By Yael Assor Director of Tav Chevrati (Social Seal) project, BeMa'aglei Tzedek. Thanks to an ROI Micro Grant Yael attended the 2013 Limmud Conference in NY.

This was the first time I have attended a Limmud conference. I have heard so much about it, but never had the chance to attend this special festivity of Jewish pluralism.  When I understood ROI supports partaking in Limmud NY, it seemed like the opportunity I was waiting for. Now, after returning from my wonderful, intelligent and well organized Limmud experience, I would like to express my thanks to ROI for allowing me to go under this experience and share with you three short insights and anecdotes that capture what Limmud NY was like for me- an Israeli secular woman, working for an NGO promoting social justice:

1. "New interpretation about Adon Olam through yoga"- This session name was a very good joke told by the comics' artist Eli Valley regarding the variety of sessions one would be able to find in Limmud. It was told during his session about Jewish comics- a nontraditional topic itself. Such are many topics of conversation in Limmud: an entwinement of Jewish identity to all different aspects of life, thought and culture. This is something new to me, as usually I attend conferences focusing on social justice, Judaism and activism. At first, I thought I would go to sessions on these topics in this conference as well. But then I've heard one of the organizers urging people to attend sessions they wouldn't usually go to, and I thought- "well, let's give it a shot!." From a session on soviet Russia's Jews, to a music session to that one about the comics, I discovered a truly wide range of Jewish engagement which I didn't have the chance to deploy with so far. If there's one lesson I'm taking with me from Limmud NY, then, it would be to encourage myself to explore the less trivial options of what Jewish identity is all about.
    
2. I didn't really know that American Jewry were that much involved with advocacy for Russian Jews during the soviet period! This is just an esoteric example of things I didn't know about American Jewry before Limmud NY.  Coming from an outsider's point of view to  a Jewish American conference gave me a unique experience of getting to know   American Jewry's hot discussions (such as interfaith marriage) and common histories (such as the fight for soviet Jews). I am grateful for this opportunity. As my work highly involves engagement with Jewish Americans (I currently have two Jewish Americans on my staff!), I now have a better understanding of the context for the lives of my Jewish American colleagues.
    
3. What it means to be an ROIer- sometime throughout the first day of Limmud NY Jen Keys of ROI staff approached me. After some hellos and chit-chat, Jen gave me an ROI pin and asked me to wear it on my name tag. This pin was just a small sign of the impressive presence of ROI through Limmud NY. During the first day, some people have asked me about that pin, and then about ROI and what it means to be a part of this network. While talking to them and hearing their impressed reactions, I had a deeper understanding of what it means to belong to ROI's extensive and intensive network of people: it's truly not just about getting the opportunity to do amazing things, but mostly about doing them together, as part of a community.  I'm proud to be a part of such a community!