graeme's blog

Mazel tov to Jay and Joyce Moskowitz and family in honor of the upcoming wedding this week of their daughter Shevie to Daniel Kassai, son of Sara and Shlomie Kassai, of Flatbush, NY.

Dear Members,

This is an exciting time for our synagogue and community. Rabbis, committees and board members are hard at work putting together programming and structure to make our synagogue the well-run central part of the community we all wish it to be. As we emerge from our start-up phase, the DAT Minyan needs funds to ensure we meet the needs of the community. These funds will be used to pay for youth programming, our Rabbi’s salary, use of the facility and other essential costs.

Over the last few weeks we have seen an increase in noise levels in the hallways of the building. There have also been many incidents of small children roaming the halls unsupervised, playing in the building unsupervised, and playing outside unsupervised. There have been children riding their scooters through the halls and throwing and dropping balls from the foyer to the hallway outside the library and back. In addition, when we try to run the youth program on Shabbat morning, it is very difficult to get and keep the children's attention when they know (and see) their friends in the hallways and playing outside.

Margaret Schwartz has kindly coordinated the purchase and erection of a new Shul Succah.

We plan to build the Succah after the membership meeting on Sunday ~10.15am. We need about 5 volunteers to help. Please be there!

If you are interested in making a donation to offset the cost of the Succah please speak with Graeme Bean.

The unveiling of the monument for Lillian Krupp. takes place at Rose Hill Cemetery Sunday, September 10th, at 1:00 pm.  Ms. Krupp was the sister of Mr. Bud Glassman.

We extend condolences to Janice Fellner upon the loss of her father, David Weiner in Canton, MA. Janice begins sitting Shiva in Boston and returns to Denver Monday morning, September 11th. She continues sitting shiva at her home, 295 S. Jasmine, Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday.

Dear Friends,

As I have almost completed my first week in the DAT community, I now realize how truly honored I am to be here. Everyone that I have met and interacted with has been so kind and sweet. I can really sense the excitement and enthusiasm around the DAT Minyan. It seems that everyone wants our shul to grow, and is ready to chip in wherever necessary to facilitate this goal. I am also tremendously excited about our shul’s future and the opportunity for us to make an impact on our community as a whole. It is a privilege for me to work very closely with Rabbi Alter. We speak on a daily basis, and we are already planning to create exciting, fun, and growth oriented opportunities for the shul and community.

Dear Partners,

With the beginning of the month of Elul, our thoughts begin to turn towards teshuva (repentance) and cheshbon hanefesh (self reflection). There is also a tremendous amount of work that is required in order to create a spiritual and meaningful High Holiday atmosphere for our community. I am very appreciative to all those who have volunteered to serve on committees that have been working hard in preparing our Shul for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

I would like to briefly address and explain one of the difficult deliberations that the High Holidays committee spent a significant amount of time on, and debated for hours until they finally came to agreement.

Rabbi Leban and The Jewish Experience would like to invite everyone to their fifth annual Family Summer Picnic. The picnic is next Sunday, August 20th from 11am- 2pm at Creekside Park, one block west of Cherry Street on the north side of Cherry Creek. This year’s picnic features New York recording artist David Ross and his band performing live at 1pm, an acrobatic juggling act at 12 noon, rides and activities for the kids as well as an all-you-can-eat BBQ and great shmoozing. Call (303) 316-6412 for more details and we’ll see you there.

The DAT Minyan would like to officially welcome Rabbi Daniel & Rifka Alter & family to the DAT community. Over the last few years, most of us have had the opportunity to get to know the Alters and develop long-lasting relationships with them, which makes it all the more special to now have the opportunity to work more closely with them. The board of directors wishes Rabbi Alter much success in his new role as head of Denver Academy of Torah. With Hashem’s help, under the guidance and leadership of Rabbi Alter, the DAT Minyan should continue to thrive, grow, and provide a positive impact on the Denver Jewish Community as a whole.