies, we see the importance of
education being promoted, and by all means this should be the
case. However, there still appears to be a struggle with many societies
to gain comfort with the notion of challenging ideas in a sophisticated manner.
Jews, on the other hand, tend to embrace the idea of
critical thought. On a historical basis, one of the primary sources of Jewish
thought and law, the Talmud, is composed almost entirely of argument. At the
seder table, the most well known stages of the night are the 4 questions,
challenging the festival pre-emptively; and the four sons, reflecting on the
levels of questions that one may ask. More recently, we see this Talmudic style
need to question the specifics of ideas and norms through the popular sitcoms
Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm. The yiddish term ‘chutzpah’, which is very
heavily associated with Jewish culture, reflects the audacity to question.
It is this strength and underpinning that I look forward to
chairing Sydney’s Limmud program this year. I strongly believe that through its
ability to encourage critical thought, and the product of critical thought - innovation,
from the Jewish community, this program is always able to offer something new.
This year’s program will be no different in that respect.
What will be new are the ideas themselves. I know that myself and those who are
already involved have plenty of great ideas. However, new ideas are much more likely
to come from more people. The flexibility of Limmud means that there are
endless possibilities to innovate how the Sydney community engages with their
Jewish identity, and we want to hear what your thoughts and ideas are! If you
feel that you have any ideas or thoughts on what you want our Limmud program
this year to be, please contact me at cdshulman@gmail.com.
***
Yom Limmud Sydney- Experience New Jewish Ideas
Book Now: 3 July 2016
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Limmud is a not-for-profit, volunteer based event supported by the Shalom Institute.
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