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Reflections on My First Trip to Israel

08/08/2023 11:10:55 AM

Aug8

Lauren Park

During our trip, one of the things we talked about with the many people we met, whether Jewish, Christian, Arab, Druze, or immigrant, were labels. How do these folks identify themselves? I thought a lot about identity on the trip – and have now reflected on how Israel impacted me. Here are a few of my takeaways:

I felt safe in Israel. Honestly, safer than I do in Florida these days. It’s the extraordinary feeling of being part of...Read more...

Great News from your Cantor Search Committee

02/25/2022 09:48:34 AM

Feb25

Dear Fellow Congregants - 
The Board of Trustees of Congregation Har HaShem is excited to announce - We have a candidate for our new Cantor position Read more...

Living My Life with a Chronic Health Condition

12/21/2021 11:46:43 AM

Dec21

Carrie Neiss

I vividly remember getting a headache for the first time when I was about 14, at my high school fashion show. Upon entering the building, a crowded sea of teenagers surrounded me. I tried to navigate the chaotic scene, but I felt overwhelmed as they filled the halls and staircases. My friend and I pushed through and rushed down the stairs to the gym, and there we saw a blinding show of bright, colorful searing lights, and loud...Read more...

Har HaShem will Resettle an Afghan Family

11/30/2021 08:57:30 AM

Nov30

Marianne Balin

I am thrilled to share some wonderful news.

The Board of Trustees of Congregation Har HaShem has offered our Baseline house to a family fleeing Afghanistan. We expect Najeb, Maryam and their children, Amrullah (3) and Naseebullah (2), to move in in mid-December. We’re partnering with Lutheran Family Services and a local effort to bring Afghan refugees to Boulder County. Below, I’ll tell you more and how you can...Read more...

D'var Torah on Parshat Tol'dot (Esau & Isaac)

11/15/2021 11:35:52 AM

Nov15

Melinda Kassen

Most of us know this week’s parsha, Tol’dot, for the story of Jacob and Esau. There’s a lot there – stolen birthright and blessing, imperfect heroes, the Torah’s binary presentation of the twins, one good and one bad. There’s hate and sort-of reconciliation. Much that resonates in our polarized world.

But I want to talk about another part of this parsha: the story of...Read more...

New Executive Director!

10/19/2021 04:50:18 PM

Oct19

Welcome Alan Friedman!
 
After a nationwide search, a thorough selection process by the Har HaShem Executive Director Search Committee, and approval Read more...

Shabbat D'varim at Camp

07/16/2021 02:27:17 PM

Jul16

Katherine Schwartz

This Shabbat we read from the beginning of the book of Deuteronomy. While the later chapters are full of the high drama of Moses’ death, this week’s portion, D’varim, is part of a recap of the Israelites 40 years of wandering in the desert. The book opens with “These are the words that Moses addressed to all Israel on the other side of the Jordan.”  The Israelites must be reminded of their journey as they prepare to...Read more...

Message on Recent Events in Israel

05/12/2021 01:22:02 PM

May12

Rabbi Fred Greene

I am among the many here in America whose heart is breaking. I am so deeply saddened to see renewed attacks on innocents as Hamas shoots rockets into Israeli cities. I am disheartened by the challenges in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah as Israeli Jewish extremists try to use the law to evict Palestinian residents from their homes. I am concerned when Jews in Israel and America -- my community, my people -- return to simple...Read more...

After the Boulder shooting, I ask the Four Questions

03/29/2021 11:59:38 AM

Mar29

Rabbi Ruthie Gelfarb

Published on Forward.com

People pay their respects on March 23, 2021 to the ten victims of a mass shooting at a King Soopers grocery store in Boulder, Colorado. by the Forward
			Read more...

Holli Berman announces her retirement in 2022

12/08/2020 10:24:10 AM

Dec8

Holli Berman and Marianne Balin

With a heart full of love and gratitude, I share that I will retire from my position of Cantorial Soloist in June, 2022. That date will mark thirty years of teaching and twenty-five years of serving on the clergy team for our beloved synagogue.Read more...

Standing Against Racism is a Jewish Value

10/20/2020 05:14:53 PM

Oct20

Lauren Park, Tikkun Olam Chair

The Tikkun Olam Committee has taken up questions of racism and privilege and is exploring actions we can take as a congregation to be allies, to welcome people of color to our community, and to work to end systemic racism. The Board of Directors has adopted a goal around antiracism and the statement below, and also approved the hanging of a sign on our building.Read more...

Celebrate the Holy Days

09/01/2020 02:09:14 PM

Sep1

Rabbi Fred Greene

Holli and I will livestream Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur services from our sanctuary simultaneously to  Zoom, Facebook Live, and our website. Please pre-register if you wish to join us on Zoom. We have limited capacity, and we’ll need to know attendance in order to upgrade our account, if necessary. Read more...

JTREE Boulder

08/17/2020 01:34:30 PM

Aug17

Climate change was such a concern for one local Boulderite that she felt it needed to be included in her D'var Torah. In a recent interview, Natasha Dickson and her mother Lisa Sundell, talked about the connection between a 13th Mitzvah and JTree.

Natasha’s interest emerged at the same time that Lisa saw JTree information in the Har Hashem newsletter. The connection was made of both passion and purpose, and the JTree donation link...Read more...

Update on In-Person Programming

08/10/2020 09:33:19 AM

Aug10

Marianne Balin, President

Our goal is to balance our community’s spiritual and emotional needs against potential risks to our health during the COVID pandemic. We’re being guided by science, data, and the recommendations of public health officials viewed through the lens of Judaism’s ethical teachings to protect life. Read more...

I'm happy to say that we are living our vision...

06/30/2020 10:11:05 AM

Jun30

Greg Frost

We are Congregation Har HaShem. We create meaning in our lives...through Jewish practice.Read more...

Your best will be good enough

05/15/2020 12:03:23 PM

May15

Ira Greschler, Immediate Past President

A d'var Torah for the board: Just like Jacob and his sons, I know that you are all up to this. You are all strong, smart, educated, experienced, and ready to lead. Jacob’s household was 70 when he went down to Egypt, they became a great nation. Har HaShem can be a great institution in American Reform Judaism, you can help lead the way.Read more...

Earth Day

04/20/2020 09:02:35 AM

Apr20

Becky O'Brien

While Earth Day activities are only online this year, there are many great ways to help protect the planet! Here are resources and activities we can do now.Read more...

Celebrating B'not Mitzvah online

03/31/2020 11:04:09 AM

Mar31

As Zoey Mandelbaum and Amelia Protas approached their b'not mitzvah on March 21, they and their families reimagined the celebration and found meaning and connection in deep and unexpected ways.Read more...

Sabbath of Social Distance

03/13/2020 04:33:22 PM

Mar13

Shabbat Shalom In this moment, when we seek community and security, we will gather online to share a little light, a little joy, a little Shabbat. May we find hope, health and wholeness especially in this uncertain moment. May we find connection, even when the times call for distance.  This week, may we find new ways to make space for Shabbat.Read more...

Building closed.

03/12/2020 06:30:51 PM

Mar12

Alan Halpern, Rabbi Greene, Greg Frost

We are closing our building tomorrow evening and moving services and programs online by streaming, virtual meetings or other means.Read more...

Covid Update

03/11/2020 06:09:51 PM

Mar11

Alan Halpern, Greg Frost, Rabbi Greene

We are suspending onegs, food at Torah study and Beit Cafe. We stream services on Friday and Saturday. We are developing ways for groups to meet virtually.Read more...

A picture is worth 1000 words...

02/26/2020 10:16:41 AM

Feb26

Alan Halpern, Executive Director

Our new logo represents our aspirations, our real and hoped for diversity, openness, and evolution from the community we are, to the community we wish to be.Read more...

World Zionist Congress Elections

02/19/2020 10:36:18 AM

Feb19

Dexter Simon

You have a voice in Israel if you vote in the World Zionist Congress elections.Read more...

Women's Leadership in Parashat Shemot

01/16/2020 08:37:51 AM

Jan16

Melinda Kassen

Parashat Shemot opens with Pharaoh enslaving the Israelites because they are becoming too numerous. When the brave and wily midwives refuse Pharaoh’s command to kill all male Hebrew babies, he tells Egyptians to throw these babies into the Nile instead. Moses’ mom does that herself and Pharaoh’s daughter picks up his basket and raises him as her own in the palace. Moses leaves the Palace one day and comes across an Egyptian beating...Read more...

Vayetze Sermon - Kislev 2019

12/30/2019 10:13:58 AM

Dec30

Rabbi David Barak-Gorodetsky

 

This last Yom Kippur, we held a full service at Midreshet Ben-Gurion, the central hub of my community, which is the larger Ramat Hanagev Regional Council. Our Hazan was orthodox, originally from the settlement of Tkoa, home to one of the most renowned peace activists in Israel, Rabbi Menachem Fruman, of blessed memory. Our Kol Nidrei was performed by a female singer from the Mitze Ramon music school, and we...Read more...

Two Important Messages

12/13/2019 08:39:51 AM

Dec13

Friends,

As many of you know, Haver, Boulder's Rabbinical Council, has been working with Mountain View Memorial Park for plots in the Jewish area of Read more...

Har HaShem Honored by Bridge House as Landlord of the Year

10/22/2019 09:57:18 AM

Oct22

Alan Halpern

Roxanne Bailin and Sara-Jane Cohen accepted Bridge Houses's Landlord of the Year Award at Ready to Work's 2019 graduation. The award recognizes the year-old partnership between our congregation and Bridge House to end homelessness by combining existing housing stock, public and private rental subsidies, and case management to help successful Ready to Work graduates find permanent homes.

Read more...

When is a Surplus not a Surplus?

10/17/2019 09:20:07 AM

Oct17

Jim Edelman

Never. A surplus is always a surplus. However, a surplus does not mean that you have met all of your financial challenges. A family may make more money than it spends in a year, but it may need to prepare for college expenses or retirement down the road.

Har HaShem is in a similar situation. Last year, we had a surplus of almost $100,000 and added more than $50,000 to our Endowment. Hooray! Congrats to...Read more...

HHS Treasurer to write about money because...why not?

10/16/2019 12:58:04 PM

Oct16

Jim Edelman

 

Few of us like to think about finance. Money matters can be intimidating, depressing, and the source of conflict. As a result, many people and organizations try to avoid the whole issue. They can’t. We all evaluate options for big and small financial matters every day. If we do not think them through, we are much more likely to make poor choices, which will make us even more uncomfortable in the...Read more...

Let's Get Real at Yom Kippur...

10/11/2019 10:06:22 AM

Oct11

Greg Frost, President of Har HaShem Board of Trustees

I’d like to get real with you tonight. During these High Holy Days, we’re challenged to look deep within ourselves, to consider our actions and our relationships over the past year, and to think about how we want the year ahead to be different. What have we done right? Where we can do better? 

Thinking this way might lead us to feel a bit alone and lost. Does anyone really get me? Does anybody understand...Read more...

Tue, March 19 2024 9 Adar II 5784