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.

Jul
7
Mon
Al Anon Family Group
Jul 7 @ 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Al Anon Family Group @ Beth Israel Center

We are excited to announce this new weekly Al Anon Family Group, geared towards supporting those who are dealing with a loved one’s addiction. This open group is inclusive and open to anyone, and does not require a reservation or any sort of fee. Please join us at Beth Israel Center, every Monday, from 5 – 6pm.

Jul
11
Fri
Capitol Lakes Shabbat
Jul 11 @ 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Capitol Lakes Shabbat @ Premier Room at Capitol Lakes

Please join your neighbors, volunteers and Jewish Social Services staff for candle lighting, challah, wine, songs and discussion to usher in Shabbat, along with the opportunity to recite Kaddish. We look forward to spending this special time together with you! We celebrate Shabbat at Capitol Lakes on the first Friday of each month, led by JSS Rabbi Renee Bauer, with assistance from JSS Staff and UW-Hillel student volunteers.

No tickets or registration required – if you have questions on the event, please contact Paul Borowsky at 608-442-4083.

Jul
14
Mon
Al Anon Family Group
Jul 14 @ 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Al Anon Family Group @ Beth Israel Center

We are excited to announce this new weekly Al Anon Family Group, geared towards supporting those who are dealing with a loved one’s addiction. This open group is inclusive and open to anyone, and does not require a reservation or any sort of fee. Please join us at Beth Israel Center, every Monday, from 5 – 6pm.

Jul
17
Thu
Memory Cafe
Jul 17 @ 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
Memory Cafe @ JSS Main Office

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. Each month, we have a different presenter come in to lead activities with the group, plus snacks and a short stretching/movement activity. All are welcome at this free event.

Jul
18
Fri
Oakwood Shabbat – Who Knew? The High Holiday Season Begins in the Summer!
Jul 18 @ 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Oakwood Shabbat - Who Knew? The High Holiday Season Begins in the Summer! @ Nakoma/Westmoreland Room at Oakwood Village

Who Knew? The High Holiday Season Begins in the Summer!
Light Refreshments Provided

Join Rabbi Renée Bauer from Jewish Social Services to explore how the Jewish calendar prepares us in the height of summer for the Days of Awe. Come away with meaningful tools to help you greet Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur with intention and presence.

All are welcome.

Jul
21
Mon
Al Anon Family Group
Jul 21 @ 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Al Anon Family Group @ Beth Israel Center

We are excited to announce this new weekly Al Anon Family Group, geared towards supporting those who are dealing with a loved one’s addiction. This open group is inclusive and open to anyone, and does not require a reservation or any sort of fee. Please join us at Beth Israel Center, every Monday, from 5 – 6pm.

Jul
22
Tue
2025 Levy Series – Rabbi Judy Greenberg
Jul 22 @ 10:30 am – 1:30 pm
2025 Levy Series - Rabbi Judy Greenberg @ Nakoma Country Club

“New Beginnings: Contemporary Re-Readings of the Genesis Narratives”

The creation stories in Genesis are foundational to our narrative as Jews in the world. They have been mined for meaning throughout the generations – each generation uncovering new layers that speak to their moment. Contemporary voices continue this practice. We will explore cartoonist Liana Finck’s graphic novel of Genesis and also Midrash written in recent years by Israeli women. What is novel in their interpretations? What new possibilities do they uncover? We will open such questions as: why keep returning to these narratives? How can these stories inform our relationship to the messy, ever-changing world that we inhabit?

Prior to her work at UW Hillel, Rabbi Judy spent a summer serving as rabbi of Moses Montefiore Congregation in Appleton, Wisconsin. Previously, she taught Jewish studies at Rochelle Zell Jewish High School in the Chicago suburbs. Judy was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary, where she also received a master’s degree in Midrash. She has a BA from Harvard College. Judy loves reading and baking, but you can most often find her knitting. This week Judy and her family celebrate seven years of living in Madison.

10:30-10:50 – Check-in

11:00-12:30 – Program

12:30-1:30 – Lunch

Lunch: Vegetable Barley Soup, assorted Artisan Rolls and Mini Muffins. Choice of entrée: Baked Tilapia With Cucumber and Red Pepper Relish or Portabella Fettucine, Roasted Red Potatoes, Vegetable Medley. Dessert: Turtle Sundae

Register by phone at 608-442-4081, or via mail / in-person at Jewish Social Services, 6300 Enterprise Lane, #309, Madison, WI 53719. You can print out the registration form here: Levy Registration Form

Jul
28
Mon
Al Anon Family Group
Jul 28 @ 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Al Anon Family Group @ Beth Israel Center

We are excited to announce this new weekly Al Anon Family Group, geared towards supporting those who are dealing with a loved one’s addiction. This open group is inclusive and open to anyone, and does not require a reservation or any sort of fee. Please join us at Beth Israel Center, every Monday, from 5 – 6pm.

Aug
1
Fri
Capitol Lakes Shabbat
Aug 1 @ 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Capitol Lakes Shabbat @ Premier Room at Capitol Lakes

Please join your neighbors, volunteers and Jewish Social Services staff for candle lighting, challah, wine, songs and discussion to usher in Shabbat, along with the opportunity to recite Kaddish. We look forward to spending this special time together with you! We celebrate Shabbat at Capitol Lakes on the first Friday of each month, led by JSS Rabbi Renee Bauer, with assistance from JSS Staff and UW-Hillel student volunteers.

No tickets or registration required – if you have questions on the event, please contact Paul Borowsky at 608-442-4083.

Aug
6
Wed
2025 Levy Series – Sandra Fox
Aug 6 @ 10:30 am – 1:30 pm
2025 Levy Series - Sandra Fox @ Nakoma Country Club

“The Jews of Summer: Summer Camp and Jewish Culture in Postwar America”
In the decades directly following the Holocaust, Jewish leaders anxiously debated how to preserve and produce what they considered authentic Jewish culture, fearful that upward mobility and suburbanization threatened the integrity of Jewish life in America. Many communal educators and rabbis contended that without intervention, Judaism as they understood it would disappear altogether. In their searches for solutions, postwar Jews came to see residential summer camps as panaceas to their communal ills, constructing their programs with an eye towards collective transformation.
(Note: Professor Sandra Fox will be joining us via Zoom for this talk)

Sandra Fox is the Rifkind Chair in American Jewish History at the Jewish Theological Seminary. Professor Fox received her doctorate from New York University’s joint History and Hebrew Judaic Studies program in 2018. In addition to her research, Sandra is the founder and executive producer of the Yiddish-language podcast Vaybertaytsh: A Feminist Podcast in Yiddish, and is on the editorial board of In geveb: A Journal of Yiddish Studies. She is director of the Archive of the American Jewish Left in the Digital Age. Her research interests include American Jewish history, the history of youth and childhood, Yiddish culture, and the history of sexuality. Sandra will be discussing her book, The Jews of Summer: Summer Camp and Jewish Culture in Postwar America (Stanford University Press: 2023).

10:30-10:50 – Check-in

11:00-12:30 – Program

12:30-1:30 – Lunch

Lunch: Caprese Salad, assorted Artisan Rolls and Mini Muffins. Choice of entrée: Pan-fried Walleye with Panko Breadcrumb or Sun-dried Tomato and Asparagus Quiche in Puff Pastry, Garlic Whipped Potatoes, Stir Fry Vegetables. Dessert: Door County Cherry Pie á la Mode

Register by phone at 608-442-4081, or via mail / in-person at Jewish Social Services, 6300 Enterprise Lane, #309, Madison, WI 53719. You can print out the registration form here: Levy Registration Form