Cross-communal yeshivah’s big plans for Bank Holiday

AZARA, THE new cross-communal egalitarian yeshivah, is to stage its first in-person learning event over the August Bank Holiday weekend.

The “Open Talmud Weekend” will offer study sessions in London while also being accessible to those preferring to connect digitally.

Named after the courtyard where Jews gathered in Temple times, Azara aims to widen participation in talmudic learning across the community.

It has grown out of two grassroots learning initiatives, the Open Talmud Project and the Pop-Up Beit Midrash. It has been running online events this year and is gearing up towards a one-month residential study programme planned to take place in Edinburgh next summer.

“We’re really standing on the shoulders of giants with Open Talmud Project, which has been running ten years,” said Isaac Treuherz, a volunteer for next weekend’s programme. “I personally owe a lot of my own learning and growth to them.

“We are delighted to be continuing this model as part of our programming. I’m also really proud that we’re able to engage participants at home as well as those joining us in person.”

The weekend will examine community building, inclusivity and models of education, particularly in light of the move out of pandemic restrictions. Organisers say many educational institutions will be wrestling with the question of how to retain online participants now physical gatherings are returning.