Course information
Who gets to build Jewish life? In 1973, The Jewish Catalog answered: you do. Fifty years later, ordinary people continue to create Jewish life and culture in addition to the mainstream official communities. This mini-course traces the movements that followed the advent of The Jewish Catalog, from the havurah and DIY ritual culture that emerged from the Catalog’s editors and readers, to the Coalition for Alternatives in Jewish Education which inspired the founders of Limmud (which has been called the jewel in the crown of UK Jewry) which has now spread across continental Europe. We will then look at the independent minyanim, activist hubs, and creative Jewish projects that are emerging in Poland, Hungary, the Netherlands, Germany….and just about anywhere that three Jews with four different opinions live. Together we will discuss how these projects began, what has made them last or–sometimes fail–,and what this can teach us about building something new in our own communities.
About the Teacher
TBD