What a busy Monday that was. It seems the pattern here is very long days and short nights - especially as I've woken up this morning (Tuesday) to find I have no heating in my room. The Bar is humming until the wee small hours as the central meeting place and really is the crossroads of Limmud.
I went to a number of sessions yesterday, from demography to trying to understand the JFS judgment better. As one might imagine, the JFS session was packed. Property lawyer Gary Webber took it upon himself to read both the Court of Appeal ruling and that of the Supreme Court in an effort to try to help ordinary mortals steer through the legalese.
While it might have helped some people understand better what it all meant, I think unfortunately it fell short of providing a really deep understanding of the legal issues. But there is only so much one can do in 70 minutes. The big JFS session is this evening, when a panel comprising the Board of Deputies, Orthodox and non-Orthodox bodies will be discussing "The Impact of the JFS Case".
The venue is a conference hall and I'm sure it will be packed to the rafters. Those of you who know me know that I am a dedicated foodie so a word about the chow, which up to now has been pretty good. Jason Millan is running the catering and while putting on a function for several hundred people on one night is one thing, feeding 2,500 over several days is quite another.
However, Mr Millan is doing quite a good job so far. He has kept it simple and straightforward. There have been one or two hiccups, like moving the salad bar to a different location to the main restaurant, but overall the food has been tasty and nutritious. There's also a great spirit of helping one's fellow man. People here are very polite and unfailingly friendly; most walk around with smiles on their faces. It's a happy place to be.
