The October 7 massacre took place on the holiday of Simchat Torah in Israel, and is commemorated in Israel on the days that follow the holiday. As we mark the two year anniversary, we will gather for a traditional Yizkor memorial service for the final days of the fall holidays, marking the lives lost on October 7, while also acknowledging the painful present situation. Further, we will gather in memory of all those beloved family and friends who have passed away.

Drop your kids off for a ruckus Torah party and some fun learning, or parents can join the festivities with us.

Begins with Mincha featuring tefilat geshem, the prayer for rain and the Yizkor memorial service.
We will share a light snack before celebrating, reading and rolling the Torah.
​For more information please contact the RJC Office.

Join Chabad of Stowe in celebrating the harvest festival of Sukkot with an autumnal spread- cozy, delicious, a little sweet and with a dash of spice.

We’ll have apple cider, pumpkin muffins, banana bread, apple cake, creamy chicken soup, potato knishes, and more!
Grab a sweater, and come on over. We’ll warm up around the fire, eat some delicious food in the Sukkah, shake the lulav and etrog, the kids will be at work creating decorations for our Sukkah, and most importantly we’ll gather together as a community in joy and celebration- one of the most special customs of Sukkot.

Sunday, October 12th, 4:00 PM

This event is free of charge and will take place at Chabad of Stowe:
1357 Maple St, Waterbury Center, VT 05677

You can RSVP at sara@chabadofstowe@.com

Experience Yom Kippur through embodied practice, nature connection, and heartfelt community amid Vermont's stunning fall landscape

Embodied prayer, joyous singing & nature connection

 Join Living Tree Alliance for an inspiring, land-based, musical outdoor prayer ceremony, led by Rabbi Lee Moore and cellist Aaron Fried! We’ll 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: Sept. 24, 10 am–12:30 pm, with vegetarian potluck lunch to follow

Come celebrate the High Holidays and Sukkot with the Rutland Jewish Center and PJ Library at the Wonderfeet Kids' Museum! Enjoy crafts, music, books and refreshments. We will also be serving Apples and Honey on the street!  We look forward to seeing you there. 

This coming Sunday is one of our favorite days of the year.

Our Pre-Rosh Hashana Community Brunch, with a side of BLT- Bagels, Lox, and Tefillin!

Bagels, lox, a full breakfast spread, honey cake, crafts, treats, shofar and tefillin wrapping, all around the fire, in a beautiful setting, in the fresh September air. Sounds like heaven, right?

There will be Rosh Hashana crafts and treats for kids, a warm fire for the adults to gather around, and plates waiting to be piled high. An event for all ages!

Sunday, September 14th
10:30 AM
At the home of Jared and Mary Hendler

We hope to see you there!

Please send RSVP's to sara@chabadofstowe.com for address.

Tu B’Av Shabbaton:Celebrate community, nature, and love!

 Join us for a transformative weekend celebrating Tu B’Av (the Jewish holiday of love) with a special Shabbaton on the Living Tree farm.

What to Expect

Friday evening. Experience a warm, family-friendly Kabbalat Shabbat featuring traditional songs and prayers as we welcome the Sabbath together. This special evening will also serve as the culminating celebration of Valley Teva Camp, where campers will share the sparkles and gems from their week in nature.

Saturday morning. Deepen your spiritual practice through:

• Uplifting communal singing

• Guided meditation and contemplative practices

• Meaningful Torah study and discussion

• Prayer in community

• Children’s programming

Experience includes

• Friday evening: Community potluck dinner (Living Tree provides challah, farm-grown salad, and simple pasta for kids—guests bring vegetarian dishes to share)

• Saturday: Breakfast and farm-fresh lunch provided by Living Tree

• Beautiful Vermont farm setting for reflection and connection

• Jewish wisdom teachings brought to life

• Opportunities for both solitude and community

• Family-friendly environment welcoming all ages

• Optional camping under the stars in the Living Tree field

Our formal program ends after lunch on Shabbat, but you’re invited stay the day and enjoy our hiking trails and private Mad River swimming spot! You’re also welcome to camp an extra night.

The ongoing persecution of Jews across millennia has been commemorated every year on this one important day: the 9th (Tisha) of the month of Av, when the first and second Temples in Jerusalem were destroyed. Come reflect on these past calamities, as we read the Book of Lamentations/Eichah.

Tisha B'av - literally the 9th (day of the month) of Av - is traditionally a historical commemoration of the destruction of the temples and the myriad woes that have befallen our ancestors. Over the centuries, it has also been interpreted in ways offering personal, spiritual, and societal impact, including identifying this day as the true beginning of the High Holy Day cycle. 

Together we will learn about the day, experience the traditional reading from the book of Eicha/Lamentations, explore where we are experiencing destruction in our lives and world, and search through the rubble for possibilities of restoration and renewal. 

Bring a flashlight, battery operated candle, or well charged phone as we will follow the tradition of sitting in low light. You may also choose to sit on the floor or another low surface (bring a cushion perhaps?) 

For planning purposes, please let Rabbi Woll know if you plan to attend. Feel free to reach out with any questions about or requests for this unique evening.

For more information please contact the RJC Office.

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