“It felt good to laugh.” I heard this many times from people who attended this year’s HEA Anniversary Celebration, featuring Jewish standup comedian Joel Chasnoff.
After the horrific attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023, and the devastating war that has followed, our hearts have been heavy with concern and grief. In the days following the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust, it was hard to conceive of gathering on October 29 for a comedy show.
As the committee that planned the event regrouped, we started to tell a different story. The group–led by Laurie Morris, Joan Saliman and Ceci Lowinger–revisited the purpose of our event. It was not a comedy show–that was merely the draw. The purpose of our event was to celebrate the founders of the Hebrew Educational Alliance. Not unlike the Passover seder, the goal was to tell our children the story of our community and its origins so that they can carry on our values. The group set out to create the Haggadah of this event. They spoke with the children and grandchildren of HEA’s founders and builders, collecting their recollections in a beautiful tribute book. Their memories are a glimpse into a world so different from ours–a close knit community known as West Colfax where working class Jews lived in what was then an unincorporated suburb on the outskirts of Denver.
In 1928, a year before Wall Street crashed, the Beth David Sisterhood formed the organization that would become the Hebrew Educational Alliance. The Great Depression drove easterners toward the Rockies, drove up unemployment, and brought waves of Jewish immigration to Denver. Yet, in the midst of scarcity and social upheaval, a couple dozen families got together with the chutzpah to dream of a better future for their children and the Jews of Denver. They rolled up their sleeves and passed the tzedakah box, creating a brand new kind of synagogue. One that was traditional, but also progressive for its time. And since 1932, when Rabbi Manuel Laderman arrived at Denver’s Union Station, the Hebrew Educational Alliance has been making Jewish education and community accessible for every Jewish family.
This story is told in far greater detail in the beautiful tribute book we created for the occasion. It serves as a living tribute to the generations that built the HEA. A similar book was created in 1979 on the occasion of Rabbi Laderman’s retirement. That weathered old book sits on the shelf in my study, just as it does in the Jewish Archives at the University of Denver. Like past tribute books, the journal we created for this year’s anniversary will stand as a historical artifact for generations to remember our synagogue’s history. We will also be turning the tribute journal into a permanent digital artifact on our history page in the coming days. It will remain as a living memorial to the generations who founded, built, supported, and participated in the early years of the Hebrew Educational Alliance.
With this sense of heritage and posterity in mind, we want to make sure that we have an accurate record. We regret that the book published for the Anniversary Celebration had some unintentional errors and omissions, and we are grateful to the individuals who pointed out the mistakes so that we can have a more correct version on our shelves and on our website.
The following corrections will appear in reprinted and digital editions: The biographical tribute for Abe and Dora Perlmutter that was omitted will be included. An omitted photograph of the Feiner Family sisters submitted by the family of Anne and Bill Goldberg will be included. In the section titled "More Original and Still Alliance Member Families,” the omitted family profile of Harry and Berdie Friedman will be added.
The event and tribute book represent the legacy of volunteerism and generosity that built and rebuilt the synagogue over generations. In the early years of the Hebrew Educational Alliance, everyone in the community pitched in and contributed their time, their dedication, and their resources to the success of our synagogue. The same is true today. Like the Alliance of the 1930s, we are operating in a challenging environment and recovering from devastating world events like the COVID pandemic. And, as it was for our predecessors, HEA is in a growth phase once more.
The HEA Anniversary Celebration put a capstone on our annual giving campaign, which concludes with our fiscal year at the end of April. Like previous generations, HEA relies on the support of our members and the generosity of those who can help make Jewish life affordable and accessible to any family seeking the warm, welcoming and spiritual experience HEA has offered for over 90 years.
It did indeed feel good to laugh at the Anniversary Celebration. It also felt really good to remember our history and the sacrifices earlier generations made so that we can live proudly and joyously as Jews in Colorado. If you didn’t attend the event and would like a copy of the tribute journal, a limited number of books will be reprinted and available while supplies last. In the coming days, the digital version of the book will be available on our website, along with photographs from the anniversary event.
If you have not had a chance to contribute to the annual Pathways Campaign, there’s still time to help us close out our year strong. Please click HERE to donate.
Thank you for your support and for helping us continue the groundbreaking vision of HEA’s founders.
