Despite a Jewish presence at times prominent on Denvers West Side for more than 125 years, a new Jewish community is emerging in the neighborhoods comprising the historic district.
The golden age of Jewish life on the West Side started to wane in the 1940s as many families moved to the East Side and suburbs of Denver.
On the other hand, Orthodox institutions such as Yeshiva Toras Chaim, Beth Jacob High School, Congregation Zera Abraham and a rebuilt mikveh reversed the decline and have kept a core of observant Jews on the West Side ever since.
As the older neighborhoods on the West Side such as Sloans Lake and Highlands became popular among young professionals in the 2000s, non-Orthodox Jews living in those areas have begun to discover each other.
According to community activist Jen Kraft, in July, 2013, Esti Schwab of the West-side based Denver Community Kollel, brought some friends with young children to a lovely backyard in the Highlands, together with about 10 pounds of beautiful challah dough.
A new Jewish community has been baking ever since.
Schwab knew of a number of young Jewish families that were not necessarily affiliated with any Jewish institutions and lived on the West Side, and Kraft knew many more, and we all came together for a wonderful summer Shabbat evening. The toddlers played some games, sang and danced and braided the challah dough while we learned and recited the blessings together.
Before sunset, Esti and her friends went home to celebrate Shabbat with their families and we stayed together for a backyard pot luck dinner, Kraft says.
Those who stayed shared their diverse Jewish experiences.
A few have graduate degrees in Jewish education or communal service; one is the son of a Conservative rabbi; many are in interfaith relationships; some never had Bar or Bat Mitzvahs.
Some have had little or no formal or informal Jewish education; some belong to synagogues or temples or minyanim elsewhere in Denver; many do not.
Some are Denver natives, most are not, and they reside in Highlands, Berkeley, Edgewater, Wheat Ridge, even Golden.
What has become clear to me in the 17 months since then is that there is a clear desire and interest in building Jewish community on the West Side of Denver and people are voting with their feet, Kraft says.
The groups recently revised and reaffirmed mission statement is:
West Side Jewish Community (WSJC) is an emerging Jewish community on Denvers Northwest side and surrounding communities.
Our mission is to create an all-inclusive, family-friendly and self-guided community to explore and celebrate our Jewish roots, practice and identity.
One WSJC member arranged a tashlich ceremony at Sloans Lake on the first afternoon of Rosh Hashanah, sending out information about the ritual in advance via emails.
One family initiated, organized and hosted a pot luck break-the-fast in a local church basement.
The following day, 16 children and 20 adults gathered, ate lox and bagels and performed the mitzvah of building a sukkah in an Edgewater backyard.
For some, it was their first experience at all with the holiday of Sukkot.
For families with children between the ages of 2-6 years old, we have partnered with the Colorado Agency for Jewish Education to bring a family-education version of the Jewish Explorers program to the hood, says Kraft.
Highlands Havdalah are Saturday evenings for adults in private homes with a Jewish themed discussion, dessert and drinks.
For example WSJC has invited Rabbi Adam Morris from Temple Micah for a discussion of Jewish spirituality and Dr. Caryn Aviv, of Judaism Your Way, for a conversation about Jewish family life.
An adult Purim celebration is scheduled for next February.
There is also an expressed interest in starting a womens group, a Jewish cooking series and possibly a preschool.
WSJC gathers for occasional Shabbat celebratons, most Jewish holidays and special events.
A two-part program, Northwest Denver Road Trip: Digging Into Our Jewish Roots featured Dr. Jeanne Abrams of the Colorado Jewish Historical Society.
She delivered a historical lecture focusing on Jewish Denver, and the following Sunday a bus trip all over the West Side ended with a picnic at Lakeside Amusement.
As one of the participants put it, I now feel like I have a birthright to live on the West Side.
Copyright © 2014 by the Intermountain Jewish News
