Chittenden County Events
Chittenden County Events
Synagogue links are below upcoming events.
Click HERE for Adult Education Class Series
Chana-Kava
Ruach HaMaqom and Ohavi Zedek join together in this celebration of Winter’s darkness and the light of hope kindled by the menorah’s flames. We’ll share in the most ancient of Jewish—human!—spiritual technologies: song and story.
BYOM – Bring Your Own Menorah: we will light them together.
Kava tea and sufganiyot/donuts will be served. Bring a story, a song and some snacks!
Hanukkah Candle Lighting and Chinese Food
Join us for the 1st night of Hanukkah to light our Menorahs (bring yours from home) and eat Chinese Food!
UVM Green Grand Menorah Lighting
Grand Menorah lighting UVM green, corner of S. Prospect & Main
Tot Shabbat and Hanukkah Celebration
Tot Shabbat is a Shabbat service designed to engage young children and their families. Snacks and social time will follow the service.
Join us to celebrate Hanukkah!
Chanukah Party
Join us for our annual Chanukah Party!
Including delicious food, fun games, songs, a candle lighting, raffles and crafts.
Food – latkes, salad, doughnuts
Music with Brass Balagan / 11:30 – 12:00 pm
Sing Along and Menorah Lighting with Cantor Silverberg / 12 – 12:30 pm
Toy/Game Raffle
Chocolate Fountain
Photo Booth
Family Gift Swap
Crafts
Dreidel
Preschool Activities
Chanukah Gift Shop
Suggested Donation: $18 per family or $5 per individual, $3 per child.
Yom Limmud: Day of Learning
Come join us and learn! On Sunday, December 8, we will consider the topic of Jewish Peoplehood: Concepts, Challenges, Futures. Our keynote by Dr. Claire E. Sufrin will begin at 11:30am followed by a kosher luncheon by Valerie Philmus and two sessions of workshops by local speakers including: Cantor Jessica Silverberg, Rabbi Danielle Stillman, Rabbi Ira Schiffer, Rabbi Eliyahu Junik, Rabbi David Fainsilber and Susan Leff.
Click below to sign up before Dec. 2!
The registration deadline is Monday, December 2 at 5pm. This cannot be extended because this is a catered event.
Bingo Night
Join us following Havdalah for a Bingo night of fun and prizes!
BYOB with pizza, snacks and soft drinks to be provided.
Open to all adults. Child care (ages 5-12) available upon request at $8 a child.
Temple Sinai Great Brisket Bake Off!
There will be a short service to say kaddish followed by dinner!
Please bring a brisket or latkes or side dish to share!
Online attendees can view or download most of the pages that we normally use on Friday nights.
Author Miri Leshem-Pelly Presentation
Miri Leshem-Pelly will be visiting Temple Sinai to teach children and their families about the amazing beauty and diversity of Israel's flora and fauna. Her new book, A Feather, A Pebble, A Shell follows a girl’s hikes through the diverse nature sites of Israel.
Join us as Miri shares her creative process, reads her new book, and teaches us about the natural wonders of Israel
Vermont Jewish Poets Gathering Monthly Workshop
Vermont Jewish Poets is offering a monthly poetry workshop open to any Vermont poet identifying as Jewish. We will meet the 3rd Monday of each month beginning October 21, 2024, from 6-7:30 on Zoom. Join a welcoming space where we give and receive constructive feedback on poems-in-progress. Register here to receive a link to our workshop meeting.
Shabat Sha-BTV
Community Shabbat!
We invite you to join us for a lively community Shabbat with Oneg led by our Burlington rabbis. All UVM students and community members are welcome to celebrate Shabbat with us.
This event is free, and we're excited to bring the greater-Burlington and UVM Jewish communities together in a joyous Shabbat. Please RSVP here so we can plan accordingly. Thank you!
Questions? Email Michala@uvmhillel.org
MARTY FOGEL AND THREAD OF BLUE
On November 14th, 2024 The Lost Mural Project and Ohavi Zedek will host a concert featuring saxophonist Marty Fogel and his quintet, Thread of Blue, including Tom Cleary on piano, Dan Silverman on trombone, Jeremy Hill on bass and Geoff Bernstein on drums. The program, co-sponsored by The Lost Mural Project, will include improvisational jazz music emanating from Jewish sources: liturgical melodies, original pieces inspired by religious text, Eastern European tunes and original arrangements of songs by American Jewish composers Jerry Bock, Leonard Bernstein, George Gershwin and Kurt Weill.
The performance begins at 7:30 pm. Proceeds benefit The Lost Mural Project and Full Circle Preschool.
Northern Nosh
We are excited to invite you to our Annual Northern Nosh Jewish Food Festival!
Northern Nosh Food Festival
Sunday, November 10th at 11:15 AM
At Ohavi Zedek, 188 North Prospect Street, Burlington VT 05401
Traditional Jewish foods, music, kids activities, and more!
Nosh entry ticket pricing:
Adults (Age 13+): Entry cost is $10 and includes 3 food vouchers. (If you wait to buy a ticket onsite, you will only get 2 food tickets per entry.)
Youth (Age 5 to 12): Entry costs $5 and includes 1 food voucher.
Age 4 and under: Free entry, no food vouchers included
Different dishes at the event will cost 1, 2 or 3 food vouchers. Your tickets will be available at will call.
K-3 Shabbat Service and Simchat Torah Celebration
Grade level shabbats services are attended by Religious School students and their families. During the service students lead prayers they have learned in class. Join us for this special Shabbat and Simchat Torah Service. Dance with the Torah and help us roll it back to the beginning! And then schmooze with Religious School families at the oneg after services. All are welcome!
OCTOBER 7 MEMORIAL
October 7, 2024
An Evening of Remembrance & Hope
The First Anniversary of October 7
6:00 p.m. – Community Service at Ohavi Zedek Synagogue with Cantor Jessica Silverberg, Rabbi David Edleson, Rabbi David Fainsilber, Rabbi Eliyahu Junik, and Rabbi Aaron Philmus
6:45 p.m. – Silent Walk to UVM
7:30 p.m. – Vigil with the UVM Hillel community near the Howe Library
Amid ongoing heartache and loss, we come together to honor, remember, and find hope. We are proud to unite with Shalom Alliance, Hillel, Jewish Community of Greater Stowe (JCOGS), Temple Sinai, Chabad, Ohavi Zedek, and Jewish Communities of Vermont (JCVT) to commemorate the first anniversary of October 7 as one community.
This evening will be a time for reflection and healing. Soulful music will uplift us, and the voices of our speakers will inspire us. We will join in solidarity to mourn, honor survivors and heroes, and fill one another with strength and hope for the future we will build together.
Rosh Hashanah By the Lake
Join us for a joyful Rosh Hashanah experience at a new location this year (inside Hula overlooking the beautiful Burlington waterfront)!
Enjoy Jewish stories, skits and songs, hear the shofar sound, dip apples in honey, and more in a warm, joyful setting! This event is co-led by OZ’s clergy, including our new Cantor Jessica Silverberg and Rabbi Aaron Philmus, as well as a host of talented volunteer community members/story tellers. (We need your help- interested contact us!)
Jewish? Adjacent? Curious? Join us for this day of Awe-some! This friendly event is suitable for those ages 0 to 118. Everyone is welcome! Questions? Contact us.
All of OZ’s high holiday programs can be seen here.
This event will be followed by an outdoor lakeside Tashlich. We will provide pebbles for an eco-friendly option!
20's/30's Wine & Cheese
Join our 20s & 30s Group for wine, cheese & Rosh Hashanah classics like apples and honey!
Feel free to join us for Erev Rosh Hashanah services following the event!
Selichot
Please join Rabbis Aaron Philmus, Jan Salzman, and Cantor Jessica Silverberg for the first night of Selichot, an evening of learning and music to kick-off the High Holiday season. Composed by the greatest paytanimand medieval poets, these ancient prayers direct our hearts and minds towards the process of teshuvah(repentance).
Presentation Skills for Creating a New Narrative about Israel
Whether you are speaking at a town hall meeting, on campus, or shooting a video for social media, you have to know how to grab your audience's attention in the first 30 seconds and then concisely talk about Israel in a way that is engaging and resonates with your audience.
In our workshop on Sunday, we will learn techniques in presentation skills and crafting messages for various audiences in talking about Israel.
We will see some of the top influencers, spokespeople and content creators in the field for sources of information and inspiration.
And, of course, this will be hands on. Some of the participants will try their speaking skills in filmed simulations.
Linda Lovitch is a media consultant in Israel with decades of experience working with Israel's spokespersons and diplomats.
She truly knows how to talk to the toughest of crowds.
Confronting Antisemitism in Schools
Chai Lights: Confronting Antisemitism in Schools
September 22 @ 9:15 am - 10:45 am
Register Now!
This Sunday morning discussion will be led by OZ’s Kulanu workgroup, who will provide details of some recent school incidents and advice for talking to kids about antisemitism.
Led by Scott Silverstein and others in OZ Kulanu group.
Meet informally for bagels and coffee at 9:15 am, with the program starting at 9:30 am
Zoë Keating: OZ Concert to Benefit Full Circle Preschool
Join us for a special evening performance with Zoë Keating, consisting of roughly an hour of performance and a short discussion. Guests will have the option of purchasing tickets for a pre-event reception with Zoë.
Proceeds from the evening will support Full Circle Preschool.
About The Artist
Zoë Keating is an Emmy nominated composer and cellist known for her innovative use of technology in live performance. She blends classical training with electronic manipulation, creating hauntingly beautiful and intricate soundscapes. Her solo cello pieces have garnered critical acclaim and a devoted fanbase
TWO TRUTHS IN ONE HEART, TWO PEOPLES IN ONE LAND
Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger and Noor A'wad are leaders of the West Bank-based Roots/Shorashim/Judur, a local Palestinian-Israeli grassroots initiative for understanding, non-violence, and transformation. Roots' work is aimed at challenging the assumptions the two communities hold about each other. They represent a unique network of Israelis and Palestinians who have come to see each other as partners in the work to make changes to reduce tension, prevent escalation, and end the conflict.
Rabbi Hanan and Noor will discuss their personal experiences having spent most of their lives living in the heart of the conflict, both before October 7, 2023, and since. They will also share how their perspectives, their work, and their societies have and have not been changed in recent months, how Israeli and Palestinian communities view Roots, and what they see for the future.
To Register, please go to www.shalomalliancevt.org and click on events.
HNE-NNE Vermont Brunch & Conversation
Hadassah Vermont Brunch & Conversation
with Barbara Vinick, author ‹ f 100 Jewish Brides
Ohavi Zedek Synagogue, Burlington, Vermont Please join Hadassah Vermont for a sumptuous brunch and conversation with Barbara Vinick, co-editor with Shulamit Reinharz, of 100 Jewish Brides: Stories from Around the World which features stories of Jewish brides from six continents, highlighting diverse customs and rituals related to weddings now and in the past. Please bring Jewish wedding pictures or mementos that you would like to share. Honoring the Hostages from October 7th. Remarks by Rabbi David Edleson. We invite you to paint your ring finger nails yellow to raise awareness of the hostages still in captivity.
REGISTER BY AUGUST 23 AT
https://events.hadassah.org/vermontlunch24
Registration fee: $36
Shabbat In The Park w/ Temple Sinai & Ohavi Zedek
Everyone welcome!
Our third summer outdoor shabbat in 2024.
Please bring chairs and/or blankets and a vegetarian dish or nosh of your choice*!
Location is Vetran’s Memorial Park Pavilion.
6 pm service
7 pm vegetarian pot luck*
Bead Their Names
Please join us as we string together bracelets bearing the names of the hostages to maintain and spread
awareness to the greater community.
SHARED SOCIETY WITH ISRAELI AND BEDOUIN PARTNERS
Living Tree Alliance and Ohavi Zedek are please to present this Covenant Grant Funded Program.
Hear how a Bedouin philanthropist and Israeli Shared Society activist have collaborated to contribute to the next phase above and beyond ‘coexistence’ in Israel: a Shared Society of mutual understanding, respect and opportunity. They will explore philanthropy’s role in safeguarding Arab and Shared Society in Israel post-October 7.
About our speakers:
Ibrahim Nsasra will be attending on Zoom. He is an entrepreneur, business man, founder and board member of Qudra Arab Funders Network. Nsasra is a co-founder of Qudra – Arab Philanthropists Network, an organization that unites Arab philanthropists and ensures strategic development of philanthropy in Arab society. Ibrahim additionally founded a number of other companies and ventures including:
Nazid, a food production factory
The Tamar Center, which promotes education in Bedouin society, and
The Tamam Group, a business group established with the aim of bringing about economic and social change in Bedouin society
A native of the Negev, Ibrahim holds a bachelor’s degree in education from Kaye College and a master’s degree in public policy from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Ravit Greenberg will be in person. She is a Grant Manager, Social Venture Fund and Executive Director of Nisaba Foundation
Ravit sees her work – and personal goal – as helping visionary people and organizations ground their dreams through effective planning, financial management, operational implementation, and evaluation. From 2010-2020, Greenberg’s work focused on the advancement of mission-driven non-profits in Israel’s Negev. In 2020, she transitioned to work with the Nisaba Foundation, and in 2023 she joined the Social Venture Fund. To nourish herself and her family, Ravit seeks out earth-based Jewish spaces to engage in intentional ecologically minded community building, which is how her and her family have become summer residents over the last five years at Living Tree Alliance.
Tot Shabbat in the Park with OZ
Tot Shabbat Playdate in the Park
July 27 @ 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Come together with little ones and their families for song, story and outdoor play. Bring along a snack to share.
Location Oakledge Park – Meet by the playground near the restrooms.