JewsByChoice.Org

I know, three post in row! Has this man, nothing better to do with his time? Well the answer is yes but my last post was too heavy on the cranky, and rather lacking in festiveness. So when this Chanukah story “Jewish Coloradans thriving, growing” from the “Rocky Mountain News” popped up in my feed reader. I thought it was just too nice a piece, not to share.

Here is the first bit of it:

As a symbol of Jewish resilience, few holidays fit as well as the eight days of Hanukkah, which began at sundown Tuesday. It marks an ancient Jewish victory over enemies and the restoration of the temple in Jerusalem. Its lamps were darkened by war but lit again with a smidgen of oil that miraculously lasted eight days.

Cut to Colorado, thousands of years later. Once again, the Jewish community hasn’t just survived, but thrived, according to the Metro Denver/Boulder Community Study, sponsored by the Allied Jewish Federation.

Since the study’s last reckoning 10 years ago, the number of Jewish households has grown 41 percent, to 45,400, making Colorado home to the 18th-largest Jewish community in the U.S.

With growth has come a kaleidoscope of Jewish experience and expressions. Here are eight Coloradans who represent just a sampling of the wide spectrum of Jewish life. Their perspectives stretch from the most traditional, Orthodox Judaism, to the most modern innovations, such as the Jewish Renewal movement. In between, from conservative to reform movements, from Jews with deep Colorado roots to recent immigrants, the state’s 81,500 Jews reflect a variety of paths to one heritage.

The interviews have been edited for space and clarity.

The survivor: Eric Cahn

Eric Cahn was a toddler when the Nazis ripped his family apart, sending his parents to the Auschwitz death camp. A French Christian family hid Cahn, now 69, and his sister Zilla in their basement for two years.

Cahn’s mother died in captivity; his father barely survived. After the war, he sent his kids to stay with relatives in Pueblo:

“When my father sent us to America in 1950, I was 12 years old and very, very angry. I didn’t speak the language. I had no idea what was coming.

“Eventually we ended up in the National Jewish Home in Denver. We lived there until we graduated from North High School. Then we were on our own.”

Cahn got a degree in mathematics and became a certified financial planner. He married Jane, his second wife, 24 years ago. He is the father of three.

“It all turned out well. I’ve had a very good life.

“What does it mean to be a Jew? I’ve tried to answer that question over the years. I’ve got a strong faith in God and try to live my life by the Golden Rule: ‘Do to others as you would have them do to you.’ But I practice nothing as far as any religion. Yes, I was born a Jew, but it was Christians who saved my life. So I’ve got some ambivalence. But that’s who I am.”

You can read the rest of it here!

I guess I liked it because a) it’s a Chanukah article and b) it shows a really diverse and thriving community and how can anyone not like that!

BTW feel free to think of this as my little (2nd night of) Chanukah gift to you all!  

Enjoy and if you haven’t already, get your candle’s light up!