February 2017 Shevet, 5777 A Publication of the Jewish Federation of Madison INSIDE THIS ISSUE Jewish Federation Upcoming Events ......................5 Camp Corner ....................................................10 Jewish Education ................................................20 Simchas & Condolences ........................................6 Tzedakah Campaign: Thank You, Donors! ......12-13 Business, Professional & Service Directory ............21 Congregation News ..........................................8-9 Jewish Social Services....................................16-18 Israel & The World ........................................22-23 Partnership2Gether – “Marathon as an Excuse” marathon, showed us their favorite was looking for a source of energy, places. Ruth showed us the Hamat’s Syn- whether it was a banana or healthy snack, agogues, including the 1600 year old syn- and we headed to the starting line. We agogue, and Ruvik told us about his took one last photo and off we ran. grandfather’s grave in the old cemetery Daniel Berman, one of our Madison run- in Tiberias, and the family’s 200 year his- ners, described the run as follows: tory there. Adi told us about his work at “The marathon was one of the coolest the local fire station. When we returned experiences I have ever had. It was worth to the hotel we had the surprise privilege every ache and pain. The people on this of meeting the mayor of Tiberias and run were in a league of their own. They talked to him about our partnership. set aside their own desire for a personal Friday morning, on the day of the best on the run to make sure I crossed the marathon we woke up early. Everyone (Continued on page 22) 2016 Tzedakah Campaign: A Community Effort We are so happy to report that thanks to the generosity of 1172 donors (indi- viduals) to the Jewish Federation of Madison’s 2016 Tzedakah Campaign, Members of the Madison-Marathon Delegation 2017 our community will continue to support the essential agencies and wonderful As part of Madison’s partnership with day. We met at the partnership office with programs that we have here in Madison the Sovev Kineret, near the Sea of Anat, the director of the Israeli office, and the hundreds of humanitarian pro- Galilee in Israel, ten Madison-based run- and Hadar, who is responsible for organ- grams in Israel and 70 other countries ners participated in the Tiberias Marathon izing the logistics for delegations like around the world. These donors, recog- last month. This journey was the second ours. They coordinated our itinerary for nized on pages 12 and 13, contributed a part of a program that started last year the week. total of $997,514.10 to the 2016 when an Israeli delegation came to run in “The marathon was only the excuse,” Tzedakah campaign. the Madison Marathon. Below you will said Dan. The week was structured This exciting result is thanks to the hear reflections from the runners about around the marathon but we were treated hundreds of donors who gave with in- their experiences. like VIPs as our hosts shared their homes credible generosity, as well as the hard “To be able to experience this, really and lives with us with pride. work and dedication of the Federation has been one of the best experiences of Ruth, Rubik and Adi, who had all (Continued on page 6) my life.”~ Dan Mitchell come to Madison last year to run the It’s really hard to put into words how amazing the experience was for us; ten runners who left Madison on a Tuesday night in January. Every moment of that week we spent in Israel was memorable. Wednesday, January 4, was our first Statement from Jewish Federations of North America The following is a statement from the Jewish Federations of North America from 12/23/2016. For more infor- mation about statements from other Jewish organizations please visit JewishMadison.org. PAID Jewish Federations across North America are deeply disappointed that the United States abstained from today’s Madison, Wis. Non-Profit Org. U.S. POSTAGE vote on the one-sided, anti-Israel resolution that was passed by the UN Security Council today. Permit No. 1341 The Administration’s decision undermined a core principle of American foreign policy that has been embraced by Democratic and Republican Administrations for decades: that the only route to a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is through direct negotiations between the parties. It also upended its own principled stance against UN resolutions that isolate Israel. Just two years ago when the U.S. vetoed a similar resolution, UN Ambassador Samantha Power stated “We voted against it because we know what everyone here knows. As well, peace will come from hard choices and compromises that must be made at the negotiating table.” And the Obama Administration ignored the advice of 88 Members of the U.S. Senate who urged the President in September to reject such resolutions. President Obama has consistently supported Israel’s right to self-defense and affirmed that America has an “iron clad commitment to make sure Israel is secure.” Several weeks ago the U.S. and Israel signed an unprecedented $38 billion military aid package. It is tragic that the Administration chose to mar its legacy of support for the Jewish State and set back the prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace. 6434 Enterprise Lane Madison, Wisconsin 53719 Change Service Requested JEWISH FEDERATION OF MADISON JEWISH FEDERATION Jewish Federation of Madison expresses its sincere appreciation JewishMadison.org to these businesses for their generous support of our website. The central information source for the entire Madison Jewish community SILVER SPONSOR SILVER SPONSOR Madison Computer Works M Fast on-site and in-store service M Desktop, notebook & tablet sales M Data backup & recovery M Malware protection & removal M Notebook repairs & upgrades M Network setup & troubleshooting M Wireless networks and routers M Cloud integration & security M Cisco Select Certified Partner M Microsoft® Office 365 SMB Champion [email protected] D O W N T O W N andd W E S T S I D E 317 E. Wilson Street, Madison 608.255.8998 Ph: 608.231.8000 Fax: 608.231.8019 670 S. Whitneyyy Way, Madison 608.274.5575 353 Island Drive Madison, WI 53705 rubinsfurniture.com www.madisoncomputerworks.com PLATINUM SPONSOR We’re here to help. BMO Harris Bank is proud to support the Jewish Federation of Madison. BMO Harris Bank N.A. Member FDIC bmoharris.com February 2017 Madison Jewish News/3 Deep Roots, New Branches. What’s in a name? For us, it’s being compassionate, courageous, creative, and community-focused. We’re Pines Bach deserve. It’s in our roots. Personal service. Positive outcomes. 608.251.0101 | PinesBach.com Thank You, Volunteers! Our Community expresses its sincere appreciation to these dedicated volunteers who made the 2016 Tzedakah Campaign a success Hal Blotner Heidi Lauhon Judy Schreiber Randy Blumenstein Mark Laufman Diane Seder David Bookstaff Lee Lazar Marc Shovers Jon Eckhardt Jeff Levy Joe Shumow Shanee Ellison Rachel Levy Judy Sidran Gary Friedman Debbie Minkoff Jim Stein Zach Galin Lainie Minkoff Jeremy Tunis Fred Gants Joel Minkoff Orly Vardeny Ni Terrie Goren Dan Mitchell Ben Weismer Paul Grossberg Lester Pines Dan Weiss Daniel Kaplan Rob Roquitte Jim Youngerman Sasha Kerlow Jon Rozenfeld Nan Youngerman Amy Krauthamer-Maloney Alicia Schiff Stefanie Kushner Beth Schreiber 4/Madison Jewish News February 2017 From First to First-Class: Center for Jewish Studies Welcomes New Faculty in Yiddish BY BARBARA SANFORD tory. She is currently working on a book her PhD in comparative literature. She re- entitled Let It Be Consumption!: Tuber- ceived a fellowship from the Posen Soci- One hundred years after UW-Madison culosis and the Modern Jewish Writer. ety of Fellows. Her research and teaching offered the first Yiddish language college Professor Yudkoff has recently re- interests include Hebrew, Yiddish and classes in this country, it is fitting that the ceived awards from the Paula E. Hyman Russian literature; Rabbinic literature; re- Mosse/Weinstein Center for Jewish Stud- Mentorship Program, the Posen Society ligion; and philosophy. ies welcomes two new Yiddish literature of Fellows in Jewish Studies, and the Me- This spring, Professor Zilbergerts will and culture professors: Sunny Yudkoff morial Foundation for Jewish Culture teach “Russia and the Jews: Literature, and Marina Zilbergerts. Doctoral Scholarship. Culture and Religion,” which will take Dr. Yudkoff, (Assistant) Professor of This fall, Dr. Yudkoff is teaching “Mi- students on a journey of two centuries of Jewish Studies and German, Nordic, and gration in Film and Literature: The Amer- Jewish creativity in the Russian Empire Slavic, was previously a senior lecturer ican Jewish Experience” and “The and its successor, the Soviet Union, ex- in Yiddish at the University of Chicago. Autobiography of Illness.” In the spring, amining the rise of movements such as She received her PhD in Near Eastern she will teach “Angry Jews: From Saul Hasidism, Zionism and Communism Languages and Civilizations from Har- Bellow to Bernie Sanders” and “Repre- through literary works which are ana- vard University. Her research and teach- sentations of the Jew in Eastern European lyzed amid the cultural developments of ing interests include Yiddish and Hebrew Culture: Writing the Jewish Body.” their day. literature, film and culture; American “My goal is for students to develop a “I’m excited to be joining the Center Jewish literature and culture; transna- thick understanding of the modern Jew- for Jewish Studies as it expands to form tional medical humanities; age studies; ish experience, which is multinational, one of the foremost programs in the ethnic-American and immigrant narra- multilingual and multicultural,” Yudkoff country,” says Zilbergerts. “My goal is to Professor Marina Zilbergerts tives; and Central European cultural his- says. “In medical humanities courses, my establish a set of core courses that will goal is also for students to understand the give students rigorous knowledge of the guage, politics, history and culture.