Limmud Ho letto sul blog di Uriel
una serie di post interessanti a proposito delle trasformazioni del commercio in Italia - la scomparsa, o crisi, dei
negozietti , la crescita dei centri commerciali ecc. ecc. No, non voglio parlare di questo argomento, ma solo avanzare un paio di riflessioni su quella esperienza esaltante dell'ebraismo europeo, che si chiama
Limmud , and which 'in all the countries of the world, or almost - except in Italy. So this post is' addressed to Jewish readers, hoping not to annoy others.
How-ever Comunita' PIU'-old-of-Diaspora and 'free from this experience? In three or four (many Italians were present) we made this demand. And it '
clear that this is not a question of money : Limmud is cheap, and' based on voluntary work, prestigious speakers,
intellectuals, artists
etc.. etc.. participating (in the link there is' a partial list at this year) are not paid in any way, except for a few skimpy exhibition space. Why ' they do, then?
for market reasons. I know it 'a metaphor little respect, but' inspired by a teaching of Rabbi Di Segni - unfortunately I can not find it online-which he likened the situation to the Italian American. In the U.S., said the signs of winking at the eternal anti-Americanism, if you do not like that this synagogue or rabbi, you can easily choose another, while in Italy and 'more' or less forced to stay where you are . E ' the market that exists in the U.S., Di Segni said. And I remember thinking - "while in Italy the industry pulls ahead thanks to a monopoly guaranteed by the State."
'cause in fact Limmud has several features in common with the malls. They hold different services simultaneously - Reform, Masorti, Orthodox. Each could be compared to a showcase of his movement, and in fact people who have never entered a synagogue (say) Masorti, have the opportunity to 'tell the tefilla' in this unusual (for them) way, and how and '. After meeting with the author that you will be 'like, maybe, to read his book. Or sign up for courses and seminars held here or there '. Not to mention most of the organizations 'strictly political or voluntary, who will present their activities' and come with brochures and leaflets.
Malls sono delle specie di bolle spazio-temporali avulsi dal contesto circostante? Limmud, con il suo ritmo intenso e lo spazio che occupa (un campus universitario, per una settimana) e' una bolla , in cui tempo e spazio della presenza ebraica sono diversi rispetto a quelli della citta' circostante. Io, per esempio, in una giornata tipo, studiavo nella yeshiva tre ore al mattino, e dopo pranzo riuscivo a seguire tre lezioni, o incontri, e a sera decidevo tra un concerto e un film, per poi andare a una lezione notturna e rientrare in camera piu' o meno alle undici. C'erano altri concerti ed altra roba che andava avanti fino all'una e mezza, e poi comunque la lounge rimaneva aperta, e si sono tenute jam session memorabili. Posso permettermi these rhythms out of Limmud? No. Why 'to the Limmud could I do? 'Cause, just like in most shopping malls' competitive, there was a babysitting service, until half past eleven. Free and provided by volunteers.
Then ', Rabbi Di Segni, and this ' the market, and provides services that can not be found in the traditional shop, shop in the presence of Italian Jews. Why 'CODEST and' organized by one, and only one, comunita'-rooted-in-land, where the market and 'guaranteed by the state monopoly. Instead of crowds flock to Limmud scholars and intellectuals and rabbanim and teachers and artists and audience (2400 people, the latest edition), all of them Jews, or potentially interested in becoming customers of the same item selling rabbis. And some of them, even rabbis: the likes of Francis Nataf and Shlomo Riskin, to remain in Orthodoxy. That the goods, so to speak ', they sell. It seems disrespectful to the comparison? Then we say they are more 'than two thousand people, willing, even in these times, to pay a few hundred pounds to spend the week between 24 and 30 December in a place where you study Jewish texts, we see film of Jewish topic There are exhibits of Jewish art and is particularly shmoozeggia (= cazzeggiano among Jews, say) in an intensive way. I saw more 'or less a fifteen people who thought I had lost sight of.
There was someone with the genetic makeup is not right? Probably yes', as one of the speakers there were also some Muslim theologians and evangelical pastor, a Palestinian journalist and a shark that John Ging, the Gaza director of UNRWA. All the sessions were to take 'cause they thought they had something to say to a Jewish audience. And so 'and' state. I had some reservations as to having invited Ging, but the audience appreciated, and that professional liar, his face ashen, his eyes trying to avoid one of the interlocutors, has stuttered for the first time and that he 'opposed the boycott Economic Israel. A point scored in favor of Israel, in my opinion .
Who pays for all this? As mentioned above, forget about salaries. But there are still costs, and there are a couple of UK
Limmud foundations involved in supporting them, along with
local Jewish organizations. And here, perhaps, there is' the real problem for Italy. 'Cause a hypothetical Limmud Italy, would oblige the UCEI to work with reality' that are not Orthodox Jewish. This' status Limmud: discrimination is not allowed, otherwise you forget the economic support and the use of the mark. And you know that risk, that of collaboration.
Just to clarify: a Limmud UK public space and 'orthodox. There 's the eruv for Shabbat, the food and' only kosher (and of good quality ', lately), the common areas of Shabbat, we can not use musical instruments and even the toilets are rabbinic controlled: no electricity paper, already 'ready before Shabbat. This is because 'in line with an ancient Jewish tradition, the organizers were able to find a compromise - in the public space you try to respect everyone, in a private space does what it wants. And that 'the rule then in various Italian Jewish institutions, nursing homes, for example. But everyone has the right to speak. And I think this is a problem, in Italy.
When you subscribe to Limmud, you can tick the box in which you say you want to keep the sessions - and then explain that you want to hold sessions. Most likely, your session will be 'accepted, and you can teach your favorite subject. Do not we're in a session? It can do two or even three. Again, take a look at the site
to get an idea of \u200b\u200bthe incredible variety 'of arguments. Introduction to Hebrew calligraphy, discussion on A Serious Man, the Coen brothers film, discussion on American Pastoral, Philip Roth's book, conference on kabbalistic influences on Bob Dylan, session on kashrut and ethics, study of texts on the two marriages of Jakoov, how to protect your children from pornography on the Internet, I met Bono, and Desmond Tutu, and I'm still alive, as the British government is taking us out of my head, I'll explain the sources of Martin Buber, What to expect teenagers and so on. etc.. And this is just the first couple of days and there 's a lot of other stuff.
Why 'this should be a problem in Italy? you ask. The answer is found mainly in the morning, in the study method that is used in the Beit Midrash and Limmud and 'then also spread to other sessions. It is called hevruta. I know that is not 'very popular in Italy, and whose summary can be found here, not randomly
a website designed and managed by women . In short, the text and 'removing the experts (clergy) and given to the public. Certainly, for centuries in the Jewish world and 'studied in this way, and still is studied so', irrespective of caste formation of a rabbinical training, which in some cases protect their access to the text, making it inaccessible (in Catholic countries, that looks strange example of assimilation). O scattered along the road of obstacles like this: I still know too little to understand. In certain circles, at least those that twenty years ago I attended in Italy, the "you know too soon" meant "you're not quite orthodox or observant."
Imagine the following two scenes. The first, quella che era familiare a me in Italia, consiste nel rabbino che apre il volume di Talmud, legge, traduce, chiede se ci sono domande, risponde a qualche domanda, magari c'e' un breve dibattito, l'ultima parola spetta a lui o ai soliti noti osservanti, e si passa alla frase successiva. Il rabbino, e solo lui, ha accesso ai commenti che sono stampati attorno al testo, da Rashi in poi, e solo lui sa quale pescare e dove. La seconda scena, invece, e' hevruta . E cioe' il rabbino, o chi per lui, fa una breve introduzione al testo. Tu ti trovi con il tuo compagno di studi, vi scornate con reciproche interpretazioni, e dopo un'ora, ci si ritrova intorno allo stesso tavolo ed il rabbino, o chi per lui, chiede: Cosa abbiamo imparato? Limmud ha portato questo metodo fuori dalle scuole rabbiniche, dove si e' usato per secoli, e lo ha applicato a una moltitudine di testi, dalla Bibbia, alla letteratura rabbinica, fino ai racconti di scrittori ebrei o testi di canzoni pop israeliane.
Sento gia' un brivido di terrore scorrere tra i lettori italiani. Ma allora
a cosa serve un rabbino , se tutti possono studiare? [Paura, vero? Ah, questi riformati, che non solo aboliscono la kasherut, e un altro campo professionale che viene a sparire... Tralascio questa ultima solenne scemenza - i soliti noti cercano di diffondere in maniera coordinata quanto la Armata Brancaleone: vedi
qui e
qui ]. The answer is not 'difficult, since the rabbinic literature and' boundless, a rabbi should be more 'or less be able to identify most of the texts' have to teach. Since Judaism should speak the text, and priests / scholars that make you fall from them, in fact, wisdom.
to grow the popularity 'of this method of study, which has little hierarchy and no inizaitico (as opposed to other approaches to the sacred texts), there are several factors, and I believe that they had no small part of the forum, blogs, and newsgroups, in short, all those places where the network peer communicates precisely, the amount 'of legitimate discourse e' inedita, e non esistono molti dei limiti di cui soffrono altre forme di comunicazione. Che e' un po' simile all'impatto dello E commerce sul commercio tradizionale, quello centrato attorno alla bottega. E che in Italia, dice Uriel, e' impopolare, visto -tra l'altro- la rendita di posizione di cui godono i commercianti.
Qui, per riprendere la metafora, Limmud e' parecchio diverso da un centro commerciale, dove uno accede ai beni a seconda di quanto puo' spendere. Invece a Limmud tutti possono studiare quel certo insieme di testi, raggruppati dagli organizzatori. Oppure, se non vanno quei testi, c'e' di fianco una yeshiva, che quest'anno offriva tre corsi, un paio su due capitoli of complicated Talmud (Sotah and from one another by Kiddushin) and one on the Psalms. In addition to the usual sessions, the usual panoply of issues, even where they 'method hevruta served as the master, unless they were introduced to yoga, meditation or visual art. etc.. etc..
I realize I have not mentioned another element of Limmud: namely, 'that will say 75 minutes each session, and all sections begin and end at the same time. So those who go to Limmud has to choose between two or three or four or five and so on. etc.. sessions held simultaneously .
This has caused me, at least the first time, The known effect of the child in a pastry shop, which would eat everything, and only with difficulty, and a vague sense of frustration, you have to make choices . If I go to the session on Modern Orthodoxy in America lose the conversation between Palestinian journalist and his colleague jew Tory. If I go to a concert by Debbie Friedman, I lose my meditation on colors. It 's like a mall? Or even, some would say anti-American obeying the usual reflex, as on the Internet? A huge window with no organic authenticity ', global sbroc sbroc stuff?
Can' be. But then the relationship with Judaism and 'case also did . Of teacher and not having met that guy. To be close to the synagogue and not that one. And so passes quickly the illusion of being able to control everything and be able to rationally decide where to go to those who hear. At first you feel soppraffatto come from too much stuff that happens at the same time and that can only be found in that part of the year and only them '. After a couple of days become Limmud zombie, you've re-met some friends, have the small hours, you slept three hours and stoically you wanted to wake up for the session of the seven, which was that meditation in the woods, and then you wanted to return to the yeshiva and so on. etc..
The blessed, or cursed, problem of relations with the Reform and 'short, the great obstacle to the creation of Limmud Italy - in my modest opinion, and after a brief conversation. Why 'should not be an obstacle and an opportunity', I really can not understand it. This site
found summarized in a schematic way, and with some references to support the multitude of approaches that Orthodox rabbis have developed against the community 'Reform and Massorti, who are the majority of the Jewish population in America, and beyond. In Italy the Orthodox rabbinate has chosen the path of closure, and I think it 'a suicidal decision, which, as explained by Shlomo Riskin, in a session hyper busy (and they were about 10.30 PM!) - Eventually raise opportunity 'to Orthodox rabbis themselves.
few words about England, eventually. The Chief Rabbi of England and 'Jonathan Sacks, who in Italy and' considered a hero, and which are little known, in Italy, some not so brave behaviors (such as withdrawing from the market just a book whose contents could be offensive to the zealots).
One of the criticisms made to it over 'and often' to avoid Limmud, although he attended when he was a teacher. Newly appointed Chief Rabbi had listed its priorities' with the question "Jews will have grandchildren?" and stressing the importance of education. La quantita' di giovani che partecipano a Limmud, facendo anche volontariato, sono una risposta alla sua domanda, e lui lo sa e ne va orgoglioso. Ma continua a starne lontano, per non offendere i settori piu' retrogradi dell'ebraismo inglese ortodosso, che vedono come il fumo negli occhi la possibilita' che una ragazza nata in famiglia ortodossa possa fidanzarsi, e magari sposare, qualcuno con un livello di osservanza minore. O un pedigree meno limpido.
La quale e' esattamente la principale preoccupazione che motiva la avversione dei rabbini ortodossi verso l'esistenza delle Comunita' Reform. Anche in Italia, pare di capire. Comunque l'anno prossimo magari terremo una sessione intitolate "del perche' you can not bring Limmud in Italy. "Who knows 'that comes out some answers to the question above.
do not know if Franco would remember me. Of course I remember him - a man with his eyes as a boy, that one evening a week for what was next to me was the port of entry, or exit from Milan. With a big bunch of anarchist journals, and a bag full of books. 
