L’Chaim® magazine, which is all about celebrations, has a celebration of its own. This is the 25th anniversary edition of L’Chaim© magazine.
The first L’Chaim© was published Feb. 17, 1989. It was a new venture for the Intermountain Jewish News, which until then had published a weekly newspaper exclusively. The magazine was an outgrowth of the IJN’s annual bridal and travel issue.
IJN Publisher and Editor Miriam Goldberg, Executive Editor Rabbi Hillel Goldberg and the late Managing Editor Doris Sky saw the magazine — with its slick, four-color cover and 50-pound book stock interior — as an opportunity to provide an effective new showcase for the bridal and travel issue’s advertisers and to shine the spotlight on life’s celebrations, such as weddings, Bar and Bat Mitzvahs and travel.
The first issue carried stories only about celebrations, but later editions began to include feature stories. Many have won national journalism awards.
The first issue of L’Chaim© was so well received that the IJN decided to publish L’Chaim© twice a year, with the second issue coming out as a supplement to the IJN’s largest edition of the year, the annual Rosh Hashanah edition. The fall L’Chaim© began the annual Community Directory, as well as a record of all of the Bar and Bat Mitzvahs of the calendar year around the Rocky Mountain region, along with wedding, travel and feature stories.
In 1995, L’Chaim© started featuring real weddings in the community, a feature which has become an anticipated staple. In honor of L’Chaim©’s “silver anniversary,” we are presenting an update of three couples whose weddings have been featured in the magazine over the years.
Lisa Fleischman and Larry Herz were married Sept. 5, 1999, at BMH-BJ with Rabbi Yaakov Chaitovsky and Cantor Joel Lichterman officiating. Their wedding was featured in the February, 2000, L’Chaim.
Fifteen years later, the Herzes are the parents of two daughters, Lindsay, 12, and Lyla, 11.
“Lindsay recently had her Bat Mitzvah with The Jewish Experience,” Lisa reports, “which was a fabulous event for our family.”
The girls are are both “very invested” in Dance Kaleidoscope, and are “great performers,” according to their mom.
Lisa is the daughter of JoAnn and Richard Fleischman, and Larry is the son of Debra Herz, the late Len Herz, and the late Sally Herz.
Larry Herz has been a restaurateur, and now owns an eatery in the Bonnie Brae area of Denver. Lisa, who was a media buyer for an advertising agency, also continues in her original field as a media buyer and freelance consultant.
The Fleischmans live in Lone Tree and enjoy “spending time together traveling, as much as we can.”
Shira Belle Richter and Martin Joseph Zimmerman were married Oct. 21, 2001, in Miami Beach, Fla., with Shira’s uncle Rabbi Chaim Richter officiating. They were the bride and groom in L’Chaim©, February, 2002.
The Zimmermans moved from Atlanta to Marty’s hometown of Denver in 2005, and are “thrilled to be closer to family and friends.” Marty’s parents, Barbara and Steve Zimmerman, live in Denver, and Shira’s mother Marlene Richter moved here in 2006.
Shira and Marty have two children, Alyssa, 10, and Andrew, 9, both students at Denver Jewish Day School. Alyssa is an actress and will be playing the lead from in MACC’s production of “Matilda” in March. Andrew is an athlete, playing competitive basketball and football.
Both Marty and Shira started their careers in Jewish communal work. In 2007, they started Zim Consulting, Inc. to serve the non-profit community. The business has grown from the two of them to seven employees and four contractors.
Marty is the chair of the Mayor’s Youth Commission and is immediate past chair of Friends of Manual High School.
Shira is active at Rodef Shalom and is a founder of Colorado Jewish Professional Women.
Eloise Kauvar and Adam Hirsch were married Jan. 4, 2009, at the DCPA Sewall Ballroom with Rabbi Robert Hirt, vice president of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary at Yeshiva University, and Adam’s brother Rabbi Neil Hirsch officiating.
The couple’s love for traveling started with a surprise proposal in Paris, and continued after they were married to Israel, Italy, the Virgin Islands and around the US.
Both attorneys, Eloise and Adam lived in New York City until they became the parents of twin daughters, and moved to Denver.
Eloise’s parents are Denverites Joanne and Dr. Kenneth Kauvar. Adam’s parents are Deborah and Michael Hirsch of Houston.
The couple’s twins, Charlotte and Penelope, are two-and-a-half years old.
Adam is a partner at the law firm Kutak Rock, and Eloise works in business development for the Governor’s Office.
Copyright © 2014 by the Intermountain Jewish News
