Cultural learning doesn’t have to be traditional projects or presentations, it can be a great playlist and fun movement. The Jewish Student Association (JSA) celebrates Jewish culture at Madison through interactive meetings and a welcoming atmosphere.
JSA holds monthly meetings, typically around Jewish holidays, where students of all backgrounds are encouraged to participate. They include fun activities and service projects, such as donating homemade Hamantaschen cookies to the Vienna Fire Department with notes of appreciation. The board members also bring traditional food for everyone to enjoy while listening to presentations about Jewish traditions.
“I enjoy planning the meetings because we get to make [them] interesting and something students actually want to do,” Sivan Yager (’27) said.
Yager, who has been club president since her freshman year, aims to share Jewish culture through meetings and other activities, such as their upcoming event “Dancing with the Jews.” This annual event began last year as a Hanukkah party where students could learn traditional Israeli dances.
“It’s very common to have dancing on Friday night for Shabbat at [Jewish summer] camp,” Koby Shnekendorf (’27), who came up with the event, said. “It’s one of everyone’s favorite parts and we thought it would be fun to bring that to Madison.”
Board members bring speakers, lights and traditional food to set the mood before heading to the dance floor with a playlist of traditional Jewish songs and Israeli pop songs. While some students recognize the songs or dances from Jewish summer camps or other celebrations, the JSA members teach the dances so that everyone feels included.
“It was really fun to learn lots of Israeli dances,” Noah Nam (’28) said. “It exposed me to a bunch of new songs that I hadn’t heard before.”
“Dancing with the Jews” was a lively event last year, attracting many students who didn’t usually attend meetings and making the club more popular around the school. This year, JSA is looking to expand on this success.
“I remember so many people laughing and having fun,” Liv Sperling (’27) said. “It was so great to be there.”
Instead of a Hanukkah party, this year it will be held on Yom Ha’atzmaut, the Israeli Independence Day, which is a Jewish holiday filled with dancing and celebrations. Yager is also hoping to bring in Jewish student organizations from other schools in FCPS to join the event. They got this idea after being invited to a Passover Seder at Lake Braddock and a Hanukkah party at Fairfax.
“We realized how much fun it was to all come together,” Yager said. “We decided to continue the trend with ‘Dancing with the Jews’ because it was our biggest and best event last year!”
“Dancing with the Jews” is a chance to explore Jewish culture and tradition through movement and community. JSA welcomes everyone to come dance and celebrate at 4 p.m. on Apr. 22 in Town Hall. For more information, visit @jsa.jmhs on Instagram.
“We just want to bring people together,” Sperling said.
