Jewish Coloradans thriving, growing

By Jean Torkelson, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Darin McGregor / The Rocky

Jerry Feld, right, and his family have run Club 404 since 1951. From left are daughter Jodie, son Jeff and wife Harriet.

The survivor: Eric Cahn

The convert: Laura Kelly

Rabbi Hillel Goldberg

The next generation: Spencer Abigail Waldman

The Russian immigrant: Rebecca Sirota

The renewal rabbi: Tirzah Firestone

The Indian-Israeli immigrant: Iris Freedman

As a symbol of Jewish resilience, few holidays fit as well as the eight days of Hanukkah, which began at sundown Tuesday. It marks an ancient Jewish victory over enemies and the restoration of the temple in Jerusalem. Its lamps were darkened by war but lit again with a smidgen of oil that miraculously lasted eight days.

Cut to Colorado, thousands of years later. Once again, the Jewish community hasn't just survived, but thrived, according to the Metro Denver/Boulder Community Study, sponsored by the Allied Jewish Federation.

Since the study's last reckoning 10 years ago, the number of Jewish households has grown 41 percent, to 45,400, making Colorado home to the 18th-largest Jewish community in the U.S.

With growth has come a kaleidoscope of Jewish experience and expressions. Here are eight Coloradans who represent just a sampling of the wide spectrum of Jewish life. Their perspectives stretch from the most traditional, Orthodox Judaism, to the most modern innovations, such as the Jewish Renewal movement. In between, from conservative to reform movements, from Jews with deep Colorado roots to recent immigrants, the state's 81,500 Jews reflect a variety of paths to one heritage.

The interviews have been edited for space and clarity.

The survivor: Eric Cahn

Eric Cahn was a toddler when the Nazis ripped his family apart, sending his parents to the Auschwitz death camp. A French Christian family hid Cahn, now 69, and his sister Zilla in their basement for two years.

Cahn's mother died in captivity; his father barely survived. After the war, he sent his kids to stay with relatives in Pueblo:

"When my father sent us to America in 1950, I was 12 years old and very, very angry. I didn't speak the language. I had no idea what was coming.

"Eventually we ended up in the National Jewish Home in Denver. We lived there until we graduated from North High School. Then we were on our own."

Cahn got a degree in mathematics and became a certified financial planner. He married Jane, his second wife, 24 years ago. He is the father of three.

"It all turned out well. I've had a very good life.

"What does it mean to be a Jew? I've tried to answer that question over the years. I've got a strong faith in God and try to live my life by the Golden Rule: 'Do to others as you would have them do to you.' But I practice nothing as far as any religion. Yes, I was born a Jew, but it was Christians who saved my life. So I've got some ambivalence. But that's who I am."

The Denver natives: Jerry and Harriet Feld

Jerry Feld, 76, and his wife, Harriet, 74, own the legendary Club 404, the lounge-restaurant that's been a beloved fixture at Fourth and Broadway in Denver for six decades.

"My parents came here right after the first World War. The Jews who came earlier moved to the east side of Denver. We lived below the west side Colfax viaduct.

"My father got a horse and wagon and went through the alleys picking up bottles and rags. After Prohibition, he got the first liquor store license in Colorado. That's how we got exposed to the restaurant business.

"The thing about the west side - everybody was poor, but we didn't know it. Our houses were clean. There was food on the table. It was the greatest upbringing ever."

In 1938, as the Nazis closed in, the Felds helped three of their relatives get out of Europe. After the war, Jerry Feld dropped out of law school to run Club 404. He later got a degree in accounting.

"We never forgot our roots. I'm proud, very proud, to be a Jew. We lost 6 million of us. I'm proud we're still here.

"You know, Hanukkah isn't a real religious holiday.

"It honors a war, which the Jews won. But Jews don't celebrate war, so instead we celebrate the miracle of the oil lasting eight days.

"As the holiday became Americanized, the kids expected gifts . . . sometimes eight presents for each of the eight days! But that's only if you really want to spoil them."

The convert: Laura Kelly

Raised Catholic, Laura Kelly, 30, was always drawn to the fact her great-grandmother was Jewish. However, religion wasn't a factor at first as she and her husband, Peter, started raising Parker, now 9, Conner, 7, and Ava, 4:

"Around the time I was pregnant with my daughter, I thought, 'Hey, I haven't done much with my children religion- wise. I was always aware there was a Jewish part to my life. I contacted Rabbi Julian Cook, and he agreed to let me study with him. I have no malice toward my Catholic upbringing. You think, 'This is a huge decision.' But one day I woke up, and I knew."

At a ceremony at Temple Emanuel she chose her Jewish name, Tzipora Aviva, linking her great-grandmother's name and the Hebrew word for springtime.

"On Hanukkah, the kids and I will go out and find a community celebration to experience. I hope my husband comes, but religion and spirituality are so personal, I don't want him to feel uncomfortable. We're all trying to figure this out - how do we incorporate these wonderful traditions and create a solid family unit?

"For me, to be a Jew feels like I've made a connection to my history. It's brought an authenticity to my spiritual beliefs. I've joined the tribe, you know? When you join the tribe, it's like a family."

The orthodox rabbi: Rabbi Hillel Goldberg

Hillel Goldberg, author, educator, Rabbinic scholar and newspaper editor, spent years studying and teaching in Israel before returning to his native Denver in 1983. He is executive editor of the Intermountain Jewish News, which his father, Max, one of the city's early media personalities, bought in 1943. IJN is one of nation's largest Jewish newspapers, with a readership of 50,000.

"In 1983, there was virtually no Orthodox participation in the general Jewish leadership in Denver. Now we have a lot. Observant families have tripled, probably to 400 (family) units.

"To be a Jew is to join an endangered race, a persecuted people. Why would you do that? Clearly there has to be a strong motivation - the love of God. People seek Orthodox Judaism because they seek authenticity and spirituality, as well as discipline, order and meaning, which I believe is found in Torah Judaism."

In recent years the newspaper's interdenominational readership has spread to 84 Colorado cities and towns, a sign of Jewish growth across the state.

"In Orthodox communities, a lavish expenditure of gifts is usually not done at Hanukkah. To celebrate a secular, non-kosher Hanukkah is like celebrating July 4 by honoring the British monarchy. It's a contradiction.

"One of Hanukkah's major themes is the (Torah account) of the sons who were killed for refusing to eat non-kosher food. That's just one example of the Jews' struggle to follow the integrity of the Torah."

The next generation: Spencer Abigail Waldman

Spencer Abigail Waldman, 17, attended Hebrew school from the second grade until her bat mitzvah. Now a senior at Thornton High School, she plans to be an evolutionary biologist.

"Actually, it's my Jewish faith that led me to the idea of becoming an evolutionary biologist. Through Judaism, I learned to appreciate people and cultures and became interested in the field of international rights and the evolution of cultures.

"Judaism teaches you to respect others and keep an open mind. I think my religious experience is a blessing, but I'm not saying that all people have to have religion."

High school activities have kept Waldman away from her synagogue, Temple Micah, more than usual. But she made a lasting connection there as a Hebrew teacher to younger children.

"I respect anyone who can maintain a conservative Judaism. But honestly, reform Judaism is definitely right for me. I feel it allows me to lead my own life, and yet I can follow its teachings.

"It would be nice to find a Jewish guy to marry. But as long as my faith does not conflict, it doesn't matter what faith he is. I will continue to be Jewish whether my husband is or not.

"Hanukkah is about a miracle that happened to people in their time of need. I almost wish that miracle would come again. People are in desperate need of a miracle."

The Russian immigrant: Rebecca Sirota

Rebecca Sirota, 48, grew up in the former Soviet Union, where her family was forced to practice Judaism secretly. Her parents started an underground Jewish school, at one time hiding 15 teenage students in their home. If caught by authorities, the penalty would have been death or exile in Siberia.

Now she and her husband, Rabbi Aharon Sirota, lead 5,000 Russian emigres, believed to be the largest Jewish immigrant group in Colorado.

"In Russia, we were in constant danger. My parents went through so much to sacrifice and preserve us. We couldn't live free. That's why I'm a rabbi's wife. We want to spread Jewishness and tell Jews over here that if we could practice our faith in a persecuted land, we can do it here, in freedom."

One of the biggest challenges facing immigrant parents is preserving the Jewish holidays, like Hanukkah, especially as the younger generation becomes more Americanized.

"It all depends on the parents. They should take their children to Sunday school. They should know who they are and not lose it.

"In many ways, living in Russia was very similar to the theme of Hanukkah, where the Greeks, the oppressors, didn't allow the Jews to be themselves. For me, that has great meaning because I experienced it first-hand."

The renewal rabbi: Tirzah Firestone

Tirzah Firestone, 53, grew up in an orthodox home in St. Louis but spent years exploring alternative, mostly eastern, religions before finding her Jewish roots in Renewal. The psychotherapist and author is rabbi to a 250-member Boulder congregation, Nevei Kodesh.

"Jewish Renewal is a movement that gathers back all the Jews who have felt marginalized, who have gone away and want to come back, have a voice. For example, women have always been important in Judaism, but they haven't been the official voices. Other people, say, in interfaith marriages, felt they couldn't belong unless they were doing Judaism 'correctly.'

"A hallmark of Renewal (worship) is we are very, very joyous. We practice 'embodied spirtuality.' In other words, we sing and dance a lot, do a lot of theater. We're not overly grave. We also see Renewal as part of the Jewish path to help the world by becoming globally aware and environmentally conscious."

Firestone is one of seven rabbis based in Boulder, a sign of a growing Jewish presence there. She says they work together regularly and count each other as colleagues and friends.

"Being a Jew today - it has a lot to do with the message of Hanukkah, to see life as miraculous, to live with faith and trust in a higher power and also joyously in the body. Hanukkah is a time where we rededicate ourselves to bringing light and holiness back into the world. This isn't just historical. We take this stuff personally."

The Indian-Israeli immigrant: Iris Freedman

Iris Freedman's family, originally from India, has practiced Judaism for several generations. They moved to Israel in 1953.

She met her Denver-born husband, Phillip Freedman, in Israel, where he was studying. They moved to Denver in 1994. They have three daughters: Rina, 14, Sahpir, 11, and Mahayon, 5.

"After Israel was founded in 1948, my parents thought they would give it a try. I know only Hebrew. Before we came to the United States in 1994, I didn't know any words in English. I went to Aurora Community College and took English, and I'm still learning - from my kids and my husband."

Freedman, 41, is employed at the Denver Academy of Torah, where she works with the youth program and as a teacher's aid. The family still maintains an apartment in Israel.

"We said we'd stay in Denver five years, and we've stayed 10. Now we'd like to go back to Israel after the kids finish their education.

"But it's hard to leave Denver; it's very nice here. On Hanukkah, we light candles every day and make potato pancakes and doughnuts. We invite friends over and sing and give presents.

"I'm proud to be Jewish. In India it's unusual; they have many different gods and more than 50 languages. As Jews, we have one language and only one God."

• December 6, 2007

  9:25 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  American100 writes:

  I welcome the Jewish Community to Colorado. The Jewish Community is notorious for their close family ties and outstanding educational programs. I'm not Jewish but had my kids in a Jewish daycare in Miami. The program is hands down better than any public school or daycare I have experienced. They were warm and welcoming to my Gentile family. It's been a while since I checked the stats, but the Jewish community has had less welfare recipients than any other group. They prioritize family values and take care of their own. Unlike some cultures, the Jewish culture is about contributing to the well being of community.

• December 6, 2007

  11 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  kevin3 writes:

  This article is about the Jewish experience of one of the Jewish holidays. I like how the Rocky Mountain News publishes educational articles about subjects like this. However, maybe I can tell the public about my Jewish experience whenever Jewish holidays take place.

  My father is Jewish but my mother is not. Orthodox Jews do not view people Jewish unless their mother is. In fact not only Orthodox Jews go by this rule, most Jews go by this rule.

  Here is my Jewish experience: I tend to feel a connection to Jews but not accepted by them. Thus I feel frustrated. I spent most of my life with this dilemma. Sure I can join the new reformists Jews and call myself Jewish. I however will never feel accepted by the majority of Jews as being Jewish.

  If these non-accepting Jews looked at my dilemma the way I do, they would understand where I am coming from. I look at my dilemma this way: If I had lived in Europe at the time of the Holocaust, I sure would have been an "authentic" enough of a Jew to be sent to a concentration camp! However, my fine people will never accept me as being "authentic" as a Jew in their eyes.

  This is why I choose Christianity as my religion. Christians would never turn anyone away! Religion is a very personal subject. I would never want to be a part of something so personal but not feel accepted. I know my God would not want that for me either!

• December 7, 2007

  5 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  EastVail writes:

  Yawn.