Temple Beth El Blog

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.

Marjorie and Harry Tobias (z''l) established the Tobias Jewish Programming Fund in 2002. We are grateful to use these funds to create a beautiful installation weekend for Rabbi Prosnit, making all the events cost-free for attendees. 

Marjorie and Harry dedicated time, energy, and their leadership to Temple Beth El. According to Amy Fields, “my parents would have been thrilled to know that the fund that they established would be used to make the installation available to the entire community.”

We are grateful to all generous donors who establish permanently endowed funds, like Marjorie and Harry Tobias, creating a legacy for Temple Beth El’s future. 

Thanks to a recent generous donation, the Endowment for Spiritual Leadership campaign has now exceeded the $5 million dollar level in pledges and donations. This endowment total is the largest amount ever raised at Temple Beth El. 

To celebrate this milestone, the development committee has started the process of creating a recognition piece to honor the donors who have made this possible. More information about this piece will be coming in the next few months. We hope you will take the opportunity to donate, or increase your donation, and be recognized for your giving.

The generosity of this community ensures strong spiritual leadership for the future of Temple Beth El and secures the continuation of our sacred community. 
 

Through TBE’s Temple Community Contribution program, you can choose your level of giving when you actively renew your membership. Your chosen level of giving allows you to give a contribution that is comfortable and meaningful for you. 

During the membership renewal period in December, we hope you will respond before December 31, 2024, and increase your annual contribution from last year. An automatic 5% increase will be applied at the beginning of January 2025 if you have not already actively renewed.
 
Your support enhances our high-quality programs and personnel, as costs continue to rise. Annual giving makes our vibrant Temple life possible. 

Every contribution is important and appreciated. Please plan to increase your impact through your annual contribution.

In Jewish tradition, a genizah is a sacred storage space used to house deteriorated or damaged religious texts and items that contain the name of God, such as Torah scrolls, prayer books, and tefillin. These items cannot be discarded in the usual manner. but are placed in a genizah, where they are stored until they can be buried in a Jewish cemetery, symbolizing a respectful return to the earth. This practice reflects deep reverence for the sanctity of God’s name and the sacredness of the written word in Jewish life.

Throughout decades of Temple life, Temple Beth El had accumulated hundreds of items, which were buried at Beit Olamim cemetery on September 15. Rabbi Jon Prosnit and Cantor Jacob Niemi led a short ceremony, where congregants were encouraged to take a book to be buried, place it in the ground, and shovel some dirt to place the earth over the books. It was a beautiful ceremony followed by a walk to Gan HaShalom, a garden that was envisioned, designed, and donated by Kathy and Tim Mazur. We gathered there for a discussion with Jim Stein, president of the Jewish Burial Association of Madison, and our TBE clergy. 

This meaningful genizah burial event would not have been possible without the generosity of many community members. We are grateful to the Jewish Burial Association of Madison for the donation of a burial plot at Beit Olamim cemetery, to Sunset Memorial Gardens for the donation of a vault and for the services they provide for opening and closing the plot, and to Jeff and Marv Levy for donating funds for the second vault needed for the large number of books we buried. We will remember this occasion as we honor the books and words that guided and taught generations of TBE congregants.

Cook Meals for Healing House
Sign up to drop off meals October 27 to November 2.

TBE Caring Committee 
In keeping with the Jewish principle of providing chesed (lovingkindness) to those in need, Temple Beth El has a Caring Committee to offer support and help to fellow congregants. Any TBE member can ask for assistance, and any member may suggest to that someone might need help. Once a request is made, the chair of the Caring Committee will follow up to determine the need and, where appropriate, assign the request to volunteers. You can use our online form to request care or sign up as a volunteer.

Volunteer Drivers for Immigration Proceedings
The Dane Sanctuary Coalition provides rides to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) offices in Milwaukee, Waukegan, IL, and Chicago, as well as the United States Immigration Court in Chicago. We are always seeking new volunteer drivers to join the team. A virtual training session is available with further explanation about the role and responsibilities of a volunteer driver, USCIS processes, etc. If you are interested in being a volunteer driver, please contact coordinator Dan Zimmerman or call him at his home at 608-241-1158. If you’d like to talk with an experienced TBE driver to see what it’s like, contact Betsy Abramson. 

Setting Up Apartments for Newly Arriving Refugees
Temple Beth El works with Jewish Social Services as they help refugees from all over the world resettle in the Madison area. JSS provides case management, job help, and housing for newly arrived refugee families. TBE volunteers work to set up apartments with furniture and food, and provide tutoring and mentoring as needed. Contact Sherie Sondel if you would like to help.

Volunteering through Jewish Social Services 
Jewish Social Services volunteers serve as drivers, friendly visitors, events supporters, language tutors, shoppers, mentors, apartment setup helpers, and so much more. Read about JSS volunteer opportunities here, or contact Paul Borowsky at 608-442-4083. 

Every year our Religious School children and families gather food and donations to support the Goodman Community Center Thanksgiving Basket Drive. Each grade participates in doing this mitzvah, bringing in specific food items to see which class can collect the greatest number. You can help by bringing items to Temple and placing them in the collection bins in the coatroom, starting on October 27 and ending at 9:30 am on Sunday, November 24. 

Anyone can donate these items, and the appropriate grade will be credited for the donation, even if it was made by a family with no students in our school. See here for a list of what’s needed. If you would prefer to make a monetary gift, you can donate directly here; please note it’s part of the Temple Beth El drive. 

After Thanksgiving, we will continue to brighten the holidays for our community through our holiday shoebox collection. For the second year, TBE congregants will fill shoeboxes with gift items for children, teens, or adults who might otherwise not receive any gifts during the holidays, as part of Nehemiah’s huge holiday shoebox gift giveaway. We have a list of recommended small items. The collection begins on November 20, and boxes must be returned to the TBE coatroom no later than December 12. Last year we exceeded our expectations by collecting 102 shoeboxes! 

We will also gather to wrap and deliver the boxes. Donations of new rolls of winter or Christmas wrapping paper are welcome to help us wrap the boxes.

Have you ever wondered how food pantry participants obtain fresh fruit and vegetables? The Madison area has ten community food pantry gardens that grow and donate fresh, nutritional, and culturally relevant food to supply local food pantries. For the last two years, TBE members have participated in this program through our partner, the Catholic Multicultural Center (CMC), which has the Emmett Schulte Food Pantry Garden in Verona. They distribute the produce at their food pantry and include it in their daily free meal program.

This August and September, about 20 TBE members came together to weed and harvest crops at the CMC garden. It was a wonderful way to get outside, learn a few skills, and get a chance to talk to old friends and meet new people, all while doing something so valuable for our community. We all agreed it was great fun and plan to volunteer again next year.
If you want to see how all the delicious produce is used, we have a volunteer opportunity for you! On the third Tuesday afternoon of every month, TBE volunteers serve meals to 40–50 low-income people at the Catholic Multicultural Center. This is another easy way to work with a small team and get to know other TBE members, as well as the people we serve. If you would like to join this fun volunteer activity, sign up here.

TBE Sisterhood's Mitzvah Day event on April 14 was a resounding success! Together with the Men’s Club, we dedicated our time to beautifying the UW Arboretum. By removing eight bags of invasive species from the Cedar Buffer area, we made a significant contribution to preserving this cherished natural space, while demonstrating the value of shmirat ha’adamah, taking care of the Earth. This collaborative effort not only enhanced the arboretum’s ecosystem but also fostered a strong sense of community and shared purpose. What a wonderful way to bring our two groups together for a shared purpose!

The TBE Civic Engagement Action Team is working to ensure that every voice is heard in our democracy. This summer and fall we have a variety of nonpartisan activities to register voters and get out the vote for the August 13 and November 5 elections. Even if you will be on vacation, make a plan to vote in the August 13 election, since there are important primaries and binding constitutional amendments on that ballot.

The binding constitutional amendments on the August 13 ballot will be:
Question 1: “Delegation of appropriation power. Shall section 35 (1) of article IV of the constitution be created to provide that the legislature may not delegate its sole power to determine how moneys shall be appropriated?”
Question 2: “Allocation of federal moneys. Shall section 35 (2) of article IV of the constitution be created to prohibit the governor from allocating any federal moneys the governor accepts on behalf of the state without the approval of the legislature by joint resolution or as provided by legislative rule?”

➕A "yes" vote on these two measures would mean that legislative approval is required before the governor can spend any federal money appropriated to the state. Proponents favor shifting control of federal funding from the governor to the legislature.
➕A "no" vote would allow the governor to continue to accept and allocate federal funds without seeking legislative approval. Opponents believe the proposed amendments would reduce and delay the use of federal funds to help citizens, especially in times of emergency. 

What can you do to increase voter turnout?

• Vote on August 13 and November 5. Go to myvote.wi.gov to register, change your address, or request an absentee ballot. Email slevy51@gmail.com if you need assistance.
• Help others register to vote. Our TBE goal is to register 100 new voters by November. TBE volunteers will register UW students as they pick up their bus passes and at the Division of Motor Vehicles, farmer’s markets, and other places. Don’t worry if you haven’t done it before—the League of Women Voters provides a quick, online training and lots of support. 
• Send postcards to get out the vote. We will have several “postcard parties” where we provide the postcards and mailing lists and you provide the personal touch and the camaraderie. 
• Canvass door to door. Our TBE team will partner with the Wisconsin Interfaith Voter Engagement Campaign to provide information to voters in low-turnout wards.

 Join us! Participation is easy: let us know you’re interested, and we’ll let you know about upcoming opportunities. For more information, contact Susan Levy (slevy51@gmail.com) or Marcia Vandercook (Marcia.Vandercook@gmail.com).

As a beit midrash (house of study), TBE offers lifelong education in our excellent Religious and Hebrew School and Jewish experiences for all ages. 

Throughout a busy 2023–24, we celebrated the b’nai mitzvah of 11 students, our Hebrew school classes were introduced to a new curriculum, the Swarsensky Memorial Weekend offered teachings from an inspiring Chicago rabbi, and our weekly Torah Study sessions explored texts beyond the Five Books. Read more below about how learning continues at TBE.

Check out the other sections of our Year in Review 2023–24 to read about our worship, community events, and social action activities.

Youth Education Committee

 The Youth Education Committee collaborates with the director of lifelong learning and other TBE staff to provide an engaging and fulfilling Religious School experience for children at Temple. We help with Religious School and youth group programming and events, as well as provide policy support and feedback.

This year we introduced chugim (activities) to the Religious School schedule. Chugim included: 

• Library, where Men’s Club volunteers read to our youngest learners and students can check out books to read at home.
• Rikud (Israeli Dance), which got everyone up and moving.
• Cooking, where our older students learned kitchen skills, Jewish and Israeli recipes, and Hebrew vocabulary all at the same time.
• Art, where students made beautiful Judaica.
• Chug Ivrit, where Hebrew came to life in project-based learning. 

The Youth Education Committee sold snacks before and after Hebrew School this year, which funded the Hanukkah candles that all families received as a gift just before the holiday. 

Security continues to be top of mind. We have updated security procedures and signage and are exploring additional improvements. We are grateful to the many volunteers who were greeters on Sunday mornings. 

Our students began learning modern Hebrew this year as part of the curriculum. The students made great progress and we look forward to building on this program to create learners who are conversational in Hebrew by the time they finish their studies at TBE.

The MaTTY Pasta Dinner and Dessert Auction featured a “whodunit” mystery theme this year. 

The Youth Education Committee hosts one Koffee Kibbitz per grade level each year at Café Panim to give grade-level parents/guardians time to get to know one another while their children are at Religious School.
 

MaTTY (9th–12th grade) 
MaTTY has made considerable progress this year. We started off the year with 12 high schoolers attending our mini-golf event and ended the year with 16 attending our last Maccabiah event, which was planned entirely by the MaTTY board.

MaTTY is self-funded by the annual MaTTY Pasta Dinner and Dessert Auction. This year we raised over $2,000, which was divided up between the MaTTY Programming Fund and TBE’s scholarship fund for NFTY (Reform Jewish youth movement) activities. Here is the list of our events with the number of high school students attending each one:

• Mini-golf event: 12
• Hanukkah party: 12
• Bowling event: 14
• Maccabiah event: 16

MuTTY (6th–8th grade) and JEWniors (3rd–5th grade) 
MuTTY and JEWniors had four combined Youth Day events this year immediately following Religious School. Attendance ranged from 10 to 25 participants. 

Congregational Education Committee 

Swarsensky Memorial Weekend
The 2023 Swarsensky Memorial Weekend scholar-in-residence was Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann of Mishkan Chicago. During three events over the weekend, she brought us (1) new and inspiring perspectives on the lighting of Shabbat candles, (2) a deep reading of the Torah portion Chayei Sarah (Life of Sarah), and (3) ideas and personal examples of ways to make Jewish community work for younger and diverse Jews. Many congregants expressed their gratitude for how her visit offered opportunities to think creatively about enriching relationships within our congregation.

My Jewish Journey
Over three Sundays in March 2024, we engaged in conversations to learn and share individual histories of members of the congregation. 

• We heard from Orly Klugman and Arik Roginsky, both Israeli Americans.
• We heard from immigrants Irina and Yefim Shklyar (from Belarus), Rubi Hayam (from Turkey), and Marta Karlov (from Colombia).
• We heard from two Jews by choice: Todd Giesfeldt and Francesca Rodriquez.
• Recognizing that many of us were not born and raised in American Jewish families, we wanted to understand about the many pathways of nationality and culture that have contributed to our TBE community.

Right to left: Yefim and Irina Shklyar, Marta Karlov, Rubi Hayam, and moderator Charles Cohen.

Beyond the Five Books
For the third year, the Torah Study group in five of its regular Saturday morning sessions explored other readings from our sacred writings beyond the first five books, the Torah.

• The Book of Esther, led by Larry Kohn
• The Book of Joshua (1–8), led by Steve Olson
• Finding King David/The Book of Samuel, led by David Kopstein
• Proverbs, led by Steven Crade
• Images of the Matriarchs in the Torah, led by Alan Garfield

We value the connections we make when we gather as a beit knesset, a house of community, sharing Jewish activities, Temple involvement, and social connections. 

Highlights in 2023–24 included a joyful Whole Latke Fun Hanukkah party for young families, dinner and breakfast gatherings for single seniors, an event to learn about Vietnam veterans’ experiences hosted by Sisterhood and Men’s Club, and our 57th annual Food-A-Rama for the entire community. Read more below about our programs and events for everyone!

Check out the other sections of our Year in Review 2023–24 to read about our worship, study, and social justice activities and accomplishments.

Families with Young Children 

Our Families with Young Children group relies on parent participation and is geared toward kids in 2nd grade and under and their families. We love having multiple generations join us. We met about once a month, occasionally more. Thanks to Ellen Cecil-Lemkin, Alexander Lemkin, and Nick Nunez for co-chairing this year.
 

In partnership with our 4K Religious School class, families with young kids enjoyed songs with Cantor Jacob Niemi, crafts, a story, and snack at Tots and Tunes on six Sunday mornings during the school year.
 

We enjoyed a special Tot Shabbat with Musician in Residence Dan Nichols.

We made ourselves at home at TBE as we enjoyed a pizza dinner, Havdalah, and our glowstick dance party. This has become a favorite of our young families.
 

Our “A Whole Latke Fun” Hanukkah party was well attended: almost 150 people, from newborns to grandparents, joined in the festivities.

Singles Creating Community 

Singles Creating Community brings together single seniors, age 65 or older, who meet twice monthly to enjoy a good meal and conversation together, once for breakfast and once for dinner. The morning “coffee klatch” is always on Fridays, and the dinners are usually on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. The December dinner is a New Year’s Eve potluck meal, celebrated at the home of a gracious host.

About 25 people have attended at least one of these gatherings, of which about 18 attend on a semi-regular basis. Most attendees are members of TBE, and about 5 people are unaffiliated or members of other congregations who have found us on the TBE website or heard about us from friends. 

Men’s Club

The Men’s Club fosters healthy relationships among the men of TBE, guided by the principles and values of Reform Judaism, compatible with the vision of TBE and in support of its leadership and congregation. The vision of the Men’s Club is to create and sustain a vibrant and inclusive club membership engaged in social, religious, and educational activities. We currently have a membership of 104 men.

Our activities cover a wide scope from landscaping to reading to golf to speakers. Our Book Club meets monthly and alternates between fiction and nonfiction choices. Some of this year’s books included: 

• "The Dutch House" by Ann Patchett
• "A World Without Soil: The Past, Present, and Precarious Future of the Earth Beneath Our Feet" by UW professor Jo Handelsman, who presented the 2024 Joel Pedersen Memorial Lecture
• "One Summer: America, 1927" by Bill Bryson
• "The Personal Librarian" by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
• "How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America" by Clint Smith

In summer 2023 we enjoyed our annual retreat at a pastoral site for reflection and discussion led by clergy.

In spring 2024, Men’s Club Shabbat carried on the energy Louis Swedarsky shared with his musicianship for Yismachu! We also gathered to spread mulch to beautify the Beit Olamim cemetery on Mineral Point Road.


The Men’s Club began a golf group that plays best ball at a local course. We also gather for card games several times a year at a member’s home. 

Sisterhood 

For the 57th annual Food-A-Rama in November, we welcomed people back into the dining room and the bakery for the first time since 2019!

We also enjoyed fun evening last fall learning to make kosher-style charcuterie boards to impress our guests!

Our joint event with Men’s Club in the spring focused on women veterans and Vietnam veterans from Wisconsin.

Interfaith Outreach and Education

Temple Beth El actively engages in interfaith relationships through our group visitation program. We share the beliefs and traditions of Judaism with visitors, while demonstrating our current practices. 
We welcomed nearly 1,000 visitors from September to May, from many churches and schools throughout Wisconsin. Organizations interested in visiting Temple Beth El are welcome to contact the office at 608-238-3123.

Communications

The Communications Committee helps the congregation and community learn about all we do at TBE!

Staff and volunteers together produced in 2023–24:

• 5 Giving Spotlight emails, 4 Social Justice Spotlight emails plus a Mitzvah Day accomplishments email, and a new Sisterhood Spotlight 
• 5 Bulletin issues
• Weekly Happenings emails every Wednesday
• 9 event publicity postcards
• Numerous quick-turnaround congregational emails responding to current events and TBE happenings
• LinkedIn page for TBE 
• A Toast to Rabbi Biatch invitation and program 
• Display of Rabbi Biatch’s social justice activities 
• Publicity of the Endowment for Spiritual Leadership donation match in fall 2023
• Membership renewal brochure and emails
• High Holy Day communications, web page, program, and Book of Remembrance
• Facebook and Instagram posts

Notable accomplishments this year include editing and posting several new web pages:

• Visitor guide, in web and PDF versions
• Solar panels—check out the photos from the installation!
• Code of Ethical Conduct for members, a Union for Reform Judaism initiative 
• Emergency procedures (member login required)

Behind the scenes, we helped edit grant applications for security funding, the rabbi search booklet, and the Caring Committee request and volunteer forms supporting the relaunch of that committee, in addition to all the planning and coordination that makes all this possible!

Temple Beth El’s fiscal year ended on June 30, 2024. Final reporting on the past year will not be completed until late July. These projections about the current year’s budget and revenue have guided us as we set goals for the coming fiscal year: 

• Membership contributions are projected to come in 4% higher than budgeted. Thank you for understanding the need for increased contributions.
• Memorial donations are projected to come in approximately 7% higher than budgeted. Thank you for honoring those we have lost with donations in their memory and for making donations in honor of both sad and joyful life occasions.
• Fundraising is projected to come in 3% lower than budgeted. The budgeted amount was based on obtaining more sponsors like Cress. If you know of a business that may be interested in sponsorship, please contact Stefanie Kushner at exec@tbemadison.org.
• Staff compensation is predicted to come in about 3% below budget. This is due to the variability in scheduling for some of our staff (such as facilities assistants and youth advisors), whose hours differed from what was budgeted. Our largest expense continues to be personnel.
• With all the wonderful events we have had this year, our program revenue is up over 20%. While our expenses for events are also higher than budgeted, they do not exceed our revenue.
• Our solar panels continue to save us money. We decreased our budgeted expense, and we will come in under budget from that amount. We are excited to see this cost savings, and we are pleased to be doing our part to help the environment.
• Our facilities team continues to maintain our building within the budget and plans necessary maintenance in the spring, once final numbers for spending on unplanned expenses are available.

Overall we are projecting a surplus in the operating budget. As was explained in the May Giving Spotlight, 25% of our revenue comes from our endowed funds. This surplus allows us to pay back funds used from our endowments. Specifically, the Larry Kohn Chair for Jewish Learning fund, the purpose of which is to provide high-quality Jewish education, funds the compensation for our director of lifelong learning. With this surplus we can pay back what we “borrowed” from this fund to keep the balance healthy and maintain a secure financial future for education at TBE.