Our History
Limmud began in the UK as a small gathering for Jewish educators and has since grown into a world-renowned cross-communal festival, a year-round leadership development engine and a global network of volunteer-led Jewish learning.
The first Limmud Conference took place in 1980 at Carmel College in Oxfordshire, welcoming around 85 participants. The conference was the brainchild of several key contributors, notably Rabbi Mickey Rosen, Michael May, Jonathan Benjamin, Alistair Falk and Clive Lawton. From the outset it was shaped by a mix of educators and volunteers, and drew inspiration in part from the North American CAJE conference. Families were part of the design early on, with childcare and programming that made it possible for participation across all ages.
Origins (1980)
The first Limmud Conference took place in 1980 at Carmel College in Oxfordshire, welcoming around 85 participants. The conference was the brainchild of several key contributors, notably Rabbi Mickey Rosen, Michael May, Jonathan Benjamin, Alistair Falk and Clive Lawton. From the outset it was shaped by a mix of educators and volunteers, and drew inspiration in part from the North American CAJE conference. Families were part of the design early on, with childcare and programming that made it possible for participation across all ages.
Building a model (early years)
Limmud set out to be proudly cross-communal: a space where different parts of the UK’s Jewish community could share ideas, teachings and perspectives. Youth volunteering quickly became a hallmark too, giving young people meaningful responsibility and helping to develop new community leaders.
Growth and new venues (late 1980s-1990s)
After Carmel College hosted the conference in 1981 and 1982 (with a cancellation in 1983), Limmud continued in Portsmouth in 1984 and 1985, and then moved to Oxford Polytechnic (now Oxford Brookes University) from 1986 to 1994. During the 1990s, Limmud grew from a retreat style gathering into a major community event, rising from about 300 participants in 1991 to around 1,800 by 1999, hosted across venues including Worcester University, UMIST and later Nottingham University (1988-2006).
New formats and wider reach (1990s-2000s)
Alongside the annual conference, Limmud expanded its reach. In 1993, the first one-day regional Limmud was held in Leeds, followed by a growing calendar of local events. From 1996, themed Chavruta materials supported self-led study. New event formats also emerged, including Family Cap (launched in 1999) and LimmudFest (from 2004), while international activity gathered momentum through the late 1990s and accelerated in the 2000s.
Evolution (2006-present)
Limmud International supported global learning and leadership development, including Training-on-Tour (2014-2016) in cities such as Berlin, Buenos Aires and Sydney. In 2016, Limmud was awarded the Jerusalem Unity Prize for contribution to Jewish life, presented by Israeli President Rivlin.
A significant moment came with the appointment of Limmud’s first full-time Executive Director, Raymond Simonson (2006). By 2008, 7,000 people attended Limmud events in the UK and 25,000 internationally. The main conference moved to Warwick University (2007-2015), then relocated to Birmingham from 2015, welcoming a record 2,700+ participants.
In 2017, Limmud Conference was re-branded as Limmud Festival. the 2020 and 2021 festivals ran online, returning in-person in 2022 with growing onsite and online participation. Following a structural review in 2020, global Limmud communities were supported by regional entities, or run independently, rather than centrally by the UK charity.
Limmud continues to grow, with renewed focus on its three pillars: learning, leadership and connections & community.
The Limmud Archive
The Limmud Archive is now accessible through a catalogue and digitized resources. Alongside the archive, a series of oral history interviews, conducted by Lindsey Taylor-Guthartz, of key individuals from Limmud’s history, can also be accessed.
The archive contains as much of the official records of Limmud that has survived since its creation in 1980, with additional deposits from those involved in Limmud’s development and continued existence. Through a succession of hands, from the founders to the present professional team, the records have now been catalogued by a professional archivist. The records themselves, consisting of paper records, photographs, ephemera, VHS tapes, audio cassettes and discs, have now been safely deposited with The London Archives, where they will soon be available for viewing in its reading room.
Much of the archive has been digitsed, including many prorammes and handbooks from Limmud Conference/ Festival, regional events and others. Other digitised material includes photographs and videos. These can be viewed via the catalogue. Visit the Limmud Archive