Statistically speaking, there are about 14 million Jews worldwide. This includes Canada, where the Jewish population is approximately 400,000. Through diligent work, local communities established a large number of Jewish schools and yeshivas in major cities, and there are around 80 synagogues in Toronto alone. It is a well-known fact that the number of Jewish immigrants to Canada increased considerably over the past decade, primarily through immigration from CIS countries, Eastern Europe and the immigration of Israelis themselves, which currently stands at 25%.
Even after leaving one’s familiar surroundings, perhaps for many generations to come, and moving to Canada—the country of lakes and forests, clean air and open spaces—we must not forget our Jewish roots. To increase participation in the tradition of Jewish learning a volunteer project by the name of Limmud was established in Nottingham, Great Britain, in 1978. The first conference convened merely 40 participants who came together for a few days to socialize with like-minded people and exchange knowledge in a variety of areas. After receiving an enthusiastic response, the project became widely popular with Jewish communities around the world and increased in scale over the years.
Currently, Limmud is a project that spans over 40 countries worldwide. In 2014, a conference took place in Toronto, and there are plans to introduce the project to Australia in the nearest future. Traditionally, the conferences are organized by Jewish-Russian volunteers interested in learning about their culture and in strengthening their ties with the Jewish community and with Israel. The Limmud program is open to and brings together people of all ages, degrees of religiosity, or their level of engagement with the Jewish community, by providing a broad spectrum of relevant topics for discussion and exchange.
“Every place that has Jews should have its own Limmud”, – The Jerusalem Post, 2000.