Limmud, or “learning” in Hebrew, is back in Winnipeg for its 8^th year!  We invite you to join us on the Asper Campus for an inspiring weekend of Jewish learning, culture, and community. Participants of all ages and affiliations will be able to choose from 40+ sessions offered by leading local and international Jewish thinkers, artists and educators. Children’s programming will also be offered in the form of Camp Limmud, sessions for kids.

“Limmud is an opportunity to expose Jewish topics and presenters, artists and thinkers, in an accessible, fun, exuberant style. I hope everyone will come and have as much trouble choosing which session to attend as I do!” Judi Shuster, Limmud Co-Chair.

The Limmud concept was started in the UK in 1980 and is now a world-wide movement intent on engaging communities in Jewish thought and learning. Limmud is an ambitious and passionate organization that has garnered a global reputation for creating dynamic events where Jews of all ages, backgrounds and experiences come together for thought provoking and engaging programs and activities. Events feature all educational styles including lectures, art and cooking workshops, text-study, film, meditation, and discussions.

Contact: Florencia Katz, Limmud Coordinator, at [email protected], 204-480-7559

International Presenters:

Micah Buck Yael: Sacred Language for Diversity and Inclusivity & Gender Diversity in Jewish Text

Rabbi Micah Buck-Yael serves as coordinator of community chaplaincy with the Jewish Family & Children’s Service in St. Louis, Missouri. He serves the Jewish needs of a wide and diverse population, and works as an advocate and educator on issues of LGBT justice. Originally from Washington, DC, Micah earned a BA in Jewish, Islamic, and Near Eastern Studies at Washington University. He graduated from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York with Rabbinic Ordination, an MA in Talmud and Rabbinic Literature, and a Certificate in Pastoral Care and Counseling. He lives in University City with his wife Aviva and their children Naftali, Yeshara, Elior, and Leora. 

Adir Krafman: Exploring Bias: “Fake News” and the Media

Adir is currently the Manager of Communications and Media Relations for The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA). Adir is originally from Hadera, Israel, and is passionate about communications, the Jewish community, and all things Google. He is an alumnus of the University of Toronto, where he founded the local Israel on Campus Club while pursuing an Honours Bachelor of Science in International Relations and Computer Science. Adir enjoys travelling, playing piano, and the occasional Chavruta.

Katka Reszke: Return of the Jew & The Meshugene Effect

Katka Reszke is a Polish-born, U.S.-based writer, documentary filmmaker, photographer, performer and researcher in Jewish identities. She is author of Return of the Jew: Identity Narratives of the Third Post-Holocaust Generation of Jews in Poland. Katka holds a Doctorate in Jewish Education from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and is a visiting scholar at the Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education at Brandeis University, as well as a Research Associate at the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute. She lectures on various aspects of the Polish Jewish experience at educational and cultural venues across the globe.

As a writer and filmmaker, Reszke specializes in Polish-Jewish history and relations, as well as

human rights, social justice, minority and gender issues. Katka’s documentary films include

Shimon’s Returns (2014) and Coming Out Polish Style (2011). She also served as chief screenwriter and co-editor of the acclaimed partially animated film Karski & The Lords of Humanity (2015).

Katka is also one of the co-creators and performers of We Keep Coming Back - a Canadian-Polish theater performance. Her current research-creation project in the form of a book and experimental documentary film is entitled The Meshugene Effect.

Michael Rubenfeld: From Winnipeg to Poland: A Winnipegger’s Journey Back to Poland

is a performance maker, cultural producer, playwright and actor originally from Winnipeg, now residing in Toronto and Poland. He is a Dora Award-nominated performer and playwright. Michael served as Artistic Producer of the SummerWorks Performance Festival from 2008 - 2016 where he helped present and produce over 300 new productions. From 2015 - present, Michael has been the developing producer for Counting Sheep, an Immersive Guerrilla Folk Opera about the 2014 Maidan Revolution in Ukraine. He has brought this work around the world, including recently to New York and California. In 2017, in partnership with the Canada Council for the Arts, Michael initiated a new venue called CanadaHub at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, bringing 6 projects from across Canada. In 2017, he co-founded an alternative Jewish Art Festival in Krakow, Poland called Festivalt - a multi-arts programme with a focus on investigating the complex contemporary Polish-Jewish landscape. Michael is a prolific actor having performed onstage across Canada, the U.S. and Europe, including several performances at the Winnipeg Jewish Theatre. He has been called “one of Toronto’s most interesting men of the theatre” by the Globe and Mail’s Paula Citron and is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada.

Peninnah Schram: Jewish Stories One Generation Tells Another & What’s in a Name? A Storytelling Workshop on Names

Peninnah Schram is an internationally known storyteller, teacher, author, and recording artist, as well as Professor Emerita of Speech and Drama at Stern College of Yeshiva University. She travels across the U.S. and other countries presenting storytelling programs and workshops for all ages, and is also a scholar/storyteller-in residence.

Peninnah is the author of thirteen books of Jewish folktales, including Jewish Stories One Generation Tells Another and Stories within Stories: From the Jewish Oral Tradition. Her illustrated book, The Apple Tree’s Discovery, is co-authored with Rachayl Eckstein Davis. Peninnah’s latest book, Jewish Stories of Love and Marriage: Folktales, Legends and Letters, (co-authored with Sandy Eisenberg Sasso), was published in 2015. She has also recorded a CD, The Minstrel and the Storyteller, with singer/guitarist Gerard Edery.