How do we meet each other's truths, hurts, and hopes despite deep differences, bridge divides, and imagine kinder, more peaceful realities for all?
"Meet Me in the Messy Middle" invites conversation with Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie, local leaders, and guests on current events, the urgent need for face-to-face dialogue in times of conflict and division, and Jewish perspectives on moral repair and resilience.
A key theme in Rabbi Amichai's Sabbath Queen film and his work with Rabbis for Human Rights is the "both/and" approach, embracing fusion over binary thinking to navigate personal, religious, and political ruptures. Through stories—on screen, around the Sabbath table, or in listening circles—we open to diverse narratives, fostering respect, justice, and peace.

In the shadow of war, settler violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank has escalated to alarming levels. This session brings one of the most compelling voices in contemporary Jewish activism to Limmud for a frank conversation about what is happening on the ground, and what a Judaism rooted in human rights demands of us in response.

How the forgotten tale of two rival kingdoms and one vital Hebrew letter can help us deal with diversity and heal beyond divisions. In this provocative presentation Rabbi Amichai Lau Lavie turns an often ignored episode of ancient Jewish history—the schism between the two kingdoms that birthed the Bible into a vivid mirror for today’s increasingly polarized world. “All We Need is Vav” offers a surprising journey from the Bible Age to the Age of Instagram, where a single Hebrew letter—vav, “and”—becomes a transformational tool for living beyond either/or politics of division.

An Alternative Shabbat Morning (Shachrit) God-Optional Prayer Circle, led by Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie.
Recharge your ritual reality at this everybody-friendly, God-optional meditative & interactive contemplative circle for body and soul, inspired by the Jewish Sabbath liturgy and ancestral wisdom, with an engaging offering of grounding, gratitude, poetry and open hearted conversations to lift up healing and hope, towards more compassion and peace.

How do we define "Who is a Jew" in an era of increasing intermarriage and political polarization? How do we balance the integrity of Jewish law with the lived reality of our families? 
The International Masorti Movement is asking these questions and working on new halakhic policies - join us in exploring this work in process. 
Amichai has taken a bold step forward with his "Joy Proposal" - choosing to officiate at intermarriages under some circumstances and therefore choosing to leave the Masorti Rabbinical Assembly.  The film Sabbath Queen explores his journey. (It might be a good idea to watch it before this session.)
Gesa has been part of the conversations of the Rabbinical Assembly, of which she is now president. In her shul, the majority of Bar/Bat Mitzvah kids have one parent who is not halakhically Jewish. 
We want to discuss the deeper theological and communal shifts required to sustain Jewish life in the Diaspora and in Israel today, taking two distinct but deeply rooted approaches to the future of the Jewish people, both committed to the evolving boundaries of the Jewish peoplehood.