The best place to stay up to date on all events and programming at JSS! This calendar is always up to date and includes all the information you need to get involved.
Sep
26
Fri
Come join us for a special Rosh Hashanah celebration at Oakwood Village with Rabbi Renee Bauer and additional JSS staff and volunteers. Family and friends welcome! Light refreshments will be served. No registration is required for this service. We will meet in the Nakoma/Westmoreland Room.
We are also excited to feature Madison area violinist and educator Tina Westphal Thompson for this event. She holds a music degree from UW Madison and plays classical violin and bluegrass fiddle. Her current music projects include fiddler for Annie and the Oakies and violinist for the Yahara String Quartet. She teaches violin from her home on Madison’s east side.
Oct
9
Thu
Please join us for our annual Sukkot celebration with the Jewish Federation of Madison! Each year, we construct a community Sukkah in the parking lot of their main office. This event will feature staff from both organizations, festive snacks and refreshments, and a lulav and etrog available for shaking. Everyone is welcome to join us at this free event. We hope to see you there.
Oct
17
Fri
As we begin reading the Torah again, we re-encounter the story of creation. This week at Oakwood we will discuss the two different stories that appear in the Book of Genesis and how to make meaning of them together.
The event will feature refreshments + Shabbat candle lighting. No RSVP is needed and all are welcome. Facilitated by Rabbi Renée Bauer, with assistance from additional JSS staff and volunteers. The service takes place in the Westmoreland Room behind the front desk of the main entrance.
Nov
21
Fri
Jewish tradition has many spiritual tools for increasing our presence in our daily life and cultivating an attitude of gratefulness. In preparation of the Thanksgiving holiday, Rabbi Renée Bauer will share Jewish practices that help us to find and express gratitude in our daily lives.
Please join us, We will also light candles and enjoy light refreshments. As per usual, we will meet in the Nakoma/Westmoreland Room. No RSVP is needed, and all are welcome.
Dec
18
Thu
Join JSS social workers Maya Garbuz and Kate Shenker for our monthly Memory Cafe! A meeting place for designed for people experiencing memory issues, dementia, or Alzheimer’s disease and their caregivers. Socialize, find support and build community without the stigma associate with dementia.
This month, we will be hosting a special Memory Cafe centered around Hanukkah. We will bring menorahs and light them together, and will enjoy homemade potato latkes and apple sauce. We hope you can join us!
Come join us for a Hanukkah party at Capitol Lakes! Our Rabbi, Renee Bauer, will lead a service and we will light the menorah, play dreidel, and sing songs. Family and friends welcome. Stay tuned for a special musical guest as well…
Dec
19
Fri
Join Jewish Social Services as we celebrate the sixth night of Hanukkah at Oakwood Village West! Rabbi Renée Bauer will lead us in lighting the menorah. Family and friends are welcome, and light refreshments will be provided.
Mar
5
Thu
Join JSS and Capitol Lakes for a joyous Purim celebration in the Grand Hall. As per usual, this event will feature costumes, music, food, fun and many staff, volunteers and friends of the JSS community. We hope to see you there!
Apr
7
Tue
JSS returns to Capitol Lakes for our annual Passover seder, featuring a full catered meal and Rabbi Renee Bauer to lead us in the holiday service. Please contact Paul Borowsky for tickets and details regarding meal cost.
Jun
9
Tue
Register by phone at 608-442-4081, or via mail / in-person at Jewish Social Services, 6300 Enterprise Lane, #309, Madison, WI 53719. The program costs $30 per person. You can print out the registration form here: Levy Registration Form
Jordan Rosenblum, Belzer Professor of Classical Judaism and Director of Religious Studies at UW-Madison
His most recent book, Forbidden: A 3,000-Year History of Jews and the Pig (New York University Press, 2024), won a 2024 National Jewish Book Award. According to The Wall Street Journal, “ ‘Forbidden’ is an engaging and surprisingly cheerful study of that odd couple of the religious imagination, the Jew and the pig.” In addition, he is the author of Rabbinic Drinking: What Beverages Teach Us About Rabbinic Literature (University of California Press, 2020); The Jewish Dietary Laws in the Ancient World (Cambridge University Press, 2016); and Food and Identity in Early Rabbinic Judaism (Cambridge University Press, 2010). He is also the co-editor of four volumes, including Feasting and Fasting: The History and Ethics of Jewish Food (New York University Press, 2019); and Animals and the Law in Antiquity (Brown Judaic Studies, 2021).
“Forbidden: A 3,000-Year History of Jews and the Pig”
Jews do not eat pig. This (not always true) observation has been made by both Jews and non-Jews for 3,000 years. Over time, the pig becomes a popular metaphor for Jewish/non-Jewish identity. This talk explores this historical development. Starting in the Hebrew Bible, where the pig is tabooed (but not necessarily singled out more than other food prohibitions), we see the emergence of the pig as a symbol of Jewish identity in the Second Temple period and beyond. From the pages of the Talmud to the pages of The Forward, we follow the pig as it forages through Jewish history.
Lunch: Nakoma Golf Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette, assorted Artisan Rolls and Mini Muffins choice of entrée: Atlantic Salmon stuffed with Shiitake Mushrooms and Spinach, Wild Mushroom Cream Sauce or Vegan Sweet Potato Curry (mild), Barley Pilaf, French Beans, and Baby Carrots
Dessert: Tiramisu