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PJ Library! Family Events!

PJ Library! Family Events!

This is the home for family friendly events! Updated weekly

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I grew up culturally Jewish, but have never really practiced actively, so I was super excited to get PJ Library for my daughter when she was born to help keep that thread alive. 

When Nora was about two and a half, one evening she just said, "Why are we a Jewish Family?" Well, clearly PJ Library Books did their work! I don't think she ever would have identified as Jewish without those monthly books!

Starting then, we committed to deepening our practice and now, five years later, we observe Shabbat every Friday and Havdalah every Saturday and are proud members of the Jewish Farmer Network.

PS My answer to her question at the time was, "Because we don't believe that one human being, no matter how amazing, can save all of humanity. We are all called upon to do good in the world every single day to make the world a better place. Many faiths believe this, but we happen to believe it in a Jewish way and call it Tikkun Olam." Ricky Klein

Sign up for PJ Library

A gift of Jewish storybooks delivered each month from JCVT and generous donors in the Vermont Jewish community and beyond.

PJ Library sends curated, award-winning storybooks and activities for kids from birth through age 12.

The program sparks meaningful conversation and provides opportunities to explore and celebrate Jewish life together.

Sign up for PJ Library here

PJ Library in vermont

PJ LIBRARY CELEBRATES 50 MILLION BOOKS

PJ Library in Vermont, now in our seventeenth year, is a program of Jewish Communities of Vermont.  We partner with the Harold Grinspoon Foundation to send a gift of monthly Jewish children's books to families across Vermont.

PJ Library Collaborates with local synagogues for family programs across the state. We have partnered with Temple Sinai, Ohavi Zedek, Havurah of Addison County, Jewish Community of Greater Stowe, Beth Jacob Synagogue, Shir Shalom, Kol HaEmek, Chabad of Vermont and Rutland Jewish Center, Israel Congregation Manchester, Beth El Bennington and Congregation Beth El St. Johnsbury.

We know that something magical happens when parents sit down together to read with their children. PJ Library shares Jewish stories that can help your family talk together about values and traditions that are important to you. Your children are constantly learning about the world around them through the stories they hear. PJ Library books can bring Jewish ideas and inspiration for you and your children to share together.

We also offer ways for families to meet each other through in-person and virtual family gatherings led by PJ Parent Connectors and other leaders in the community.  We offer monthly Shabbat and holiday gatherings, gardening opportunities, meet-ups in different locations throughout Vermont and more!   

Families raising kids from birth through 12 years old with Judaism as part of their lives, are welcome to sign up. PJ Library welcomes all Jewish families, whatever your background, knowledge, family make-up, or observance may be.

When your child is 8.5 years old, they are eligible for the next chapter of PJ Library called, “PJ Our Way.” Like PJ Library of Vermont, PJ Our Way is a monthly gift from many supporters throughout Vermont and beyond. Through PJ Our Way, children 9-12 are able to choose their own books each month, write reviews, make videos and are eligible to apply to be part of the PJ Our Way design team. Since it is a separate program, parents need to enroll their children by going to www.pjourway.org.

PJ Library in Vermont is made possible by donations from people like you including parents, grandparents and community members and through partnering with the Harold Grinspoon Foundation. For books alone, our cost per child is $40/year.  Pay it forward to help another family become part of the Jewish story in Vermont!

For more information, contact our PJ Library of Vermont Director of Community Engagement, Zack Brooks : zack@jcvt.org

Kids Events!

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Kids Events! 〰️

Kids Events

Ohavi Zedek Family High Holiday Programs

Scroll down this page for information about Tamim Academy!

That's right! It's time to sign your child(ren) up for Hebrew School. We have been hard at work on some exciting changes and are thrilled to once again gather for fun hands-on learning at Havurah House.

Classes will begin on Monday, September 23. A full updated school calendar will be sent out with our Welcome Materials for the new school year.

Save the Date: Meet the Teacher / Hebrew School Kick Off Event Sunday, Sept. 15

Lots more details will be coming out over the next month about new staff, in depth projects, Hebrew initiatives and innovative new experiential learning. Looking forward to gathering with you in the fall!

Please fill out your registration form by August 1. Reminder, membership is required to enroll in Hebrew School.

We hope you will join us for an exciting year ahead! Questions? Contact Director of Education, Sarit Katzew

Havurah 2024-2025 Hebrew School Registration Form 

Filtering by: “Holidays”

Rosh Hashana Park Bash
Oct
3

Rosh Hashana Park Bash

Rosh Hashana Park Bash

On the first day of Rosh Hashana, Thursday, October 3rd, join us at Hope Davey Memorial Park in Waterbury Center for a Rosh Hashana Park Bash and Shofar sounding. We'll be gathering at 5:00, but timing is fluid- feel free to drop by any time until 5:45. We can keep blowing the shofar! There will be sweet Rosh Hashana treats for all, activities for the kids, and apples and honey for dipping. Representing the themes of renewal and rejuvenation, the call of the shofar ushers us into the new year and  recenters our connection with G‑d. 

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Annual PJ Library in Vermont Update

We are excited to share with you our

accomplishments this year. In 2022, Jewish Communities of Vermont, implementing partner for PJ Library in

Vermont, received a Signature Covenant Grant for a total of $150,000 for up to three years, to work on building

and expanding the Jewish community in Vermont for statewide community building programs for all ages. We just

received the grant for the second year.

Covenant Grant

Through the Covenant Grant, in 2022, JCVT awarded Mini grants to 13 synagogues and Jewish organizations to

bring the Jewish community together to celebrate Jewish cultural and communal events. We also co-sponsored

Jewish music concerts and a film festival. We know that in all the programs offered, many individuals and families

who attended were not members of synagogues or affiliated with the Jewish community.

We were very excited that so many Jewish organizations wanted to provide Jewish gatherings to the Jewish

community, especially to unaffiliated Jewish families and adults. There are so many Jews who want to be

connected to Jewish life but need a way to find their way in. We offered four regional events and many local

events as a doorway into being connected to the Jewish community.

At the largest regional gathering, Northern Nosh, we offered a Hanukkah puppet show, a children’s concert, and

an intergenerational songwriting workshop, all with well-known Jewish artists, including and Anna Sobel, Joanie

Leeds and Jon Gailmor. Popular and beloved puppeteer Anna Sobel also brought the audience into the puppet’s

world at two other regional events.

PJ Library in Vermont

PJ Library in Vermont is now a well-known and well-liked program. We send monthly books for over 600 kids in

Vermont ages 0-12. PJ Library families are encouraged to invite other families to do something Jewish together

through Get Together Grants, where they are reimbursed up to $100 for food. However, there are still many

people who don’t know about PJ Library and are very interested in enrolling once they know. We had a PJ Library

table at four regional events which was a great way to promote the program. Monthly Zoom and in-person

Shabbat and Holiday programs for families for families are very popular at Temple Sinai in Burlington. We also co-

sponsored many PJ Library programs with other synagogues throughout the state. During Hanukkah, PJ Library in

Vermont cosponsored a public Menorah lighting at the State Capital where attendees were invited inside the

Statehouse to hear the Governor read a PJ Library story to children, to sing Hanukkah songs with a local Jewish

musician and enjoy local cider, hot latkes and donuts. At the regional gatherings and Hanukkah party, PJ Library

books were given out to all.

Harold Grinspoon Grant for Family Education

Through the Parenting Education Grant, state-wide parenting classes and family programs on Zoom and in person

are currently being offered using traditional and modern sources for topics including Feeding the Family, Teaching

our Children about Tzedakah and Encouraging Gratitude. Outdoor Family programs that have been offered at the

Living Tree Alliance Jewish Moshav included Tu B’Shvat and Shugar and Shmooze. Upcoming programs will be

Mother’s Day on the Farm and Shavuot on the Mountain. A week-long Jewish children’s overnight camp will be

offered this summer at Living Tree Alliance, co-sponsored by PJ Library in Vermont. PJ Library families can apply

for a grant for this camp and any overnight Jewish summer camp.

PJ Library Collaborations with local synagogues for family programs across the state have included Temple Sinai,

Jewish Community of Greater Stowe, Beth Jacob, Shir Shalom, Chabad of Vermont and Rutland Jewish Center

Tamim academy

Tamim academy

Vermont’s first and only Jewish day school is located in the heart of Burlington. Guided by leading educators and enriched by the spirit of community, Tamim Academy prepared students for purposeful lives by empowering them with a positive self- concept, a passion for learning and eternal Jewish values.

More information is at: www.tamimvt.org