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Did you know "Keshet" means RAINBOW?
As a member of the Jewish Disabilities Network of
Colorado, Keshet of the Rockies upholds the inclusion of persons with
special needs
in Jewish educational settings in Colorado by providing academic and
supportive services to K-12 Jewish
learners so they can
actively participate in the Jewish community. We advocate for students
across
the entire Jewish communal
spectrum, regardless of affiliation or denomination, by collaborating
with participating schools, community agencies,
private practitioners, school districts and other partner organizations
to ensure that appropriate services are made available to this
population from birth to adulthood.
Keshet Receives Grant Award for $3,000!
Keshet of the Rockies has been awarded $3,000 to provide additional
speech/language services for young children attending two of the Denver
area Jewish day schools we serve. Many thanks go to our grant partner,
Jewish Family Services of Colorado, for aiding us in this process!
Keshet's Kochavim ("Stars") group has a new youth
leader!
Meet Batya Azoulay, 7th grader at
Hillel Academy in Denver! At the age of 13, Batya has served in the
community as junior counselor with Camp Gan Israel and now she is
helping out Keshet as Kochavim's Youth Advisor. Two years ago, Batya,
along with her family, became baal teshuvah and she attends services at
Aish Ha-Torah
regularly. Batya is an aspiring veterinarian, but right now she is
helping with our fledgling Tehillim group that meets
at Keshet's office during the school day. Following Hillel's Torah
Fair, Batya shared her Holocaust Shabbat presentation with us and we
are glad to post it here as our first Main Page column --
enjoy!
When Shabbos comes, we immerse ourselves into a new
dimension in time. Because of this, Shabbos is qualitatively different.
Unlike
the holy Bais Hamikdosh to which we used to travel, Shabbos is the
traveling
holiness. It comes to us once a week, every week, anywhere in the
world—an
expense-free vacation (and you don’t even need a travel agency!).
Shabbos has the stability that transcends the limitations of
space. But what is this “kedusha” (holiness)?
In Hebrew, Kedusha has the
connotation of “separate and distinct.” The Kiddush that we
make every Friday
night is to distinguish Shabbos from weekdays. Holiness, no matter what
form it
takes, is a metaphysical substance that our souls understand and
receive every
week when Shabbos comes. This is also true at any holy day on the
Jewish
calendar, but when Jews are faced with making tough decisions on
Shabbos these
are special opportunities to be selfless.
In Exodus 35:2-3 it says, “You may do melacha during the six weekdays, but the seventh shall be
holy for
you. Do not ignite a fire [in other words, do not work] in any of your
dwelling
places on Shabbos day.” Yet there is also a story of two men
during the
Holocaust. One was younger than the other. A soldier came up to the
younger man
and said, “If you sign these papers today (which was Shabbos)
then we will let
you and that man go.” The younger man replied, “No. I will
not sign for me
[thereby not doing melacha for himself].
I am young so I will sign for him
because he is older and is not as strong as he used to be. I am strong
and can
survive.” The soldier was shocked, but the younger man signed the
papers and
they let the older man go. Though he broke one law of Shabbos, he did
not do it
to set himself free—rather, he saved another man’s life.
What I learned from this mitzvah is that we
should enjoy
Shabbos because we do not have to make the same choices others before
us have.
It is Shabbos that holds the key to our Jewish future.
Wishing everyone a wonderful chag for Purim--and may next Shabbos be
especially sweet for you and your family.
:> BA
Keshet of the Rockies is a proud recipient
of Allocation Funds
from the Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado.
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