Source: Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
The third FSU Limmud retreat in two years was held near Moscow revcently. Some 230 participants from Moscow attended the conference at a resort an hour outside the city. Organizers noted the conference was the first Limmud event conceived, organized and funded in large part on Russian soil.
This Limmud weekend conference followed a large annual Limmud conference attended by 700 participants in a Moscow suburb last October. However, this retreat more closely resembled the volunteer driven Jewish learning experience started in Britain 27 years ago as homegrown volunteerism and self-sustainability begin to develop.
Attendees at the Limmud retreat included many first-timers, who attended seminars on everything from Jewish fashion to the army and civil society in Israel. Social activities went on till the late hours of the night and a jazz concert was featured on Saturday night.
Successful in the Moscow area, Limmud now is spreading to elsewhere in the former Soviet Union. In October, a Limmud retreat will be held in the city of Yalta on Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. The Ukraine Limmud will be followed by a conference in Belarus dedicated entirely to Jewish art and cultural issues.