Hakhel 14 – A Festival of Jewish Learning on Sukkot
25.08.2010
The Major Annual Event of Jewish Pluralistic Culture in
Israel
Panim organizes and produces the Hakhel Festival of Jewish and
Israeli culture held every year during Sukkot. Since the first Hakhel in 1997, this happening of Jewish pluralistic culture has been bringing together people
from
Israel’s entire religious and political spectrum. The ever-expanding
program includes over 100 parallel study sessions, panel discussions, lectures, and creative workshops, as well as performances – music, plays, dance, and film
– with the accent on Jewish pluralism, Israeli society and culture, and the
multi-cultural outlook
.
Hakhel is a platform for important issues at the intersection between Judaism
and Israeliness; the multi-cultural challenge; the status of women in the
changing Jewish culture; Judaism and democracy. It is the
high point of the year
for the organizations and institutions involved in Jewish pluralism and Jewish
education: Orthodox, liberal, and secular. Over the years, the festival has
attracted a wide audience – secular and religious, young and old, veteran
Israelis and new immigrants – drawing over 4,000 people annually
.
Hakhel revives an ancient tradition, when the entire nation would assemble once a
year to study and interpret the Torah in the spirit of the times. Today the
festival is a time of study and spiritual uplifting, an encounter between
artists and academics, students and teachers, and an opportunity to learn about
and discuss diverse areas of Jewish and Israeli culture, and to “be happy on
your holiday.”
For more information and the program (in Hebrew), click
http://www.hakhel.org.il/
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