Chabad of Southern Colorado is in its 15th year and is well-established in Colorado Springs.
In 2001, Rabbi Moshe and Zelda Liberow moved to Colorado Springs from New York to raise their children in the Colorado Springs community while establishing Chabad of Southern Colorado.
“We’ve visited Durango and Telluride since 2002, and ran a Chanukah program in Pueblo as part of our outreach in this geographical area” explains Liberow.
“Colorado has Jews in little pockets all over the place. We have traveled to Pueblo and Telluride to meet Jewish families and one year we went to Moffat with some visiting rabbinical students.”
Located southwest of Pueblo, Moffat has a population of slightly more than 100 residents and a median income level close to the US poverty rate.
On a daily basis, Liberow responds to inquiries from tourists traveling through Colorado Springs. Visitors are invited to Shabbat services or meet with him to discuss religious or other topics of interest.
This year for Passover, Chabad held a large community seder, which included out-of-town visitors, Jews and non-Jews from Colorado Springs, and local students from the CU-Colorado Springs campus and Pikes Peak Community College.
During some years, Chabad delivers shmurah matzah to students at Colorado College as well.
Twice each year, kosher food is delivered to Chabad of Southern Colorado from Brooklyn.
“Costco is one of the places where I seem to meet many other Jews,” says Liberow. “People will approach me and introduce themselves. Later they often join us for religious services at Chabad.”
“Nothing happens by chance so even if it’s a meeting in Costco, this is something which occurs in Judaism because everything has a purpose.”
Chabad of Southern Colorado maintains a newly renovated mikveh.
For the second year in a row, students from a religious studies class at Colorado College visited the mikveh as part of their curriculum about Judaism.
Technology plays an important role in Liberow’s efforts to strengthen the Jewish community and reach out to individuals who may be disconnected with Judaism. He believes that modern technology should be used in a positive way and that its purpose is to help people reconnect with Judaism.
Utilizing Jewish websites, learning about Jewish holidays and posting inquiries on Jewish forums are some of the avenues used by Chabad.
In the early 1990s when the Internet was new, Chabad established a website, www.thejewishflame.com, and started creating an approach to outreach using technology.
“People are looking for connection and direction, and most are seeking a place to belong.
“We need to balance our use of technology, ensure that it enhances rather than interferes with our lives, then use technology to make the world better.”
As technology enables faster and faster communication, community response to incidents is often faster than ever before.
Several years ago, a swastika was spray painted on the Chanukah menorah at Liberow’s residence. As word spread within the Jewish community, many decided to express their support by attending Shabbat services the following Friday evening at the Chabad worship space.
“We were so deeply appreciative because Jews turned something negative into a beautiful expression of caring. Inside the synagogue, we felt the warm sense of support and the bonds of a strong Jewish community.”
Copyright © 2016 by the Intermountain Jewish News
