Join Jewish Communities of Vermont (JCVT) for a joyful gathering of learning, creativity, and connection rooted in Jewish culture, ideas, and community.
More than a dozen engaging workshops, a Jewish artisans hall, a track for teen engagement, a kosher catered lunch, and a community singalong.

Bring your kids! There is a dedicated children’s roomwith programming and activities throughout the day.
Come connect, learn, sing, and celebrate Jewish life in Vermont with friends old and new.
We can’t wait to gather with you.

Finances should never be an obstacle to participation.‍ ‍Send us a message if you need assistance.
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We are thrilled to feature keynote speaker Noah Dines, Stowe legend and world record holder, who will share how Jewish ritual and the wisdom of our sages inspired him along his extraordinary journey to ski more than three million vertical feet.

JCVT MARKETPLACE

Daisy Does Art

Face painting, Vermont themed prints and hand-dyed clothing and accessories

Diane Rippa

Fused glass menorahs and mezuzot

Herculean Woodworks

Custom Wood Judaica

SWAYING DAISIES HONEYBEE FARM

Playful watercolor animals, Pride rainbows, and vibrant takes on Vermont’s best-loved landmarks bring a bright, joyful lens to the Green Mountain State. With over 100 sticker designs, plus prints, magnets, pins, earrings, and originals, there’s art for every budget.

HoneyBee Heather

Sophie Ostrovitz

Jewelry creator

MAGIC CIRCLE

Artwork

Daniel Young

Schtick! Jewish Vaudeville Then & Now

Stephanie Bass Abrams

Vaudeville was the most popular form of American commercial entertainment from the mid-1890s through the First World War, with millions of people attending shows weekly at its peak. Its popularity stemmed from its broad appeal and accessibility, offering a wide variety of performances that included slapstick comedy, acrobatics, singing, dancing, and more. Learn about the history of Jewish vaudeville from New York’s Lower Eastside to the Catskills to Hollywood and how it shaped American entertainment. Then, get to try some juggling and “schtick” and create a vaudeville act of your own!

More info on Stephanie’s company and her upcoming vaudeville show A Bissel Borscht Belt coming to Brattleboro this June: www.kinetictheorytheatre.com

Adventures in Mime & Space:
The Legacy of Marcel Marceau

Rob Mermin, Director, Lecturer, Author, Clown, Mime, Magician and Raconteur

He had a stint as Dean of Clown College for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, was President of the all-youth Blackfriars Summer Theater, and is Artist-in-Residence for the Vermont Arts Council, creating Vermont’s “Circus Residency” program for the state’s public schools.

In 1987 Rob founded the award-winning international touring company Circus Smirkus. Having cultural exchanges with 32 countries, Smirkus was named the “United Nations of the Youth Circus World.”

Zmiros, Ladino songs, and All That Jazz in between

Lewis Franco presents a concert of standards from the “Jewish American Songbook”, Sephardic and Ashkenazi songs taught to him by his grandparents from La Judería on the Island of Rhodes and the Pale of Settlement, and some of his own originals. Blending cultural, generational and personal histories, with insight and humor, Franco connects the richness of his heritage to the broader Jewish-American experience

CJP Introduction-Be Aware Training

Mark Atlee has a 25-year career in the U.S. Military and federal law enforcement, culminating in a seven year assignment to the FBI Boston Joint Terrorism Task Force. Mark also has extensive experience working with community organizations, providing trainings, assessments, and consultations. Mark supports partner organizations in the CSI Expanded Service Area of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont

Crack, Bam, Dot! Why Everyone is Talking About Mah Jongg

Lynda Siegel

Mah Jongg is an intricate game of strategy and luck. Because the game is fairly complex, we won’t learn to play in this short session: instead you will get an insider’s look at the basics of the game and some of it's rich history. And hopefully your interest will be piqued enough so that you will be inspired to join the growing community of players worldwide

Cultivating Jewish Joy Through Interactive Creative Process

Rabbi Tobie Weisman is the former Executive Director of Jewish Communities of Vermont. She is the Founding Director of the Yearning for Learning Center and PJ Library in Vermont. Currently, she is offering monthly in-person and online workshops called Creating Soulful Journeys using the Jewish Studio Process.

In this interactive workshop, we will explore Jewish teachings on cultivating joy—within ourselves and in our communities—and reflect on how living with joy is a central part of Jewish life. Drawing on traditional and contemporary sources, we will engage with these ideas through the Jewish Studio Process, which offers a supportive, structured, and open space for creative exploration.

Participants will have time for individual reflection, as well as partner and group discussion. Each person will create their own piece of art or writing, expressing their personal insights and experiences.

All aspects of the session are designed to foster a safe, inclusive environment for exploration. No prior experience with art, writing, or Jewish learning is necessary—just a willingness to reflect, create, and connect. Materials provided.

COURAGEOUS CONVERSATIONS:
Hearing One Another on Israel/Palestine and Beyond

Rabbi David Fainsilber

War ravages across the Middle East—Israel, Palestine, Iran, Lebanon, and beyond—rippling into our lives here in Vermont. Since October 7, 2023, the Jewish Community of Greater Stowe, in all its political diversity, has sought to gather in safe, brave spaces for honest conversation. Join us for this workshop, facilitated by Rabbi David Fainsilber, for open-hearted dialogue among Jews—modeling what it means to listen and stay in relationship with one another across our brave little state.

Creating Connection, Cultivating Belonging

Sharon Lifschutz

What’s the difference between reaching people and truly engaging them? In this interactive session, we’ll explore how outreach and engagement each play a vital role in building Jewish community. Walk away with a stronger understanding of both—and a toolkit of ideas to help people feel seen, valued, and connected.

Sharon is a relationship builder at heart who began her career in the Jewish nonprofit world, driven by a love of helping people discover meaning and connection in Judaism. She believes that true belonging happens when people are not just invited in, but empowered to create their own connections.

Guided by a human-centered approach, Sharon designs experiences that meet people where they are and honor what they’re seeking. In her work as Chief External Affairs Officer at the Howard Center and as a board member at Temple Sinai, she focuses on building bridges and fostering connection across communities. As a mom of two young boys, she finds her greatest joy in watching them begin to form their own meaningful connections to Jewish life.

Earth Based Judaism

Judaism in its origins is an agricultural based religion. Connection to the earth, grains, and the harvest are central themes in Judaism, in addition to prayer, ritual, and song. Join Living Tree educators; Melanie Grubman and Kohenet Sephirah Oshkello for a new moon ritual, council discussion, and insights on how we can integrate connection to the earth and each other into our Jewish rituals. We invite all who have a common interest in, are curious about, are practiced in, and have recently started engaging in Earth Based Judaism, to come and share in a meaningful ritual and discussion. Go home with inspiring ways to bring deeper connection to earth, self, and community.

Kohenet Sephirah Oshkello and Melanie Grubman co-founded Living Tree Alliance, a Jewish co-housing community in Central Vermont that weaves together a working homestead, farm educational program, and residential community. Together they organize community events that foster healing, purpose, joy, and connection, through honoring the rhythms of the natural world and aligning with the ancient wisdom of the Hebrew calendar.

Kohenet Sephirah Oshkello and Melanie Grubman

Why Does Vermont Need a Jewish Archive

Aaron Goldberg and Jeff Potash are the Co-Founders and are on the Board of Directors of the Lost Mural Project. They are the catalysts behind the 2015 move of the Lost Mural from the former Chai Adam Synagogue to Ohavi Zedek Synagogue. www.lostmural.org They are also the planners behind the 2023 move of the Copper Ark from the former Ohavi Zedek Synagogue building to the current Ohavi Zedek Synagogue Center. www.copperark.org

Jeff Potash is a former Professor of History at Trinity College. He has taught and published extensively on local history topics. Among other works, he is the co-author of Freedom & Unity: A History of Vermont (2004) and the author of Vermont's Burned Over District: Patterns of Community Development and Religious Activity 1776-1850 (1991). His book, Vermont’s Burned-Over District, evinces his lifelong fascination with the interplay between religious and larger community dynamics. Jeff is the President and Co-Archivist of Ohavi Zedek Synagogue. Jeff received his B.A in History from University of Vermont (1975), and his Ph.D. in History from the University of Chicago (1986).

Aaron Goldberg is a retired elder law & estate planning attorney from Burlington, Vermont. He is the Co-Archivist of Ohavi Zedek Synagogue, and a Co-Founder and Vermont Contributor to the New England Jewish History Collaborative (nejhc.org, 2021). He received his B.A. in American Studies from Brandeis University (1979), and his law degree (J.D.) from Suffolk University Law School (1982).

Aaron and Jeff are natives of Burlington and have collaborated on many exhibits and presentations about the Burlington, Vermont Jewish Community. They were the Contributing Archivists for Vermont Public Television's production of "Little Jerusalem: Burlington's Jewish Community" (2014).

Building a Resilient Vermont Jewish Community Through Policy, Elected Office, Action, & Listening

Description: How do we turn shared values into collective action without losing our sense of community and spanning lots of big feelings and opinions? In an era of increasing polarization, the Jewish tradition of vigorous debate can be our greatest strength—or our most significant challenge.

In this workshop, Joanna Grossman draws on her experience as a community organizer, former Synagogue Executive Director, and founder of Jewish Action Vermont to explore the mechanics of "pragmatic advocacy." We will discuss how to build coalitions that honor the diversity of Jewish life in Vermont while maintaining a unified voice on the issues that matter most: education, affordability, regional resilience, and accurate representation.

Participants will explore:

The "Main Street" Mindset: Why local, level-headed representation is the key to protecting our communal interests in Montpelier.
Bridge-Building 101: Practical strategies for organizing across different Jewish denominations and political perspectives.
Grassroots to Legislative: How to move from a community conversation to a policy win without compromising our core values.

Join us for a session focused on how we can work together to ensure the Vermont Jewish community remains a vibrant, influential, and cohesive force for good in our state.Joanna Grossman is a seasoned community organizer. She has nearly two decades of experience fighting for Vermont values. She helped the national Indivisible Project build the movement that took our country back from Trump in 2020.

In Vermont she’s run impactful statewide, Senate, and local Burlington campaigns; she knows how to build winning coalitions and turn grassroots energy into legislative action.

What does it mean to be a Jewish Artist? A Writing Workshop for Teens

Shoshannah Boray

This workshop for teens is one part writing workshop and one part exploration of identity. What does it mean to be an artist, Jewish, or Jewish artist? Does it matter, one way or the other? The workshop will include on your feet exercises for creating stories in all their forms: plays, novels, films, non fiction, short stories, and storytelling. What makes an artists' work Jewish, not Jewish, or Universal? What makes us Jewish? and... What makes a good story, no matter its subject?

Let’s “Do Jewish” Together! A Model Parent Get Together Celebrating the New Moon

Cheryl Glantz Nail

Participate in an immersive Get Together gathering to meet PJ Library parents and celebrate the new Jewish month of Iyar. You’ll get the opportunity to make a personalized herbarium bottle representing the month’s spiritual energy of healing and wellness area of introspection. Then we’ll pull back the curtain to learn how easy it is to host your own Get Together and get a $100 microgrant from PJ Library for doing so. For adults only. Kindly note that dried flowers will be available for use in this session. If you have allergies or sensitivities, please let us know and alternative supplies will be provided.

Cheryl Glantz Nail (she/her) is a PJ Library Program Officer at the Harold Grinspoon Foundation. Originally from Exeter, New Hampshire, she is excited to be in Vermont again for the first time since visiting a maple farm there as a child. Now based in Columbia, South Carolina, Cheryl spent a decade working at her local Jewish Federation, where she developed a deep appreciation for supporting smaller Jewish communities, like Vermont. In addition to working with the communities in her portfolio, she enjoys connecting with the 180 communities across North America through the PJ Library Get Together program. Before joining the Jewish professional world, Cheryl was a public-school teacher and curriculum developer, skills she still enjoys using today while teaching pre-B’Mitzvah students at her local synagogue. Outside of work, Cheryl enjoys experimenting with art supplies, road-tripping with friends to concerts and musicals, getting lost in nature or a good book, and sparking a little friendly competition with her husband and son (a proud PJ Our Way fan!) on family game nights.

Tucker Carlson, Chabad, and the Architecture of Redemption: Will the Messiah Arrive through Divine Grace or Human Force?

Rabbi Eliyahu Junik

We will discuss how to define peace in a fractured world through the wisdom of the Talmud, its commentators, and chassdic philosophy

Rabbi Eliyahu Junik grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He spent four years studying in Israel, before returning to Brooklyn for rabbinical school. Eliyahu moved to Vermont and has developed a deep love for Burlington. He appreciates the pace of life here, and all of the wonderful opportunities Burlington provides. When he is not teaching, he can be found baking challah and spending time with his family.

Click the image to read the program

We’re excited to celebrate community with you!

Register today!