![[FILE PHOTO] About 500 people attended the first full-weekend Limmud FSU gathering in the United States since before Covid, at a site in suburban New Jersey, May 2022.](https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/q_auto/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_720,w_1280/506534 "[FILE PHOTO] About 500 people attended the first full-weekend Limmud FSU gathering in the United States since before Covid, at a site in suburban New Jersey, May 2022.")
Limmud LA will return to Los Angeles over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend in January 2027, offering more than 100 sessions covering Jewish religion, culture, history and contemporary life, Limmud North America announced.
The festival will run from January 16 through January 18, beginning with a Saturday night celebration followed by two full days of programming on Sunday and Monday. Organizers said they expect more than 1,000 participants from across the Los Angeles area.
Limmud LA has also opened a call for presenters, inviting members of the public to propose sessions on subjects including Torah, Jewish history, comedy, cooking, music and other areas of Jewish interest.
Every participant can be both a student and a teacher
The Limmud model is based on the principle that every participant can be both a student and a teacher, allowing community members and established experts to lead sessions alongside one another.
Proposals can be submitted through the Limmud LA website. Presenters selected for the festival are expected to be announced in the fall, when participant registration will also open.
![[FILE PHOTO] Children at Limmud FSU's New Jersey conference get into the Zionist bubble, May 2022.](https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_537,w_822/506533)
Festival to honor Alex Shwarzstein
The 2027 festival will be presented by Meyer Shwarzstein and Susan Kahn in memory of their daughter, Alex Shwarzstein, a longtime Jewish community volunteer and former co-chair of Limmud NY.
Shwarzstein was also involved in developing Limmud communities in New York and the San Francisco Bay Area. She described Limmud as “a unique and open space that is truly pluralistic,” according to organizers.
“It is a rare and beautiful thing to see teenagers, parents and grandparents all engaging and sharing ideas side by side,” Meyer Shwarzstein said.
Opportunities for people from different backgrounds to exchange ideas
Organizers said the festival would seek to continue her commitment to pluralistic Jewish learning and to creating opportunities for people from different generations and backgrounds to exchange ideas.
Rabbi David Singer, CEO of Limmud North America, said such spaces were especially important at a time of growing division within Jewish communities.
“The Jewish world needs more places where people with different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives can come together with curiosity, humility and a genuine desire to learn from one another,” Singer said.
“That’s what Limmud does, and that’s what makes Limmud LA such an exciting moment – not only for Los Angeles, but for Jewish life across North America.”
Major sponsors of the festival include the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, the Alex Shwarzstein Foundation, the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles and Jewish National Fund-USA.
Community partners include Hillel at UCLA and BJE: Builders of Jewish Education, along with other Jewish organizations in the Los Angeles area.
Organizers are also accepting inquiries from additional sponsors and community partners ahead of the festival. Registration and further program information are expected to be released in the fall.