|
The Hakhel Festival of Jewish Learning:
Israel’s Major Annual Event of Jewish Pluralistic Culture
|
Panim organizes and produces the Hakhel Festival of Jewish identity 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 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.”
|
