"Stowe day" - VT jewish teen event + havdalah with noah dines
01/15/2025 02:41:52 PM
What do you get when you combine thirteen Jewish teenagers, 15 inches of snow, glow-in-the-dark frisbees, and snowshoes? A LOT of FUN!
JCOGS teens hosted friends from Ohavi Zedek for a wonderful day of board games, snowshoe obstacle
races, glow-in-the-dark frisbee and tag, and meeting with Noah Dines to hear about his year of record-breaking uphill skiing. He shared about about Jewish moments during his amazing journey, like listening to esoteric daily Talmud pages on long hikes up the mountains and recalling Reb Nachman's teachings to "Be Happy!" even in difficult times.
As darkness fell, we sipped hot chocolate around the firepit and Noah led us in a beautiful Havdalah, sharing a thoughtful intention about not only separating Shabbat from the week, but remembering that we can separate from technology even in the midst of a busy week.
jcogs hanukkah celebrations 2024
12/31/2024 11:33:48 AM
Joanie Leeds Concert and Party at ZenBarn * Iron Chef Competition at JCOGS * Hanukkah Havdalah Jam in the NEK
Every spark of light banishes the dark just a bit more. And things have been looking bright at JCOGS this Hanukkah season! As darkness settled on December 25th over 60 people—from littles to elders, from locals to tourists, from JCOGS members to new friends—gathered beneath the JCOGS big outdoor menorah to ignite the first light and sing shehecheyanu: gratitude for arriving at this auspicious moment to celebrate the miracle of Hanukkah together in community.
The very next day, families from across Vermont came to dance and sing with the amazing Joanie Leeds and eat delicious latkes at the JCOGS family glow party at ZenBarn. We rocked out "like a Maccabee" and made sure we were "only spinning outside"! We met so many new friends and we can't wait to have Joanie come back to Vermont again (her nephew Sam is in Olam Chesed at Beth Jacob and in Hebrew pods with us).
Our 9th (!) Iron Chef competition saw three terrific winners: Micah E for best tasting pumpkin bread which was cleverly decorated with the "dark" new moon and the "light" full moon; Leah Bluestone for an incredible tiramisu crepe cake that won best presentation; and Yonah F for best use of this year's secret ingredient, "Dark and Light" with amazingly rich homemade blueberry and mango ice creams. In the words of our wonderful guest judge, Ari Fishman of ZenBarn, "who would have thought of using dark and light purple! Love that." Many thanks to the local businesses who donated delicious prizes!
We welcomed Shabbat with Marom, our fabulous JCOGS band, playing classic Hanukkah tunes and Rabbi David regaling us with an Isaac Bashevis Singer Hanukkah story "The Parakeet Named Dreidel".
Saturday evening Rabbi David and Beth joined our northern friends and families at the Greensboro UCC for Hanukkah, Havdalah, and musical jam. Beautiful harmonies were heard as we lit the shamash from the havdalah candle, bringing the light and sweetness of Shabbat into the flames of the fourth candle. Eli shared a teaching that it was on the fourth night that the temple was reclaimed so we relished gathering at the apex of the holiday. Laila accompanied Rabbi David with her violin while grownups spun like dreidels! You're never too old to have fun.
Earlier in the month Anna Adler and Beth hosted the first JCOGS Hanukkah station at the Johnson Jubilee. It was such a delight to meet students from the college and neighbors who came to learn about Hanukkah for the very first time. Many thanks to UCC of Johnson for loaning us their wonderful space.
Huge thank yous go out to Shelly Citron for organizing the Iron Chef; Leah Bluestone, Barbara and Rich Jacobs, and Linda Friedman for helping set up and clean up; Aaron Kromash and Bru Mille for help organizing, setting up, and cleaning up at the NEK Hanukkah party; Patti Rubin for latke coordinating; and to Edee Simon for being a super meeter and greeter, welcoming new families to JCOGS during Hanukkah. Many thanks to these wonderful local businesses for donating gift cards for prizes: Commodities, The Bagel, Piecasso, Stowe Cider, Ranch Camp, Skinny Pancake, and Black Diamond BBQ.
With each gathering, with each shining face reflected in the glowing lights, with each new candle, hope burns brighter.
May the magic of Hanukkah bridging two secular years bring even more light to the darkness.
Click below to see a reel of all the happy Hanukkah happenings (be sure to "follow" our Instagram account!)
