About Us

HEA is dedicated to fostering connected and engaged individuals who are committed to bettering themselves and their community through Jewish values.

Our Vision -

The Hebrew Educational Alliance is a diverse community celebrating Jewish practices and people in every stage of life. Teaching and embracing modern Conservative Jewish rituals, roots and values, the HEA has represented and celebrated Jewish life in Denver, Colorado, for nearly 100 years.

We inspire lives of meaning through our Lifelong Learning, beginning with preschool and continuing through grade school and high school programs. Our extracurricular activities offer religious and social connection outside of our virtual and in-person worship services.

Our History -

For nearly 100 years, the Hebrew Educational Alliance has welcomed the Denver community as a spiritual home for Jewish people and practices in every stage of life. With the leadership of our current Senior Rabbi, Bruce Dollin, the congregation has grown to nearly 850 households involved in our worship services, religious school, preschool, and adult learning programs and activities.

HEA’s community, services, and offerings have expanded dramatically since its inception in the 1920s, growing from a religious school to a central community connector for all Denver Jewish life.

The Congregation Hebrew Educational Alliance was formed in 1928 by merging the Denver Hebrew Institute and the Beth David Sisterhood. These two groups were formed to provide a Jewish education for the children of the West Side of Denver, whose families worshiped at a number of small immigrant synagogues in the neighborhood. Funds were raised for the next four years, and a building was erected at the corner of Meade Street and West Colfax Avenue.

On October 25, 1932, HEA leadership welcomed newly ordained Rabbi Manuel Laderman to the institution, who was determined to transform the HEA into a synagogue, not only a religious school. Rabbi Laderman's personality and athletic abilities were a magnet to the youth of the West Side. Over the years, the Alliance flourished, and Rabbi Laderman became a major force in the Jewish community and the wider Denver community. He served HEA for almost half a century.

Upon Rabbi Laderman's retirement in 1979, Rabbi Daniel Goldberger assumed the leadership of the Alliance. Rabbi Goldberger's stellar reputation attracted many Jewish community members to travel across town to affiliate with the Alliance. Under the leadership of the Rabbi, a renewed dynamism came to the Alliance. The religious school grew, new adult educational programs were developed, and the congregation enjoyed 15 successful years.

In August 1994, HEA named Bruce Dollin as Senior Rabbi, and in 2008, Rabbi Salomon Gruenwald was hired as the Associate Rabbi. Over the past three decades, the HEA has grown in every sense, embracing modernity and the community’s Conservative Jewish roots. Within Rabbi Dollin’s first two years, he implemented women's active participation in the synagogue's worship services. He led the physical transition of HEA from its old Stuart Street building to its current location. Under Rabbi Dollin’s leadership, the HEA formed the preschool and three youth groups and celebrated the opening of the 6,000 sq. ft. Goldberger Youth Center.

HEA’s yearly b'nai mitzvah has increased from five to over 30. The religious school has 70 students enrolled, and the preschool has over 75 students.

Rabbi Dollin retired as Sr. Rabbi in August of 2023, shifting leadership to Rabbi Salomon Gruenwald, who had been HEA's Associate Rabbi since 2008.