Limmud, SoCal style

What did you do for Valentine's Day? I spent it surrounded my 700 of my nearest and dearest loved ones, 699 of whom I didn't meet until Feb. 13. It was my first Limmud outside of Colorado, and I came back piping hot with new ideas (I stood in front of a fan to cool off) and with assorted impressions from the four-day event, which I will deliver unto you in an order that can only be described as random:

The Jews May Not Run Hollywood, But They Definitely Run Limmud: There's something to be said for being based in L.A. How else to explain the many committed, often fascinating Jews I met who also happened to be agents, screenwriters, and otherwise attached to the entertainment industry? Surely one of them must have been the reason we got to watch Matisyahu perform Saturday night. I mean, two weeks before I was driving by the Gothic in Englewood, seeing his name on the marquee and thinking, "I really should check him out." Instead, I got to watch him in a room of about 300 people, sitting on the floor 10 feet away from him and watching him seated, but shuckling, as he delivered truly soul-stirring mixtures of rap and hip-hop.

That entertainment industry connection also resulted in a stunning jam session that closed out Sunday night's event. Jazz musician Dave Koz, folksy Michele Citron (who can pull off a bit of hip hop herself), Evan of Evan and Jaron, bluesman Bernie Pearl, keyboardist Rami Jaffee and a fleet of others demonstrated the magic that can erupt from spontaneity.

Matisyahu

The One Person I Knew: Ran into Orley Denman, who comes from London and lives in NY but attended our inaugural Limmud Colorado last year. Having spent a total of three days with her a year ago, we picked up right where we left off. Haven't had that kind of instant friendship since summer camp/USY days!

Every Limmud Gets A Theme It Didn't Plan: No matter how randomly the presenters present themselves, themes start to emerge. In L.A., the theme seemed to be sex, although it was far from a pornographic presentation. Rather, there were sessions for teens called "Ask the Rabbi Anything. Really, Anything" and even a text study based in Genesis was called "The Love Triangle That Created Islam."

Starting At Full Speed: My first session set the mood for my entire weekend. I'm not the most faithful shul-goer, but I find Limmud can be, for me, a kind of spiritual tune-up. I didn't know who Saul Wachs was walking into his session; now I'll never forget the Gratz professor who talked about "Teaching Prayer: How Does One Make It Meaningful?" He wasn't just challenging or educational. He shared elements of his own life that pierced mine and plunged me right into the kind of emotional openness that can make Limmud such a life-altering experience.

It's Not All a Religious Revelation: A session examining Koranic treatments of Judaism threatened to devolve quickly into a right vs. left debacle as a pudgy 60-year-old man ranted, drowning out the esteemed presenter and nearly derailing the entire hour. Peace was restored, though, when a petite 75-year-old man, looking like a Berlin bookseller in 1925, stepped across the room and quietly said, "Sir, I came to hear the speaker, not you." I would have applauded but I was afraid to break the peace.

Important Lessons Have to Be Learned Again and Again: For me, it was: You can't attend every session. Sometimes, you gotta take a nap. Because if nothing else, Limmud will set you spinning. Evidence below.