Temple Beth El Blog

Member Milestones is an initiative at Temple Beth El to spotlight our longtime members, who have provided a strong foundation for our community.

Check out other Member Milestones stories here.

Meet Longtime Member Judy Schreiber

Interviewed by Sue Center
Written by Aleeza Hoffert

Judy Schreiber was born and raised in New Haven, Connecticut, where she was brought up at Temple Mishkan Israel, a Reform congregation.
 

After she received an undergraduate degree in teaching and a master’s degree in guidance and counseling, Judy taught third and fourth grade in Connecticut. She married Peter Schreiber in 1966. The couple moved to Brooklyn Heights, New York, where Peter worked on his dissertation and Judy was a guidance counselor for children with emotional disturbance in the Navy Yard. After getting beaten up a few times, Judy switched to a school in Bedford-Stuyvesant, where she caught whooping cough. Her final teaching job in New York was at the Brooklyn Ethical Culture School. Peter finished his dissertation and received eight job offers. Seven were on the East Coast, but the eighth was for a position in Madison. Peter fell in love with Madison and chose to take the job at the University of Wisconsin. In those days, the wife followed her husband, so even though Judy would have liked to stay closer to friends and family, the Schreibers relocated to Madison.

After 25 years of life on the East Coast, the move to Madison in 1968 was difficult for Judy. She perceived hesitancy among the local community toward developing close friendships with new professors and their families, when career changes might result in them moving away for another position. The transition was made easier when Judy and Peter became involved in the Young Couples Group soon after joining TBE. This group opened the door for them to meet a lot of people, form friendships, and have fun!

She remembers the Temple as warm and welcoming and very inclusive. From the very start of her membership, Judy was a part of Food-A-Rama. She was told that she could serve hot dogs on the line for only one year because it was a very coveted job. Judy ended up serving hot dogs every year through 2019 (the most recent in-person Food-A-Rama), and she loved every minute of it!

Judy recently found an old invitation to a Young Couples party, a Chinese food dinner. Susan Cohen (now Susan Lipp) and Ina Smolker were the cooks, but the party was such a hit that there was not enough food. Judy, Susan, and Ina had a good laugh recently, seeing the invitation and remembering how they had to send their husbands out to buy Chinese food from a restaurant during the party because they had not made enough.

Chinese food plays a prominent part in Judy’s memories. Rabbi Kenneth Roseman was around Judy’s age, and he thought it would be fun to have six people or so host cocktail parties in their homes, after which the groups would meet at the Grand Pagoda Chinese restaurant for dinner. Judy helped orchestrate this event and volunteered to host a party. Peter and Judy made whiskey sour cocktails, and when they got to the restaurant, every person from their group was a little noisy and out of control, and it became quite obvious to the rest of the group that anyone who had been at Peter and Judy’s before dinner was having an especially good time. Judy reflects that the Temple did so many things for the “young and medium-young couples,” and it made the place a very welcoming institution.

When Margaret was three and Beth a baby, Judy told Margaret’s teacher at Gan HaYeled that she would like to bring Margaret’s new little sister as “show and tell.” When she asked about a good time to come, Judy saw that the lesson plan book was empty. This observation prompted Judy to get involved in revamping Gan HaYeled. (Little did Judy know that she would have two granddaughters attend Gan HaYeled some 30 years later!) Judy is proud of all the wonderful people who kept making the school better.

Judy’s strong background in education propelled her to get involved in the education program at TBE. Around 1978, Judy served on a committee to hire a new Temple educator to work closely with Rabbi Roseman. Judy recognized Larry Kohn’s strong skills in education and advocated to bring him into the role. Larry became our beloved Temple educator and stayed in that role for 35 years. Judy thinks fondly of Larry and the wonderful work he did with the school, the Shabbatons, and all of his contributions. Larry, a true mensch, continues to be special to Judy’s family and has been there for them through happy and sad situations.

Judy started her own company called RSVP Invitations and Stationery. She thrived as an event planner and seller of invitations, stationery, and gifts. Working in this field for 45 years, Judy helped with numerous b’nai mitzvah, weddings, and other celebrations. She also volunteered her time and expertise for many fundraisers, including the Sisterhood Centennial at the Marriott, the celebration of Rabbi Brahms’s 25th anniversary in the rabbinate, a brunch honoring Marj Tobias, the TBE 75th anniversary festivities, and Rabbi Jonathan Biatch’s “bar mitzvah” celebration marking 13 years at TBE. Judy always took pleasure in helping, saying, “It was done with great happiness.”

Judy has had the pleasure of getting to know all the Temple Beth El rabbis over the years, and she also has appreciated the help from TBE staff, who were always supportive and kind.

Coming from the East Coast, where 60 of her best friends were Jewish, to a community where the Jewish population was only about 3,000 was a culture shock for Judy. This inspired her to work hard to make the community more inclusive. She got involved in the Madison Jewish Community Council (MJCC), now the Jewish Federation of Madison (JFM). She was in the second cohort of the Young Leadership Group, which started a Welcome Wagon, later renamed Shalom Madison, welcoming new Jewish arrivals to Madison. Using a mimeograph machine, they made recipe boxes and lists of Jewish resources for the newcomers, helping them create a Jewish life in a new setting. Judy later joined the JFM leadership. She served as president and was campaign chair three times. She also served on the National United Jewish Appeal Young Women’s Board. From 1983 to 1984, Judy took on the MJCC interim executive director job while the community searched for someone to fill the position. 

During the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Hadassah was allowed to collect funds for Israel. Judy teamed up with Karen Venezky to organize an “Auction for Israel.” They raised $10,000, and with the leftover donated items they opened a consignment store in 1974, thinking the store might be open about three months, Collector’s Corner is still open and run by Hadassah volunteers.

Judy reflects on her involvement with the community-wide Hava Nagila Picnic. In 1980 Judy was president of the Women’s Service Organization, which brought together all the Jewish women’s organizations in Madison: ORT, Hadassah, the Temple Beth El and Beth Israel Center Sisterhoods, B’nai B’rith Women, and others. The first Jewish community picnic, organized by Judy and Tina Krasno, was held at Rennebohm Park in summer 1980. A contest was held to come up with the best name for the picnic, and only two people submitted a name—Vicki Stewart and Susan Pittelman. Both happened to choose the same name: Hava Nagila Picnic! To this day there is still a Hava Nagila Picnic organized by JFM. 

Judy is happy that she worked so hard to bring shared experiences and build community for the Madison Jewish community. She feels that her children and grandchildren (and many others) have benefited, and now it is time to pass the torch. She hopes all TBE members will heed her call to be involved locally and to support Israel.

In the meantime, Judy wants everyone to know that with 45 years of experience under her belt, she is happy to volunteer her time to assist Temple Beth El members who are planning life-cycle events during the pandemic. She isn’t ready to give up community work quite yet!

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