Published:
Dec. 03, 2011
Source: Berman Jewish Policy Archive
Limmud, a Jewish education initiative, has grown from a small UK-based conference for 80 participants, to an international movement comprising annual events in more than 50 locations world-wide, reaching over 30,000 individuals per year. Until now, there has not been an attempt at a rigorous comparison across the different national Limmud groups to gain an understanding of the impact of participation. Topics covered by this survey include: Jewish identity, Jewish involvement, the Limmud experience, and impact of the program.
Methodology:
- More than 3,000 respondents from 49 Limmud locations around the world answered an internet survey.
- Survey included demographic and personal details; exposure to and engagement with, Limmud; personal and community Jewish journeys.
- Survey was developed collaboratively
- Survey was translated from English into key languages to ensure maximum response: Hebrew, Russian, French and Spanish. Volunteers from the Limmud International community undertook this task.
From the Executive Summary:
- At least 60% in all country groupings have been to a non-Limmud Jewish learning event since attending a Limmud group event.
- Up to 24% of all respondents have set up a new Jewish initiative, group or organisation since first participating in Limmud.
- Learning is cited as the primary motivation for attending Limmud, more than for social reasons.
- The vast majority of all respondents is very satisfied with their Limmud experience and are very likely to recommend it.
- The majority of Limmudniks state that Limmud has had a positive impact on their lives, particularly in the areas of Jewish learning, sense of Jewish identity and connection to other Jews.
- Many respondents acknowledged the importance of Limmud as a way of connecting to the global Jewish world.
- Many respondents acknowledged the importance of Limmud events as nondenominational and greatly diverse.