A key element of our preparation is based on security measures to ensure your safety while you can focus on your spiritual well-being during this time. In response to several inquiries from our members, I want to take a moment to provide assurance with the actions undertaken thus far:
- We ask that you bring your tickets with you to display at the registration tables at both HEA and Bethany Church. We will have volunteers and staff checking membership guest lists at each table in case you forget to bring your ticket.
- We are also asking, for security reasons, that you enter through the lower parking lot entrance at the HEA building and the Hampden entrance at Bethany Church. Staff will be stationed to assist and direct you as needed.
- HEA has retained off-duty officers from Denver, Arapahoe County, and Cherry Hills Village police forces to work with contracted security officers and the HEA Greeter team to oversee the main access areas at both HEA and Bethany Church.
- Officer Sheldon Doell, who many of you have gotten to know during weekly Shabbat services, will be stationed at the HEA building along with two other armed off duty officers.
- Both High Holiday facilities are equipped with readily accessible defibrillator equipment, first responder medical bags and first aid kits and we are in the process of having medical professional available on-site during Yom Kippur day and Nei’lah services.
Amir Kaufman, head of the HEA Greeter team and Yuri Tavbin, Director of Operations, have been in constant communication with the police departments, contracted security teams, and our staff and volunteers through trainings and walk-throughs. Our lay volunteer Greeter team is so instrumental in ensuring a welcoming, yet vigilant environment, and we thank our volunteers for their efforts toward creating a safe experience for all of us. Further, through the generosity of Jewish Colorado, HEA has partnered with SCN (Security Communication Network of Colorado), and many members of the Greeter team have recently attended SCN High Holiday training in collaboration and solidarity with other synagogue representatives throughout the region.
Please reach out to the HEA office (303-758-9400) with any questions about security or high holiday logistics. Most importantly, under the premise of ‘see something, say something,’ if you see anything that may present a safety concern, please report it to one of the staff or security officers on site. Your safety is of utmost importance to all of us.
During a recent Torah study discussion, our group discussed the perception of the holidays as a period of judgment, commonly interpreted as a negative connotation. Instead, as I learned through further clarification, the judgment could also be meant as a chance to re-evaluate our past with a prism toward the open possibilities available to all of us in the coming year. With that, we are so elated that you have chosen to be part of the HEA family, and we are excited about the possibilities presented in 5785. May this be a year of peace for Israel and for us all.
Shana Tova,
Steve Levine
