Blog
Jewish Communities of Vermont Blog
Our blog shares posts reflecting on Jewish life in Vermont and linking to resources related to Jewish culture, food, family, and leading a Jewish life.
We also highlight Jewish organizations and events in Vermont and beyond!
Eat and be satisfied- explorations on this weeks torah portion By Rabbi Jan Saltman
'second paragraph of the Shma', set there by our ancestors to convey how critical it is that we walk our talk. One of the verses addresses satiety:
וְנָתַתִּ֛י עֵ֥שֶׂב בְּשָׂדְךָ֖ לִבְהֶמְתֶּ֑ךָ וְאָכַלְתָּ֖ וְשָׂבָֽעְתָּ׃
I will also provide grass in the fields for your cattle—and thus you shall eat your fill.
Senate devotional
As human beings, we’re always counting, putting a number on the day, our age, another person’s age, the amount of money we have, another person has, how many friends we have, how many Facebook friends, how many degrees we have, how much we have accomplished, etc.
In the Jewish tradition, we are always counting too. Yet, we are taught to count in a very different way than we often count in the secular world.
A few weeks ago, Jews celebrated Passover. But contrary to popular belief, Passover is not yet over! Passover is intrinsically connected to Shavuot, the Jewish holiday of receiving the Torah on Mount Sinai, which is celebrated 7 weeks after Passover. For 49 days, Jews count each day leading up to Shavuot. Today is the 21st day between Passover and Shavuot.
Why are we counting these days and what is the significance of this counting?
PASSOVER The freedom of many names
Within the special Shabbat morning Torah reading for Passover we read, “You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with anything leavened, or let the sacrifice of the Feast of the Pessah remain until the morning” (Exodus 34:25). In this verse, the holiday is referred to as Pessah, based on the sentence, “I will pass (ufasachti) over you” (Exodus 12:13). In addition, “pessah” is the name of the lamb sacrificed on the holiday (Numbers 9:2). As with most Jewish holidays, it has more than one name. In this case three more:
Shir Shalom Vermont Children's Holiday Programming. Measuring a Year: The Story of Me
Measuring a Year: The Story of Me
Join us for prayers, songs, activities and play!
VPR Features the Vermont Jewish Community
Jewish Communities of Vermont and other Jews around the state are on the VPR Brave Little State podcast which just came out today!
Shmita Mini Grants Proposal Form Available Now
Thanks to the support of the Covenant Foundation, JCVT is able to offer mini-grants of up to $1000 for Jewish organizations and individuals to develop programs that engage Jewish Vermonters in reflection, renewal and recommitment to create community and address issues of social justice.
JCVT Chosen for Convenant Grant
Jewish Communities of Vermont is thrilled to announce that we were chosen from a nationwide pool to receive a very competitive Signature Grant from the Covenant Foundation entitled Shmita Statewide!