Limmud Toronto 2016

The CBC documentary "A Universal Language" is an example of an Israel project that was able to inspire the hearts and minds of Canadians to view Israel in a more positive light, with many of the participants on the trip having never seen any media or film about Israel outside of a news context. Positive earned media, through print or film, is paramount in the difficult task of promoting Israel to the general public. A Universal Language documents the exciting once-in-a-lifetime journey of six Canadian comedians, Canadian comedy icon Mark Breslin among them, as they explore comedy, identity, and history throughout the Holy Land and beyond.

Why is it that people recognize human rights violations against their own people but fail to see when they are the purveyors of prejudice, stereotypes and even hatred against others? With the increased use of propaganda techniques, heightened rhetoric and the politics of fear, how can and should we bring some of the factions in our community together to find common ground...for Israel's sake and for the sake of our future generations of Jewish leadership in Canada?

As the State of Israel seeks to boost its public image, and boost tourist dollars, one way it has done so has been to highlight its excellent record on LGBT equality.  Israel’s critics, however, call this “pinkwashing” – the attempt to whitewash/pinkwash Israel’s occupation of the West Bank by depicting Israel as a liberal democracy.  The battle has grown fierce, leading to boycotts and denunciations from right and left.  Which side is right?  What are the facts and the values at issue, and what do they say about how all of us – left, right, gay, straight, Zionist, anti-Zionist – formulate our political allegiances and solidarities?

This session will be a brief survey of a broad range of leading Israel thinkers with diverse perspectives on some key issues affecting Israel today. The thinkers will come from a range of disciplines - politics, religion, literature, economics, law, science and technology - and include right and left, religious and secular, Jews and Arabs. We will look at examples from their writing and explore the common ground - with a view to a more nuanced understanding of current Israeli outlooks.

We all say the Shm'a and ponder the meaning of God. But do we ask about the meaning of "one"? From before Plato through to John Conway, the question of one means by "one". I wish to look at this through a Jewish lens, trying to see what these various ideas of "one" do to our Jewish understandings of one and of God. As no one seems to have tackled this before I expect the discussion to be quite freewheeling. 

In 2008, Adam Hummel was a participant on a peacebuilding project to Kenya, a few months following that country's worst civil war. While, strangely enough, being shown how to pick tea in one of Kenya's numerous tea-fields, Adam was asked by a local girl: "Do you know what the parsha is this week?" Stunned, Adam began to ask questions and discovered a group of Kenyans who, once they had discovered Adam's faith, wanted to know everything they could about Judaism. That experience, coupled with the little known Zionist history found in Kenya, gave Adam the unique opportunity to explore his own Judaism and Jewish identity in a place where he least expected it. These experiences took place over four visits that Adam made to Kenya between 2008 and 2012, during which time he helped found the peacebuilding project "Youth Ambassadors for Peace." In his presentation, Adam will share these Jewish experiences, mixed with a little bit of Zionist history, in an effort to show how one's Judaism can both inspire, and be inspired, almost anywhere in the world.

Ken Burns, Emmy Award winning documentary film maker, said this about PORTRAITS IN FAITH:  "I was­­, we were (as several folks in the office crowded 'round)­­completely blown away. By its power and dignity, its implicit compassion and yet unblinking eye. What a wonderful project and I only wish I hadn't been on the road for the last three and a half months because I would have been able to see this amazing project sooner."

For eleven years, Daniel Epstein, a Marketing Director at one of the world’s largest corporations, Procter & Gamble, has been traveling the world for business and for faith. Motivated by his own search to fill the "God­sized hole" in his life, he did not know where it would lead. He felt that if he did not develop some type of spiritual faith he would die. Born and raised a Jew, Daniel’s challenges with relationships, work, and "life" forced him at age 36 to pray to a God he did not know, a higher power not specific to either his own Judaism or any religion, and ask for help. In order to keep his new found sense of faith alive and to gain from the experience of others, Daniel created a spiritual exercise out of interviewing people around the world about the role of faith in their lives. As a photographer, Daniel also captured a moment with each person in a black and white portrait meant to evoke their true spirit.   What emerged is the world’s most extensive oral history / testimony project conducted by one person on the subject of faith. Daniel has interviewed and made portraits of 450 people from 27 countries representing well over 50 religions, denominations, and spiritual followings. 

Portraits in Faith is not about religion. It is about documenting the role of spiritual experience inside and outside of formal religion, expected and unexpected, told in people’s own words, and brought to life with video and photography. The message of Portraits In Faith is that despite all the negative press on faith in the world today, faith is a powerful healer, transformer, and changer of lives. The overriding message is that however one calls God (Jesus, Buddha, Allah, Higher Power, The Divine, Creative Intelligence, etc.) there is a greater force that connects us all and it is good for each person to find a path that leads to a faith that works for them. As someone who identifies as Jewish and who has a strong day school/youth group/ Israel/Jewish community background, Daniel helps audiences reflect on their own spiritual journey especially as Jews. Faith and spiritual journeys are not often spoke about in Judaism and Daniel believes this is a deficit that needs to change. Or said in the language of Judaism, we need to decrease the time and space between Naaseh and Nishma!

Please see this video about the project: http://portraitsinfaith.org/about/intro­video/

Throughout history, the Jewish people have confronted many grave challenges. In each instance, the Jewish response has been wildly inventive, versatile and robust. In response to each challenge, Jewish practice, belief and sense of self and nation were utterly transformed. And yet, Jewish tradition perceives itself as a continuous, uninterrupted chain extending back to Abraham and Moses.

Though Jewish people continue to honour and venerate Moses, their tablet of choice today is an iPad. The present moment in Jewish history is one of tremendous challenge and change. The crisis is profound. The radical break has broken. And most importantly, the remake is live, wireless and extraordinary.