The news of Rabbi Israel Meir Kagan’s passing came after I finished writing my column. Yet this deep loss for the Denver Jewish community cannot go unmentioned in a column about Hillel Academy, where Rabbi Kagan’s rebbetzin, Mrs. Leah Kagan, taught kindergarten Judaics for decades. I was fortunate to be one of her pupils.
It is no exaggeration to say that out of all of my schooling, kindergarten was the best year. Mrs. Kagan and her secular studies mirror Toby Klein were a legendary duo for a reason. They were nurturing and kind, and excellent teachers.
When I read the news of Rabbi Kagan’s passing, my first reaction was deep sorrow. My second reaction was gratitude — how fortunate we in Denver were to have people like Rabbi and Mrs. Kagan in our midst. Humble, holy people who cared for and remember each and every pupil they ever taught — kindergartener or yeshiva bochur alike.
What I will never forget is the twinkle they each had in their eyes, that always left anyone in their company feeling quietly uplifted.
• • •
Shoutout to my friend Dr. Lisa Greenstein Sokol! Her son, Moshe, is a first-grader at Hillel Academy, and she’s arranged for a number of in-person guest visitors to share their professions with the students. I was honored that she asked me and I was exicted to spend time at my old stomping grounds, sharing what a newspaper is with these young minds.
Fortunately, I had good materials on hand. For JEWISHcolorado’s 2025 Israel walk and fair, I teamed up with Rachel Wool and Blair Ebert at the JCC to create a kids’ “Celebrate Israel” newspaper activity. The few extra copies we still had worked a treat!
The kids learned about three specific skills —
• asking a question,
• listening to the answer and
• reporting the response.
The prompt: What was something unusual that happened during your Sukkot break?
When more than one pupil mentioned the downpour on Sept. 25, shortly before the onset of the holiday, the students learned the concept of “newsworthy.” They also succeeded as journalists, as a fellow student had left town for the holiday and hadn’t known about the rainstorm.
We had so much fun that the school invited me back the following week, to meet with the other first-grade class. What the kids didn’t know, however, was that the special guest whom Greenstein had invited the previous Monday was my husband, Andreas Schmid, who taught a music lesson (see above). That meant I had the inside scoop!
After letting them in on the “secret,” their assignment was to interview each other about the lesson. By the end, the students had new information to report to their families — an instrument called Boomwhackers that none of them had heard of before, and probably no one in their families had either!
As I was leaving, I commented to assistant principal Faygie Gertz how uplifting it was to be surrounded by so much energy, learning and creativity. It’s the reason why our Chanukah Coloring Contest is such a highlight. It’s a revitalizing antidote to the unpleasant things happening in the world.
My next visit will be when the school has completed its gym renovation. I’m excited to see how the building has transformed since I was a student — but I’m also looking forward to showing the director, Rabbi Mordechai Hoffman, where everything used to be.
© IJN 2026
