Jewish Experience of Madison has served thousands

Rabbi Rocky Anton says he started Jewish Experience of Madison in a moment of “insanity.” 

“You’ve got to be a little bit meshuggah in order to start a nonprofit organization,” Anton said. 

Perhaps Anton was “meshuggah,” as he joked, or perhaps it was an observation of his that led him 20 years ago to bring a new opportunity to the Jewish students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A member of the Anton family, who for decades played an active role in Milwaukee’s Jewish community, the rabbi and nonprofit founder said he recognized a need on the flagship campus of the Universities of Wisconsin system. 

The university had 5,000 Jewish students, Anton said, and he believed there was a need for additional services. Without seeking to minimize organizations such as Hillel or Chabad, Anton said he recognized an opening to get more students involved in the Jewish community. 
Some students came from traditional backgrounds, Anton said, but many were not affiliated and were not connected to their Jewish roots. 

He wanted to offer all Jewish students opportunities to study and participate in Shabbat dinners. He was pleased to see there was, indeed, an appetite. 

“If you build it, they will come,” Anton said, referencing the 1989 film “Field of Dreams.” “We started with a handful of students, and then they brought their friends, and we met more and more students and became a vibrant and a popular organization.” 

Throughout its 20 years in operation, Anton, who serves as executive director, estimates Jewish Experience of Madison (JEM) has served a few thousand Badgers, including 175 in the most recent school year. 

JEM’s services are administered with a rabbi and rebbetzin who live on campus. The organization offers opportunities for students to meet with the couple and participate in meals (“We definitely have the best food,” Anton added, noting it always is homemade). 

JEM’s Shabbat dinners tend to be more intimate than other organizations’, Anton said. While some groups draw crowds of a couple hundred, Anton said JEM’s dinners tend to be groups of closer to 20 to 35 students. 

“They like more of that group setting,” Anton said. “They’re able to have conversations with each other, and it feels more like a home away from home.” 

JEM also has offered the Maimonides fellowship – a leadership program – and more recently has put a focus on education through podcasts. Students, Anton said, listen to podcasts of their choice and meet with the rabbi or rebbetzin to discuss. 

Anton said one of JEM’s specialties is recruiting. Many students may not know they’re Jewish or may know but were not actively involved in the Jewish community growing up, he said. 

That said, though, JEM is not targeting any particular outcomes. Although Anton and his staff are Orthodox Jews, he said many students who participate in JEM are not, and many are not observant. 

JEM does not aim for students to change their lives in that way, he said. He hopes participating students will marry a Jewish spouse and encourage their children to be involved in the community. But mainly, he said, the goal is education. Many JEM participants leave knowing more about the Jewish perspective on different issues and how the Torah addresses different topics. 

“What we want it to be is that they know they’re Jewish, that they have a strong Jewish identity,” Anton said. 

JEM provides its services free of charge and is funded by donations – Anton’s responsibility as executive director. He said JEM finds support among alumni as well as the families of current students. 

And that will continue despite a recent change for Anton, as he has moved to the East Coast to be closer to his family. That, he noted, means for the first time in nearly 130 years, no one from the Anton family is living in Milwaukee. 

His family had been in the city since 1898, when his great grandfather moved to Milwaukee from Russia at age 17. Anton was the fourth generation of the family to be in the city, and he followed in the footsteps of his father, Jack Anton, a rabbi and educator. 

Despite relocating, Anton said he intends to continue running JEM as executive director. “I’m healthy and I have energy,” he said. 

After 20 years of leading the nonprofit, his goal remains the same: ensuring JEM has the resources to serve the Jewish students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. 

“That’s our mission, that’s the goal, is to be there so that there’s a vibrant and healthy Jewish involvement for the students,” he said.