11th Annual Shavuot on the Mountain

Join our multi-generational hike (or drive) to the Mountain Chapel on Mt. Mansfield to prepare for Shavuot, the holiday of first fruits and receiving the Torah. On the hike, enjoy community, contemplation, and the beauty of nature and Vermont’s first blooming wildflowers. Once at the Mountain Chapel, we’ll share in song, a community Torah reading, crafts, and  a bikkurim (first fruits) parade. 

The Jewish Community of Greater Stowe with our interfaith partners in Lamoille County join together to commemorate Yom HaShoah-Holocaust Remembrance Day.

This year's theme is: The Holocaust is Personal, as the event includes the tragic, heroic, and uplifting stories of JCOGS members Marcie Scudder and Edee Simon family histories during the Shoah. This event will also include traditional memorial prayers, readings, and candle lighting. Lite refreshments will be served after, as we gather together in community connection.

Welcome to our 2025 Community Seder!

Our Seder will begin at 5:00pm, with potluck dinner being served around 7:00pm.

Kosher-for-Passover vegetarian or dairy dishes are welcome! Matzoh ball soup will be provided. Regular and gluten-free matzoh will be available. Space is limited.

Registration is required by April 6.

In partnership with PJ Library and Stowe Free Library.

Come celebrate Purim with us!

Our annual Purim Party is fun for all ages. Come in costume (if you want!) Get ready for tzedekah box decorating, listening to a portion of the megillah in both English and Hebrew, and of course, stay for pizza and hamantaschen!

Registration is required.

Join us at Beth Jacob for a Hebrew reading of the megillah with a guest reader from Chabad in Burlington. Stay for a hamentaschen (or two!) RSVP below!

Come and join us at JCOGS for this annual Family Purim Party. Expect games, songs, Persian potluck, Megillah reading, and a silly spiel. Come in costume or dress up on sight.

Beth Jacob is hosting an all ages/ all-levels snowshoe hike with Sarah Villanueva from 10:00am-12:00pm at North Branch Nature Center. Join naturalist Fiona Modrak for a guided hike where we discuss the local ecology of central Vermont and discuss how animals endure our winters! Take some trail mix home, each ingredient with a different intention as we bring in Tu B'Shvat together!

Gentle disclaimer: this is not a boots hike. Trails are maintained for those using snoeshoes/cross country skiis, and divits in the snow disrupts this. Snowshoes are available for rent upon arrival. Registrants are responsible for renting their own shoes. Bringing your own is also welcome!

Registration required for snowshoe count. We hope to see you there!

https://www.bethjacobvt.org/event/34shoe-b39shvat34-nature-walk-in-person.html

Celebrate the deep beauty of mid-winter with Living Tree Alliance as we gather to honor the holiday of Tu BiShvat, the birthday of the trees. With programs for all ages, we’ll build our relationship with the earth and with each other.  

Program includes: 

• 4:30 p.m. Sledding down the big hill

• 5 p.m.: two programs offered in the field at dusk

• Family Outdoor Tree Celebration with games and observations

• Adult Contemplative Sunset Tree Connection with prayer, song, and reflection

• 6 p.m.: Shabbat candle lighting & tree poetry at the Common House, followed by dinner and deepening our commitments as earth stewards as part of the birthday for the trees and mini Tu BiShvat seder.

A few more details:

• Be sure to dress warmly for outdoor activities from 4:30–6 p.m.

• Bring sleds, skis, and snowshoes for outdoor fun on the property.

• Soup, salad and challah will be provided for dinner. You are welcome to bring a vegetarian side dish to share. 

Please join us!

Tu BiShvat falls approximately halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. As the trees become another year older, this holiday invites us to consider the ways we can live in reciprocity with Mother Nature. 

On Thursday, February 13th, at 6:30 pm, on what is also the holiday of Tu B’Shvat, we’ll be hosting a Challah Baking Workshop. Learn how to make your own Challah, or if you know how, join us in whipping up a big batch to share with the Waterbury Common Market (previously known as the Waterbury Area Food Shelf.)

We’ll have a delicious Tu B’Shvat spread and celebrate the holiday as we get covered in flour for a good cause. Send a RSVP to sara@chabadofstowe.com so we can be prepared with materials for you.

Join us for our Tu B'Shvat Seder at Beth Jacob! We will be seated and starting at 5:30pm.

Registration is required and by sliding scale $5-$10. Please reach out to Sarah if cost is an issue - we do not want anything preventing you from celebrating with us!

Allergy disclaimer: almonds, walnuts. 

Register

We'll gather at Living Tree for an intergenerational celebration including:

• Community crafts and games for all ages—you don't want to miss the infamous Maccabee fort, human dreidel contest, and gelt stacking!

• A special music performance for the little ones with Miss Andrea of Musical Munchkins

• Menorah lighting—feel free to bring your own!

• Chanukah storytelling

• Cozy potluck dinner—Latkes and Soup will be provided - bring a vegetarian dish to share

• Seasonal song circle around the bonfire with Musicians Avi Salloway and Emma Back.

Co-sponsored by Jewish Communities of Vermont, PJ Library VT and Living Tree Alliance

Pay-what-you-can donation ($18–$56 per family suggested). No one turned away for inability to pay.Donations for this event will be split between LTA's end-of-year fundraising goals and the Good Samaritan homeless warming shelter in Montpelier.

Join us Sunday afternoon, December 29th, at Rusty Parker Memorial Park, at 4:00 pm for our third annual Menorah Lighting and Chanukah Celebration! Delicious Chanukah treats, music, hot cocoa, and and so much more! Also on the menu: good vibes and festive fun.

Our noses may be a little frosty, but with community togetherness and a public display of BEAMING Jewish pride like no other, our souls will be warm and bright.

We are so looking forward to you joining us for our biggest and best year yet. This event is open to all.

We hope to see you there!

https://www.chabadofstowe.com/templates/articlecco_cdo/aid/5741315/jewish/Chanukah-at-Chabad.htm

Come celebrate the Festival of Lights with the famous JCOGS Iron Chef Competition!  Enter with an amazing dish prepared with the secret ingredient or come hungry and vote. Bring your family menorah as we light up the dark together. Dreidel games, latkes, and song. 

The secret ingredient this year is .... Light and Dark! Be creative! Think out of the "black and white cookie" box ;)
This year's celebrity judge is Ari Fishman of ZenBarn in Waterbury.

Compete for fantastic prizes from local businesses:
Commodities, Piecasso, Stowe Cider, Ranch Camp, Skinny Pancake, and Black Diamond BBQ!

To compete in the Iron Chef (registration appreciated at jcogs.org):
1. Dishes must be vegetarian*. Your creation can be savory or sweet or a combination ... (*dairy and fish are fine but no meat, no shellfish)
2. No peanut products please.
3. Make enough for fifty people to taste: small portions or can be cut into pieces after presentation. The celebrity judge will decide the first place winner. Party-goers will be voting for their favorites in the other categories.
4. Please prepare an ingredient list on a sheet of paper that's clear and easily read (computer printed preferred but not required).
5. Be creative! Judging will be for taste, presentation, and creative use of the secret ingredient

https://www.jcogs.org/event/iron-chef-competition.html

MENORAH LIGHTING AND STORY TIME WITH THE GOVERNOR

Kids of all ages come celebrate Hanukkah with the catchy pop tunes of Grammy winner Joanie Leeds! Latkes, dreidels, and lots of Hanukkah fun as we light the second candle together.

This is event is free and open to all thanks to JCVT and a generous grant from the Covenant Foundation.

Join us for our annual Chanukah Party on December 22 at 3:00pm! Latkes and other refreshment are potluck style. Please email Sarah if you are intending to bring latkes/condiments! Other vegetarian dishes are encouraged as well. Registration is encouraged

Exploring our Natural Creativity through Spiritual Teachings of Hanukkah, Tu B’Shvat and Purim

We will be focusing on the teachings on Hanukkah and how they resonate with each person. We will explore selected texts from the Jewish tradition in Hevrutah (with a study partner) and then will follow a simple process to creatively express ourselves through making art. No previous knowledge of Hebrew, Jewish Text study or artistic expression necessary! Materials provided. (The process we will use comes from the Jewish Studio Project that R. Tobie Weisman has been learning for the past year) Co-sponsored by Beth Jacob and JCVT.

Quotes from previous class:

“I found myself surprised and delighted with my opening up to the creative and spiritual experience and opportunities, which I didn’t know I could access.” Phylis

“The combination of text, color and the facilitation of a safe group gathering can be a powerful one for connecting with the light of the soul.” Kim

“Awesome! Ways to connect with the hidden light and bring more light into my life.” Sephira

“Being creative with a supportive non-judgmental group felt heart centered and essential for spiritual development.” Ellen

“a sense of connection to others in the workshop, inspiration about the meaning of lighting Chanukah candles, and my own creative expression on paper that I really resonate with” Julia

“Appreciation for creativity in all aspects of life. I feel more relaxed when I allow myself to be creative.” Ellen

Come play dreidel, sing Hanukkah songs, and make art for the Festival of Lights. We're excited to be part of this wonderful community tradition in downtown Johnson.

Exploring our Natural Creativity through Spiritual Teachings of Hanukkah, Tu B’Shvat and Purim

A three session series focusing on the teachings on Hanukkah, Tu B’Shvat & Purim and how they resonate with each person. We will explore selected texts from the Jewish tradition in Hevrutah (with a study partner) and then will follow a simple process to creatively express ourselves through making art. No previous knowledge of Hebrew, Jewish Text study or artistic expression necessary! Materials provided. (The process we will use comes from the Jewish Studio Project that R. Tobie Weisman has been learning for the past year) Co-sponsored by Beth Jacob and JCVT

Calling all PJ and PJ Our Way Families! 

Save the date for a Pop Up Sukkah contest on Sunday morning, October 20th, 10:30-12:30 at Living Tree Alliance. Families will be given the simple guidelines of how to create a Sukkah. We will then use our innate creativity and ingenuity to construct a very fun, easy small sukkah. We will provide the natural materials for the Sukkot and you can add materials you find in nature. Afterwards, you and your kids can take it home and enjoy it for the rest of the Sukkot holiday! We will also learn why Sukkot is called the Festival of Joy, shake the lulav, hear a story, dance and sing songs. A light vegetarian lunch will be provided for eating in the Sukkah.

Led by Rabbi Lee Moore and Cellist Aaron Fried

Join us for an inspiring, land-based, musical outdoor prayer ceremony! 

Greet the new year with a radical Jewish prayer experience in nature that weaves together traditional melodies with eco-poetics. At Living Tree’s fifth annual Rosh Hashanah celebration, we’ll tap into our roots as we soar with song—all while surrounded by the stunning peak foliage of the Mad River Valley.

When: October 4, 10 am–12:30 pm, with vegetarian potluck lunch to follow
Where: All activities held under the pavilion in the Living Tree meadow (rain or shine)

96 Living Tree Lane, Moretown, VT 

Suggested donation: $36–$360

Children welcome!

• Youth will join with adults for the first part of the service, where our woods, sandbox, and tree house provide a child’s wonderland within sight of our open-air pavilion.

• Partway through the program, kids under age 8 will be able to join our youth program, celebrating the earth’s birthday with interactive story and song—and snacks, of course!

• We’ll come back together for the awakening Shofar service.

 Tashlich

All participants are welcome to join us for a Tashlich ceremony in the afternoon, 2:30–4 pm. We’ll walk down to Living Tree’s private beach on the Mad River and together enact this High Holy Days ritual of casting away/releasing what no longer serves us.

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JOIN US IN THE FRESH SEPTEMBER AIR FOR A SUNDAY MORNING OF BAGELS, SCHMEAR, AND A SIDE OF TEFILLIN WRAPPING FOR THE GUYS. THE KIDS WILL GET TO CREATE A ROSH HASHANA CRAFT AND THEIR OWN SHANA TOVA CARDS FOR FRIENDS. WE'LL BLOW THE SHOFAR AS IS CUSTOMARY IN THE MONTH OF ELUL AND ENJOY PLENTY OF ROSH HASHANA SWEET TREATS, PRETTY VIEWS, AND GOOD COMPANY

The ongoing persecution of Jews across millennia has been commemorated every year on this one important day: the 9th of the month of Av, when the first and second Temples in Jerusalem were destroyed. In the light of October 7, we join again this year in remembering, mourning, and healing. Together, we will reflect on the personal and communal consequences of anti-Jewish hatred, then and now.

8pm Learning and mindfulness practice

8:45pm Special prayers and reading of the mournful Book of Lamentations/Eichah

Join us June 9, three days before Shavuot, as we hike to the Mountain Chapel on Mt. Mansfield to prepare for this holiday of first fruits and receiving the Torah! 

We’ll gather at the Stowe Mountain Resort, then make our way up the mountain, finding the first fruits of Vermont (spring wildflowers like trout lilies and trilium) and enjoying community, contemplation, and the beauty of nature. At the Mountain Chapel, we’ll share in a bikkurim (first fruits) parade and songs in the chapel with Rabbi David and JCOGS educators. Seeking musicians to help support the parade with joy.

When: June 9, 9:30 a.m.
Where: Meet outside the Mansfield Lodge at Stowe Mountain Resort 

Details: 

• Hike is 1.5 miles each way, and is moderate but accessible for kids and families.

• Prepare to be on the mountain for about 3 hours.

• Event will run rain or shine!

• What to bring: filled water bottles, backpack, bug repellant, rain gear, hat, sunscreen, snacks

• We will provide: fun and reflective programming along the way, community building, songs, Shavuot teachings, smiles, fruit, and chocolate.

We are grateful for our co-sponsors: Jewish Communities of VT and Jewish Community of Greater Stowe (JCOGS).  

REGISTER