Temple Beth El Blog

The following is the section of Temple Beth El's food policy addressing Passover observance:

• During Passover, Temple Beth El will observe food guidelines suggested by the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR). Legumes (kitniyot), rice, and similar substances are permitted in Passover s’darim and other Passover meals. If these grains are present, an effort should be made to also offer an alternative that does not contain these grains.

 For more information about these Passover observance guidelines, please see Gates of the Seasons, CCAR 1983, page 68, B-3: “The mitzvah of abstaining from eating leaven (Chamets),” and recent CCAR responsum RR21, found at https://www.ccarnet.org/ccar-responsa/rr21-no-5756-9/, excerpted from Reform Responsa for the Twenty-First Century, CCAR Press.

Temple Beth El’s staff should adhere to these guidelines in the performance of their official duties.

On Sunday morning, January 23, Temple Beth El welcomed Dr. Robert Hamers to give the Joel Pedersen Lecture on Tikkun Olam and the Environment. Dr. Hamers is a professor of chemistry and director of the Center for Sustainable Technology at UW–Madison. His talk focused on how nanomaterials can mitigate the effects of global climate change on food production and help us advance toward sustainable agriculture. The slides from Dr. Hamers’s talk are posted on the members only page of our website.

Nanomaterials are materials with a dimension of <100 nanometers (less than 1/1000 of the width of a human hair) that are used in biomedical equipment, batteries, paints, computers, and many other products. Their unique properties allow them to interact with organic materials in useful and environmentally beneficial ways. For instance, nanotechnology holds great promise for food production in terms of soil fertility, disease resistance, and minimizing chemical use.

However, like many technologies, use of nanotechnologies may also cause unintended negative effects. Dr. Hamers said that chemists have the responsibility to society to examine nanomaterial interactions with biological and environmental systems before they become widely distributed and to propose rules for their use. Together with the late Joel Pedersen and another colleague, he worked to create the Center for Sustainable Technology to explore how nanotechnologies can come to fruition with little or no negative environmental impact. This work is currently supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation.

This article also appears in the April 2025 TBE Bulletin.

In her reports as president of the Board of Trustees, Marta Karlov has mentioned that the charge—and hope—of the Shabbat Task Force is to find ways to make Shabbat even more meaningful in the lives of all of our congregants. We have assembled a thoughtful and enthusiastic team with diverse backgrounds and perspectives. We are pleased, as co-chairs, to be working with Rabbi Prosnit, Cantor Niemi, Amelie Davidson, Michelle Gustafson, Jake Hajdu, Molly Harris, Jackie Judd, Sharon Kahn, Dale Kaufman, Melissa Osborne, Robyn Paloian, Carl Sinderbrand, and Jane Taves. We are being assisted by Marta Karlov and Stefanie Kushner.

Our three meetings in January and February gave us the chance to refine our vision: to identify ways to enhance families’ Shabbat experiences outside Temple as well as within the Temple’s walls. Appreciating how ambitious our charge is, our initial focus is on the “worship-at-TBE” aspect, the goal being that more members will want to come to Temple to celebrate Shabbat, feeling each time that their own lives have been enriched in some way by the experience.

We have developed a list of questions we should be asking ourselves and other congregants as we move forward— for instance, what makes a Shabbat meaningful for each of us personally; what do we see (or hear from others) about barriers to coming to Temple during Shabbat; what’s the best balance between liturgy and other elements of the experience; what’s the best balance between the familiar and the new; what do we owe each other; what are we afraid of; how can we better ensure that each person feels seen, acknowledged, and valued?

We’ve brainstormed how best to gather input from as many congregants as feasible and how to learn what other congregations have done successfully to engage their members in Shabbat worship. We are modeling our steps on the Temple rabbinic search listening process undertaken two years ago. This will include focus sessions to reach the various demographic groups in the congregation, a congregational survey, and several more open sessions, for example, one before Friday night services on April 11, one during Café Panim on Sunday, April 6, and a virtual session in the future. We will do our best to balance the desire for broad outreach with the feasibility of completing these efforts in a timely fashion so we can begin implementing the good ideas that surface.

Stay tuned to the Bulletin and the Weekly Happenings emails for further updates, including opportunities to leave specific suggestions or comments for the task force to consider. Thanks for joining in the process to enhance all of our Shabbat experiences.

On January 27, the TBE Environment and Climate Change Action Team hosted "Eco Know-How: Expert Tips for Environmental Challenges." At this virtual event, local experts offered practical solutions for everyday environmental problems. There were four half-hour sessions on natural lawn maintenance, electric vehicles and stoves, sustainable consumer purchasing, and residential solar panels. You can find the slide presentations and resource lists below. 

Note: These links are provided solely for the convenience of those who may be interested. Temple Beth El does not endorse or recommend any specific products or businesses. 

Electrify Your Home - Eneida Hysi, Dane County Office of Energy and Climate Change

• Handout
• Slides

Sustainable Consumer Choices, Catherine Frerker, Green Life Trading Company

• Handout
• Slides

Residential Solar, Ron Chester, Full Spectrum Solar

• Slides

Organic Lawn Care, Becky Kielstrup, Avant Gardening

• Slides

A recent Giving Spotlight email included an article explaining one way to give a tax-free gift: through your IRA Required Minimum Distribution.

Investments in stocks and bonds have yielded positive returns over the last year. Generally, by donating stocks or bonds, you can avoid the capital gains tax you would otherwise be assessed from selling those assets, as long as you’ve had them for more than one year, and you can claim a charitable deduction for the fair market value of the stocks or bond.
 
Donating stocks or bonds to Temple Beth El is easy. Please consult your financial adviser and talk to Melissa Osborne or Stefanie Kushner in the Temple office for additional information. 
 

Women of Reform Judaism (WRJ) invites you to attend the Rabbi Marla J. Feldman Social Justice Conference on April 4–7, 2025, in Washington, DC. Jane Taves, one of our own Temple Beth El Sisterhood members, is a co-chair of this conference and would love to have you join her for what promises to be a remarkable experience. Registration is open now!

Learn more and register for the Social Justice Conference: https://wrj.org/sjc2025

As a community, we will learn about and take action on many issues which reflect our Jewish values. These include reproductive rights, protecting democracy, preventing violence against women, climate change, protecting our Reform values in Israel, and more.

During four busy days, you will hear from high-profile keynote speakers, participate in workshops, celebrate a beautiful Shabbat, and link arms to visit Capitol Hill together to lobby our elected officials.

Who should attend this conference?
This conference is designed for everyone with an interest in the issues of our day. If this is your first social justice experience, this conference is designed for you. We will provide training and support for all who are venturing into this arena for the first time. And if you are an experienced social justice advocate, you will find experiences and resources to energize your work and bring home specific actions.

The full conference is intended for everyone who identifies as female, nonbinary, or gender fluid. And on Sunday afternoon, the third day of the conference, we will welcome everyone in the Reform movement, including those who identify as male and those who are not able to attend the entire conference, to join us for a movement-wide “fly-in” day of action.

Who is organizing the conference?
WRJ is planning this conference in close partnership with the Union for Reform Judaism’s Religious Action Center (RAC) and leveraging all of the RAC’s expertise and networks. This will be the only social justice conference in 2025 throughout the Reform movement. 

Check your calendars! We hope you can join Jane and others from TBE for this inspiring event.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss further, please be in touch with Jane Taves at jtaves3@gmail.com or 608-239-3148. 
 

Our 58th Annual Food-A-Rama on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, was an overall success. The pre-ordering system eliminated waste and added predictability. The bakery, chaired by Sharon Kahn, was delicious and beautiful.

Our gross income was up 36% thanks to the many wonderful customers who joined us for curbside or indoor pickup.

Here are some highlights of what we sold:

• 390 pounds of corned beef
• 120 challah loaves
• 170 quarts of chicken matzo ball soup
• 135 quarts of sweet & sour cabbage soup

Many thanks to our amazing volunteers who set up, baked, picked, packed, fluffed, measured, cleared, cashiered, greeted, weighed, counted, cooked, loaded cars, worked the Judaica Shop, and cleaned up.

Thank you to the helpful staff at Temple Beth El for supporting our operation!

Our 59th Annual Food-A-Rama is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, November 4, 2025.

While Suzanne Wolf, Leslie Kemp, and Amy Fields were honored to have returned as co-chairs for the 2024 Food-A-Rama, for Food-A-Rama to happen in 2025 we need a volunteer to step up to the fun and important opportunity as our 2025 Food-A-Rama chair. You won’t be alone—you’ll be standing on the shoulders of the organized Food-A-Rama leaders who have created the streamlined template for our current event.

If you are interested in chairing or co-chairing our 2025 Food-A-Rama, please contact Amy Fields at 608-698-7317 or afields1717@gmail.com. 
 

There is an election coming up soon! Yes, another one. This election is a very different and powerful opportunity for us to raise our voices. As Reform Jews in the United States, we are being invited to vote for representatives to the World Zionist Congress. 

The 2025 WZC election voting will take place March 10–May 4. Voting will be done online. You will be able to vote at home on your own electronic device, or you can vote when you are at Temple Beth El, where we will have volunteers ready to help.

What is the World Zionist Congress?

The World Zionist Congress (WZC) is a democratically elected international body that convenes every five years. It is the key opportunity for Diaspora Jews like us to have a voice in Israel, to stand up for pluralism, equality, and a path to peace. The WZC controls over a $1 billion budget pivotal to securing an Israel that supports our Reform Jewish values. 

Why is this important to us?

We care very much about the future and direction of Israel. We certainly do not always agree with the government or decisions made by Israel’s leaders. And this is exactly why we want to seize this opportunity to have a voice in Israel’s decision-making in a meaningful way. 

We are not allowed to vote for Members of Knesset. But we are encouraged to vote for the WZC. The WZC is hugely influential, not only over the allocation of a huge budget, but also regarding appointments to run agencies and National Institutions, including the Jewish Agency. It is important to us to work towards the largest possible Reform representation to make these decisions. For this reason, we have volunteered to co-chair the WZC election campaign for Temple Beth El. 

Jane Taves is also honored to be a member of the Reform slate of delegates we are working to elect. A vote for this slate is a vote for Jane to be able to represent us at the Congress in October 2025.

What’s at stake?

Our opponents in the WZC campaign are highly motivated religious fundamentalists whose vision for the future of Israel is diametrically opposed to ours. They are organizing to destroy what we value, including: 

• Chipping away at Israel’s democracy 
• Rolling back gains for gender equity, LGBTQ+ rights, and religious pluralism 
• Stripping our Israeli Reform clergy—especially our women rabbis—and our Reform communities of their rights, funding, and infrastructure 
• Making sure that our converts and children are not welcome in the Jewish state 
• Blocking any hope of Palestinian self-determination and safety 

Their vision writes Reform Jews out of the next chapter of Jewish history, and will turn Israel into a pariah state, making Jews in Israel and around the world less safe. 

Our success in this campaign depends on building a team in our congregation to spread the word and encourage our members to vote. We would love you to join us! Contact us at jtaves3@gmail.com or rabbiprosnit@tbemadison.org with questions and to volunteer for the team. 

We invite you also to join us for a pre-Shabbat talk about Israel on January 24 at 6:00 pm to learn more and share your thoughts and questions. More details are available on the Temple Beth El calendar.

We look forward to working with all of you to get out the vote for this critical election.
 

For the second year, TBE congregants participated in the huge holiday shoebox gift giveaway held by the Nehemiah Center for Urban Leadership and FOSTER of Dane County. We filled 105 shoeboxes with gift items for children, teens, or adults who might otherwise not receive any gifts during the holidays. Members donated all kinds of toys, treats, gloves, socks, toiletries, and more. Thanks to Catherine Copp and Betsy Abramson for making this project happen.

The Social Action Committee is honored to head up three donation drives in the fall: the High Holy Day Food Drive, the Goodman Thanksgiving Basket Drive, and the Holiday Shoebox Drive. Thanks to you, all of these efforts had a great year. TBE members set a new record for donations to this year’s High Holy Day Food Drive. Our Religious School children and families more than doubled the number of items collected for the Goodman Community Center Thanksgiving Basket Drive. A huge thank you to everyone who donated this fall—we are proud to be members of such a caring community!   

Ever wonder how to teach Jewish values to our children without a dry lecture so that they can participate in their own learning and stay engaged? Well, this was the task set out for members of the Social Action Committee by Kendra Sager, the Director of Lifelong Learning at TBE.

Ten of us volunteered to teach Jewish values during the tzedek chug (justice activity) for religious school classes from 4K through 8th grade. The values we presented included: respect for older adults, tzedakah, civic engagement, caring for and visiting the sick, acts of loving kindness, and welcoming the stranger/loving your neighbor.

As co-chairs of the TBE Immigrant and Refugee Action Team, we presented the values of “Welcoming the Stranger” and “Loving Your Neighbor” in English and Hebrew to a group of first graders. To our happy surprise, they were fully engaged and eager to participate.  Their regular teacher, Sophie Small, excelled at keeping the wiggly children focused as we read a book about children coming from other countries, I’m New Here.
 
The kids enthusiastically answered questions about what would be hard about coming to a new place, their own experiences with being new somewhere, and how they could help other kids feel welcomed. We were easily able to connect their answers to our chosen Jewish values.

We then gave the kids stenciled WELCOME signs to decorate with markers and stickers and to bring home to remind them and their parents of the values we had discussed. Each child made a beautiful and unique sign. Finally, we provided a reading list for parents of relevant age-appropriate books.

We as “teachers” had an absolute blast, and we’re excited about getting together with the 4th graders next!

While the candles on the hanukkiyah remind us of a story of survival and resilience, the Jewish value of tzedakah is also a meaningful part of observing Hanukkah. The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) encourages us to observe the sixth night as a time to give back. 

The Ner Shel Tzedakah, Candle of Righteousness, can be honored by helping a group in your community, donating to a favorite charity, or supporting an organization that has special meaning to your family. 

This year, on December 30, recite this blessing as you light the sixth candle.

The Jewish value of dedicating our efforts to make life better for others has special resonance during this season of gift-giving and celebration. May your home be filled with light and sweetness this Hanukkah!

“We decided to join Temple Beth El to maintain our Jewish community. With the events going on in the world, I want to make sure my children can grow up feeling proud of their Jewish identity while also feeling safe and supported. I also love the focus on tikkun olam and the opportunities to give back to the community.”
—Stephanie Taylor, new TBE member, 2024

You have probably received your membership renewal information for 2025 in the mail. Your support through the Temple Community Contribution program—your membership contribution—fosters an engaging, inclusive, and joyful home for Reform Jewish life at Temple Beth El. Every contribution has an impact, and all support is deeply appreciated.

If our budget were evenly divided among all households, a $2,500 annual contribution per household would cover our operational costs. Your membership will automatically renew in January 2025 with a 5% increase from your current level, but you can adjust your level by returning the renewal card or managing your renewal online before December 31, 2024.

We understand that not everyone is able to increase by 5%. And, we are grateful to those who are able to increase their impact by contributing even more to help us meet rising costs. Thank you for taking time to review the materials that were mailed to you as you consider a level of giving that is meaningful to you and your family.
 
In light of current events, the additional security contribution of $136/household helps pay for security measures including police officers present for our safety as we worship, learn, and gather for programs. This increase from last year of $36 (double chai) will help offset rising security costs. Thank you for responding to our need to increase this contribution for the first time in many years.
 
If you have questions about renewal, please contact Executive Director Stefanie Kushner at exec@tbemadison.org or join the information session on December 19 at 7:00 pm on Zoom.

Thank you for your continued commitment to Temple Beth El. Today, our connections to one another mean more than ever. We are grateful that you are a part of the Temple Beth El community.
 

This summer we were able to celebrate Shabbat on the Madison’s east side at Lake Edge Park, and we marked a wonderful end to summer at McKee Farms Park in Fitchburg. As always, our Shabbat Across Madison events were full of ruach (spirit) and great weather, combining the welcoming of Shabbat with the beauty of a summer evening. 

Thank you to Jeff Levy for generously supporting this program, including park fees and the wonderful food we enjoyed. 

We are making plans for next year’s Shabbat Across Madison. Please contact Stefanie Kushner (exec@tbemadison.org) if you are interested in helping with food or suggesting a park that would be a great setting for this special Shabbat experience.

Did you know that you can contribute your required minimum distribution (RMD) from your IRA to Temple Beth El?

 Typically these distributions are taxable, but if you take them through a qualified charitable distribution (QCD), your donation will count toward your required minimum distribution (RMD) and be considered a tax-free gift. You can donate these funds as part of your annual membership contribution to help fund Temple Beth El’s programs and services, or donate to our endowment funds, such as the Endowment for Spiritual Leadership, the Yerusha Fund, or the Larry Kohn Chair of Jewish Learning Fund, to help secure Temple Beth El’s financial future. 

Please talk to your financial advisor or brokerage firm about how to make a gift from your IRA, or contact development committee co-chair Howie Erlanger (h.erlanger@gmail.com) for more information.

With important elections in August and November, the TBE Civic Engagement Action Team kicked into high gear. Through monthly postcard parties, 40 TBE members have sent more than 1,000 postcards to promote voter registration in low-turnout areas and awareness of key ballot issues. 

In Wisconsin, we worked with the Wisconsin Interfaith Voter Engagement Campaign to promote registration and raise awareness of two proposed constitutional amendments. We worked in partnership with the URJ Religious Action Center and TBE Sisterhood to address racial barriers to voting in Georgia and Pennsylvania and to urge Florida voters to support a constitutional amendment protecting reproductive health care. In addition, members partnered with the League of Women Voters outreach program at the Division of Motor Vehicles, which has helped more than 1,500 citizens register to vote this summer and fall.

In November, Wisconsin voters will consider a proposed constitutional amendment that carries the potential to restrict the right of every citizen to vote. The question on the ballot sounds harmless:

Eligibility to vote. Shall section 1 of Article III of the constitution, which deals with suffrage, be amended to provide that only a United States citizen age 18 or older who resides in an election district may vote in an election for national, state, or local office or at a statewide or local referendum?

But the actual amendment removes the current right of “every citizen” to vote, narrowing the language to say that “only a citizen” may vote. This opens the door for future legislation requiring all voters to produce proof of citizenship. Current law already requires citizenship to vote in state and federal elections, and illegal voting by noncitizens is minuscule—only three individuals have been prosecuted in Wisconsin since 2019. 

On the other hand, requiring documentation of citizenship would create a burden for the nearly 10% of the population who cannot readily produce a birth certificate or passport. This creates a needless barrier to voting, affecting married people who have changed names, students away from home, and people who don’t have the money or time to order a copy of their birth certificate. For these reasons, the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin recommends voting no on this amendment to protect every citizen’s right to vote.

The nonpartisan website Ballotpedia has a detailed explanation of the language and potential effects of this amendment.

Key dates for the November election:

• October 16: Last day to register online or by mail
• October 22–November 3: In-person absentee voting at Madison libraries
• Tuesday, November 5: General Election, 7:00 am–8:00 pm
• Wednesday, November 20: Join TBE Sisterhood and Men’s Club for dinner and an election ​​​​​​​recap at Election Debrief: An Insider’s Guide to the 2024 Results