The Center for Small Town Jewish Life

10/13/2026

We're excited to announce that Eitan Kantor will be joining our Fall Shabbaton as a guest artist alongside Aly Halpert! Eitan is a musician, organizer, and composer based in Colorado. Through musical creation, he works to inspire social action rooted in Jewish values. He is the music director of the Hebrew Educational Alliance in Denver, he sings and fiddles with the dance band Upsherin, and he is a co-organizer of Denver’s monthly Klezmer and Balkan concert and jam session, Festo! Festo!

We can't wait to see him at Shabbaton on Nov. 6 and 7 -- have you registered to reserve your spot yet? https://colbycollegejewishlife.regfox.com/shabbaton-2026

10/12/2026

We're proud to be a program partner for the Shomer Collective Convening, taking place online on Wednesday, Oct. 21. This is for anyone in the Jewish end-of-life field or anyone who serves the Jewish community. Learn more and register: https://www.shomercollective.org/convening

Join a powerful gathering of the Jewish End-of-Life Field as we learn with Dr. Jessica Zitter, MD, MPH. Dr. Zitter brings a rare vantage point to this year’s Convening: someone who has spent decades helping others plan for the end, and is now, personally, trying to have that same conversation with the people she loves most.
Wednesday, October 21, 2026 (9am-12:30pm PT / 12pm-3:30pm ET)
Register to join us live or receive a recording at shomercollective.org/convening.

10/09/2026

It's Student Fellow Friday! We're excited to spotlight our amazing Colby College Student Leadership Fellows over the coming weeks, starting with Asher. He is a fellow for our Jewish Youth Connection (JYC) program, which brings together Jewish teens from all over Maine for learning, fun, and community.

Asher is a senior from Maryland majoring in biology. He loves engaging with the Colby and Maine Jewish communities and is excited for his third year as the Center’s JYC Fellow. He hopes to promote a connection with Judaism and a sense of community within the JYC. When Asher is not working for the Center or doing research in a lab, he enjoys running, hiking, refereeing, and watching just about any sport in existence.

10/05/2026

Check out this excellent blog post from Rabbi Scott Klein, one of our Makom program alums. We are proud and honored to be among the organizations he describes as "demonstrating that the future of the Jewish people is being written just as decisively in small, resilient towns as it is in major urban capitals."

From the blog of Scott Klein at The Times of Israel

10/01/2026

Ten years ago, the Center for Small Town Jewish Life began with a founding gift and a vision for a rural renaissance of Jewish life. Today, we’re proud to share our 2026 Impact Report of all that we’ve accomplished together with your support. https://publuu.com/flip-book/1180422/2634954

09/30/2026

We're so excited that Rabbi Rachael Bregman has joined our team as director of national engagement! “Judaism offers such compelling wisdom in the world today,” she says. “The Center for Small Town Jewish Life is cultivating pathways for more people to have more access at a time when we, perhaps, need it the most. I am thrilled to be part of a team broadening and redefining what the big tent of Judaism can look like.” Read our full press release here:https://jewishlife.colby.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Rachael-Bregman-Press-Release.pdf

09/28/2026

Lay leaders from small town Jewish communities nationwide are invited to apply for our online Prayer Leader Training! The training supports spiritual formation and empowers congregants to lead prayer in places with minimal clergy. Only one week left to apply for our next session! Learn more here: https://jewishlife.colby.edu/shlichei-tzibur-training/

09/25/2026

For the past three years, our hometown of Waterville, Maine, has put up a sukkah for us for the Jewish harvest festival, Sukkot. We are thrilled to have their partnership and support as we celebrate. Chag Sukkot sameach! Wishing all of you a joyous Sukkot.

09/24/2026

Check out this video about our intercultural work in our hometown of Waterville, Maine! We're excited to bring people of many backgrounds together, ensuring that everyone has a place at the table -- and under the sukkah. If you want to help us continue to make Waterville and all the small towns we serve more welcoming, connected communities, please consider a gift today: https://alumni.colby.edu/center-for-small-town-jewish-life-giving-page/

09/22/2026

Our friends at Shiva Circle by Shomer Collective are hosting an online Shiva Guide Essentials Workshop on Thursday, Oct. 8. Join them to learn how you can provide practical support for friends and family after a death, understand the rituals of Jewish mourning and why they matter, and more. Sign up here: https://www.shivacircle.org/trainings/shiva-guide-essentials-workshop-october2026