Temple Beth El Blog

Did you know that only 42% of children can read at grade level, and only 10% of Black children can do so?
 
Under a new grant awarded by the Jewish Federation of Madison, One City Schools, a UW-authorized charter school in Madison whose student population is 90% kids of color and over 60% living in poverty, is looking for members of the Jewish community to serve as literacy tutors. Volunteers work with individual 2nd and 3rd grade students twice a week in two 30-minute sessions.
 
Eight members of Temple Beth El are currently One City Schools tutors and uniformly report that it is incredibly well-organized, rewarding, and satisfying volunteer work.
 
One City will train volunteer tutors on August 28 and 29, 2025, and then tutors will begin in mid-September. After tutors receive the phonics training, One City provides tutors with an evidence-based curriculum and lesson plans, a basket of supplies, a weekly huddle with staff and other tutors, and endless support.
 
For more information, please see the position description, FAQs, and this video, and contact Betsy Abramson at betsyabramson@gmail.com or 608-332-7867 to learn more about this exciting opportunity and important mitzvah.

Temple Beth El’s new fiscal year (FY 2026) begins on July 1, 2025. The Board of Trustees passed the FY 2026 budget at its April meeting. 
Quick facts about our FY 2026 budget:

• We have budgeted almost $900,000 in revenue. Much of this comes from you, our members, through sources including annual contributions, Religious and Hebrew School tuition, and tribute and memorial donations. 
• We also receive revenue in the form of rental income for the cell tower located on our roof, fundraising through our sponsorship program, and funds from High Holy Day guest cards. 
• 27% of the funds needed to pay for our $1.6 million in expenses comes from our endowed and restricted funds. We receive some of this funding at the beginning of the fiscal year (July 1) and much of it throughout the year as the expenses are incurred, as detailed in the following sections.  

Endowed Funds Administration Fee

TBE’s administration fee guideline for our endowed funds transfers 2% of the average of these funds to general operations of TBE to cover the management, reporting, and maintenance of these funds and other expenses as needed. These endowed funds include the Endowment for Spiritual Leadership, the Yerusha Fund, and the Larry Kohn Chair of Jewish Learning Fund. For FY 2026 the 2% administration fee total is almost $121,000.

Endowed Funds Distribution Fee

In addition to the administration fee, we take up to a 2% distribution fee from all of our endowed funds when they are used according to the purpose designated when the fund was created. For example, the distribution fee for the Larry Kohn Chair of Jewish Learning Fund is used to help fund the payroll for our Religious and Hebrew School teachers. The 2% distribution fee for the Endowment for Spiritual Leadership is applied to the compensation of our clergy. These distributions are allocated throughout the fiscal year as those expenses are incurred. 

In addition to the distribution fees from our permanently endowed funds, we receive funds from temporarily restricted funds such as our security fund (to pay for Madison Police Department presence) and other funds that members have set up to help pay for specific expenses. 

Funds Received on July 1

The purpose of the Yerusha Fund is to “provide a stable and growing source of support for Temple Beth El’s programs and services.” This fund is meant to supplement revenue for TBE expenses. Because of this, the 2% distribution for this fund ($23,029) is taken at the beginning of each fiscal year, on July 1.

On July 1, Johnson Financial Group, which holds these funds for TBE, disburses both the 2% administration fee from all endowed funds and the 2% distribution fee from the Yerusha Fund. This total is $143,765. The other distributions are requested from Johnson Financial Group throughout the year. 

Thank You!

Thanks to the generosity of those who created these funds in years past, and thanks to all of your generous contributions, TBE is able to provide the quality programs and services we all benefit from. 

This article also appears in the June 2025 TBE Bulletin.

Temple’s diverse, 15-member Shabbat Task Force continues to explore ways to make Shabbat even more meaningful in the lives of all of our congregants. The focus of our efforts since our update in the April Bulletin has been on meeting with congregants, inviting submission of comments online, and reviewing all of that valuable input. At press time, 17 congregants had submitted written comments online and 113 different congregants had participated in one of two open listening sessions (one in person before services and one virtual on Zoom) and ten smaller focus group sessions (ranging from five to 30 participants). We plan to continue to find ways for congregants to offer their impressions and suggestions in the weeks ahead.

Unsurprisingly, we’ve heard and read very thoughtful comments, expressing diverse, not unanimous, points of view. Yet there are common, broadly held views on some points. While far from a complete list, among the points we’ve heard most frequently are:

• Start Friday night services significantly earlier and be sensitive to their length.
• Make every person in the sanctuary genuinely feel part of the community.
• Have services where families with younger children truly feel welcome.
• Recognize the key role of familiar music; utilize more instrumentalists.
• We value a message at each service that gives us something to think about spiritually and/or intellectually.
• Make Torah a regular part of the Friday night service experience.
• Make food a larger part of the Friday-night-at-Temple experience.
• Expand communications about what’s going to be in each week’s service.

The task force’s charge is to generate ideas and serve as a clearinghouse for ideas collected from other congregants and from other congregations’ successful practices. From the input we’ve received, there is clear, strong interest in trying out an earlier, uniform start time. The task force will continue to evaluate the other suggestions that have been generated and the congregation’s response to any changes that are implemented.

The experience of being in the sanctuary on Shabbat can bring peace and separation from the noise and cares of our daily lives. We hope more of our congregants can come to know that peace on a regular basis. We recognize that the presence of each of us in those Shabbat services can enrich our own lives and also the experience of those around us. So we do hope to increase attendance at Shabbat services, but the larger numbers are a means toward those ends, not an end in themselves. We truly feel the best is yet to come!

In November 2024, Goodman Community Center held its first-ever friendly competition to see which participating organization could donate the most food to its annual Thanksgiving Basket Drive. 

Exact Sciences (6,400 employees) was the winner, donating 1,448 food items. And the Temple Beth El Religious School (151 students) came in second, donating 504 items—nearly 10% of the total collection of 5,097 boxes, cans, jars, or bags of food donated to help meet growing needs.   

Person for person and can for can, it was no contest—our students are #1!

Join us for Mitzvah Day 2025, the day when the whole Temple comes together to give back to the greater community through acts of kindness, service, and connection. Mitzvah Day is an opportunity for people of all ages to make a meaningful impact in the lives of others and strengthen our bonds with fellow TBE members. 

New and Returning Projects

Many of our projects from past years are returning, such as fleece blankets for Project Linus, meals for Ronald McDonald House and Catholic Multicultural Center, outdoor cleanup at the east side Goodman Community Center and Goodman Campus in Verona, spreading mulch at Beit Olamim cemetery, and manicures for residents of the Capitol Lakes retirement community. Registration and information for the National Bone Marrow Registry will again be part of the day. 

New projects for 2025 include cleanup at Domestic Abuse Intervention Services (DAIS) and organizing men’s clothes for those recently released from incarceration. There’s something for every age group and skill set, so register your family and invite your TBE friends to sign up too. 

Lunch and refreshments will be provided as we celebrate the spirit of community and service that lies at the heart of our Jewish tradition. Lunch will include a pep rally for our day of service and presentation of the Rabbi Biatch Tikkun Olam Award. During the afternoon, stop by our Kehillah (Community) Café during the afternoon for a snack.

Rabbi Biatch Tikkun Olam Award

The Rabbi Biatch Tikkun Olam Award was established last year to honor Rabbi Emeritus Jonathan Biatch, who championed actions and dialogue to make our local, national, and international community more safe and just. The award is presented to TBE volunteers who have a passion for advocacy and social justice and dedication to tikkun olam. This year’s award will be presented to Marcia Vandercook for her years of service as co-chair of the Social Action Committee, her work on the Social Justice Spotlight, and her efforts to elevate others in this holy work. 

Registration

View the Mitzvah Day Project Quick Guide PDF for a convenient way to see all the project options. Registration for projects is on a first come, first served basis. Many projects have limited space and will fill up, so register here as soon as you can. Please reach out to Aleeza at engage@tbemadison.org with any questions.

Learn more about all things Mitzvah Day here 

We are thankful for several types of donations that help to support Temple Beth El throughout the year. Many of these donations support Temple Beth El with funds that can be used where needed. Gifts designated for specific projects allow for TBE’s growth and innovation.

Two new bequests are reminders of generous and beloved TBE members:
Marj Tobias: A charitable bequest was directed to the Tobias Jewish Programming Fund from Marjorie’s estate. With this gift, the Tobias family’s generosity will have long-lasting benefits for our congregation.

Howard Goldberg: We are grateful to Sandy Goldberg for her generous donation to the Yerusha Fund in remembrance of her husband, whose memory is honored by this act of giving.

If you are interested in more information about Temple Beth El’s Dorot Society, which honors those who provide for our future through planned giving, or other giving opportunities, please contact Executive Director Stefanie Kushner at exec@tbemadison.org.

A special fund assists our community 
The Rabbi Jonathan Biatch Endowment Fund: Tim and Kathy Mazur established the Rabbi Jonathan Biatch Endowment Fund, which will help Temple Beth El members needing assistance.

Donations for special projects or funds
The Tobias Jewish Programming Fund: The generous donation we received from Marj Tobias’s planned giving added to this fund, which most recently provided funding to create a beautiful installation weekend for Rabbi Prosnit, making all the events cost-free for attendees.

Jewish Burial Association of Madison, Sunset Memorial Gardens, and Jeff and Marv Levy: The genizah ceremony last fall (burial of sacred books) was made possible by the generosity of the Jewish Burial Association of Madison, which donated a burial plot at Beit Olamim cemetery; by Sunset Memorial Gardens for the donation of a vault and for the services they provide for opening and closing the plot; and by Jeff and Marv Levy for donating funds for the second vault needed for the large number of books we buried.

Madison Top, the Blotner Music Fund, the Cantor’s Discretionary Fund, and the TBE Music Fund: These resources brought us together for a wonderful weekend to enjoy the music of Dan Nichols as an artist in residence in early 2024.

Donations to memorial, tribute, or greatest need funds
Donations to memorialize loved ones and to celebrate occasions big and small are acts of tzedakah that sustain Temple life. These gifts can be given for general use or directed for a specific use. 

We are grateful for 2024 donations totaling just over $16,000, which provide flexible funding that can be used as needed. We are also thankful for memorial and tribute donations that were designated for specific uses or funds.

Donations to endowed funds
Our permanently endowed funds, including the Endowment for Spiritual Leadership, the Yerusha Fund, and the Larry Kohn Chair of Jewish Learning Fund, are the basis for Temple Beth El’s financial future. Contributions to these funds were made through tribute and memorial gifts, additional donations during membership renewal, and bequests. Donations in 2024 to all of our permanently endowed funds totaled over $1,000,000 (this includes donations paid on pledges previously made to the Endowment for Spiritual Leadership). Your support through these endowment funds helps provide a foundation for Jewish life to thrive at Temple Beth El well into the future. 
 

Thanks to the generosity of many TBE families, we are fortunate to have funds that directly benefit our youngest members, providing opportunities for activities that expand their connection to Judaism beyond TBE. These funds include:

Ries/Roth Scholarship Fund: This fund, established by Judy and Gary Ries, continues a family tradition started by Judy’s parents, Lillian and Jerome Roth, at their congregation in Elgin, IL. This fund grants at least one $1,000 scholarship annually to a high school senior who is furthering their education at an accredited college, university, technical school, or trade school. The award may be used for tuition, room, board, or books. This financial need-based scholarship is granted to a student who has demonstrated a well-rounded high school experience. Recipients of this award must have been confirmed and be a current member of Temple Beth El and an active post–b’nai mitzvah participant in Temple life and/or the greater Jewish community. 

Campership Funds: Sending a child to a Jewish summer program deepens their relationship to Judaism. Temple Beth El is proud to be able to support our youth in attending Jewish summer programs through camperships (camp scholarships). Camperships are provided through the generosity of TBE’s Sisterhood, Men’s Club, Rabbi’s and Cantor’s Discretionary Funds, and funds set up by families wanting to help make Jewish summer programs more affordable, such as the Norman Weiss Memorial Campership Fund and the Evelyn & Ben Minkoff Residential Campership Fund. 

When our students participate in Jewish educational experiences, including Jewish camp, youth group, Midrasha Hebrew High School, and confirmation, they are forming a positive Jewish identity that will sustain them well into adulthood. Our camperships and scholarships not only remove barriers for students to have these experiences but encourage them to stay active and connected to their Jewish community. 
 

It was an early November weekend in Cincinnati when the WRJ Heartland District held their Heart-to-Heart and Face-to-Face weekend.

Almost one hundred women from all over the Heartland District (from Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, South Dakota, Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio) met to share experiences and build relationships, spending four meaningful days together. 

I would like to acknowledge first how impactful this trip was. Just after the U.S. election, this weekend provided a stable sense of a North American community of Jewish women, sharing similar values. It was warm, welcoming, and supportive. It felt like home.

There was the opportunity to go to Hebrew Union College (HUC), and among other things we did, we saw the Sisterhood Dormitory, built by the National Federation of Temple Sisterhoods (now known as Women of Reform Judaism, WRJ), which has housed generations of rabbinical students since 1925. So many of us didn’t realize that many of the rabbis we know and love had their rabbinic educations funded by WRJ scholarships. It was wonderful to hear from them—and learn how WRJ had impacted their lives.

We were so fortunate to enjoy the warm and welcoming community of Valley Temple in Cincinnati, where we spent Shabbat dinner and shared in their Sisterhood Shabbat, our Heartland District community singing and praying together with them. It was a very moving experience.

For me, one of the more impactful experiences was our visit to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center (https://freedomcenter.org), on the banks of the great Ohio River, at the John H. Roebling Bridge, across the river from the State of Kentucky. 

Here we were on one of the major sites of the actual Underground Railroad crossing, where hundreds of thousands of slaves were smuggled across the Mason-Dixon Line (the Ohio River) to Ohio—and then to Canada to freedom.

Here, the phrase attributed to Rabbi Hillel “If not us, then who? If not now, then when?” was projected on the wall. The halls were named “The Pavilion of Courage” and “The Pavilion of Perseverance.” For just a few days after the election, this felt timely and incredibly touching.

While we also enjoyed other local Cincinnati experiences, it was incredibly special to all be together. There were many who had not seen each other in a long time—there were embraces and there was laughter.

We found points of connection at breakfast, in the elevator, in the train station eating popcorn. And for some of us, we met some very old friends—for the first time.

The Women of Reform Judaism are a vibrant, impactful group of women whose work has changed many lives.

I am so looking forward to the March 21–23 Lev el Lev Heartland District retreat weekend at OSRUI in Oconomowoc.

I hope that you will join me.

Registration materials are forthcoming. Reach out to lesliecoff@gmail.com with questions.
 

Modern usage of the term klezmer as a genre of Jewish folk music only dates back to around 1980, yet the word was used as early as the 18th century. 

A klezmer (Yiddish shortening of the Hebrew kli zemer, meaning “vessel/instrument of song”) was a professional instrumental musician, usually Jewish, who played in a band hired for special occasions in eastern European communities. These musicians, or klezmorim, found a niche in rapidly growing towns and cities, playing for celebrations (most commonly weddings) as well as in private homes.

In the United States, many klezmorim moved beyond specifically Jewish work to join mainstream dance bands by the 1930s, creating a hybrid “Yiddish swing” genre. Klezmer faded from the U.S. music scene after the Holocaust, which cut off American klezmer from its eastern European roots. In the mid-1970s, younger American musicians from varying backgrounds rediscovered this “roots” music genre, sought out the surviving old masters, and revitalized the style. 

Since its revival, klezmer has come to refer to the whole ramified scene of local, touring, and recording bands that have formed since the 1970s and ’80s. While the term continues to evolve, the music survives as well, growing and evolving, enriching the landscape of Jewish culture in America, connecting us to our history through our listening ears and our dancing feet.

Sample a few klezmer favorites at yidvicious.com/listen and join us on Saturday, March 1, at 7:00 pm for a fun, family-friendly concert featuring Madison’s beloved klezmer band, Yid Vicious. Their award-winning music brings Yiddish music to life and has delighted audiences all over the world. Learn more and register now!

The words of “Let’s Be Still,” a song by Jonathan Russell et al. that I sang after Rabbi Prosnit’s sermon on Yom Kippur morning, speak to a truth of the modern world that many of us may experience. Immersed in the demands of our day-to-day lives, it can be easy to get caught up in the external (tasks to accomplish, expectations to be met), and to neglect the truth of our inner life, moment to moment.

Thankfully, there are many ways to engage with inner work and to cultivate awareness and intention. Modern developments in therapy and understanding of the human psyche, coupled with a lessening of the stigma around mental health care, have increased opportunities for many to receive beneficial clinical care. And prayer and meditation, whether done individually or in community, continues to be a powerful tool for inner work and spiritual growth.

I recently concluded a program with the Institute for Jewish Spirituality (IJS), a program intended to provide Jewish clergy with immersive training in Jewish spiritual practices grounded in mindfulness, ultimately to promote personal and professional growth. Through this program I found many different kinds of doorways opening. I had tried meditation before, using a variety of apps and online resources, but I always found it difficult to sustain such practices for long. One of many things I found transformative about my learning at IJS was beginning to more fully integrate my Jewish identity with my personal, inner work. 

As someone deeply immersed in religious Jewish life, I have always found great meaning and connection in our rituals, liturgy, and other sacred texts. And while I knew of areas of Jewish tradition that involved meditation, such as kabbalah and other forms of mysticism, I didn’t realize the extent to which such inner work has always been available as a way to live Jewishly and the immense variety of approaches one can access today. 

As I continue to cultivate my own understanding and practice, I am excited to share my developing experience with the community, and perhaps help others open doorways to integrating spiritual and religious identity with personal, inner work. 

Beginning on Thursday, January 23, I will be offering a six-session introduction to Jewish meditation. The course will provide a low-barrier entry for anyone curious about what it might be like to meditate Jewishly. 
Regardless of your level of experience, I invite you to explore with me how our Jewish sacred texts and traditions can inform our personal inner work and build the foundation for sustainable spiritual practice. 

Register for the course at tbemadison.org/event/introjewishmeditation. 

To learn more, explore this useful Q&A about Jewish meditation and the phenomenal resources of IJS.

Across the country, civil rights leaders in leading organizations like the NAACP are calling out literacy as a civil rights issue. They recognize that literacy is critical to addressing racial disparities and closing the achievement gap in both education and economic opportunity. Here in Wisconsin, Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings, esteemed UW School of Education professor emeritus, states emphatically that if we as a society want to address racial disparities, we must work together to teach Black children to read. In the Madison Metropolitan School District, only 35% of all children read at grade level, while the percentage for African American children is only 10%.  
 
To help address this critical need, the TBE Racial Justice Action Team is working to improve and increase the number of volunteer reading tutors in the Madison area. With the state legislature now requiring all Wisconsin school districts to return to a phonics-focused curriculum to teach reading, there are many opportunities for committed adults to work with students who need extra help. TBE volunteers have been trained or are being trained to work with students in MMSD schools, at the Goodman Center’s after-school program, and at One City Schools, where 90% of the students are students of color.  

If you are interested in learning more, please reach out to Betsy Abramson at betsyabramson@gmail.com or 608-332-7867.