The Aspen Jewish Congregation, nestled in the Rocky Mountains, has a history that spans 35 years. In 1973, several Jews wanted to get together to celebrate Chanukah. One of them was Gideon Kaufman, a newly arrived lawyer who eventually became the lay rabbi, a volunteer role he filled for 35 years. Soon the group had grown to 30 people who decided to organize a community Seder for Pesach. That was also well received and led to the first High Holiday services, held at the Aspen Community Church. After the successful services, people greeted one another with the traditional “Shana Tovah”, as well as a surprised “I didn’t know you were Jewish.” And so it began. Clearly, there was a desire on the part of Aspen’s Jews to affiliate and connect with the growing Jewish community of the Roaring Fork Valley.
As it grew, the congregation began to meet the emerging needs and desires of the growing community. It obtained its first torah in 1975, and built the ark that is still used today. Teddy Kolek, then Mayor of Jerusalem, helped to engrave the new ark. Next, a monthly Shabbat service was added and a religious school for the children was started. By the early 1980's, the congregation began meeting weekly, borrowing sanctuary space from the Aspen Community Church on Bleeker Street on Friday evenings. In 1986 the congregation settled into a 99 year leased-partnership with the Christians of the Aspen Chapel, which was built in June 1969 as an ecumenical center of worship. By 1995, the congregation had raised funds to build a classroom and rabbi's office addition to the building, and hired a Director of Education for the school that grew to over one hundred students.
Along with growth came a desire for professional clergy. In 2005, the congregation hired a full-time cantor and soon after in 2007, a full time Education Director, who happened to be a newly ordained rabbi! Since then, we have retained the Director of Education position in the form of a Jewish Educator who, along with another teacher, daily touches the lives of over 55 students who are enrolled within our Judaic School. We have recently hired a full-time Rabbi and Cantor. In addition to their duties directing us in worship, Rabbi David Segal and Cantor Rollin Simmons perform other duties, including pastoral care, life cycle events, B'nai Mitzvah preparation and adult education programming.
The AJC enjoys significant participation from the greater second home owner and tourist communities. High Holiday services are attended by over 500 people. Friday night services (during ski season or summer) can attract over 100 worshippers. Over the last 30 years, we have had over 300 children called to the torah to become B’nai Mitzvah. Although the congregation is a member of the Union of Reform Judaism (URJ), it continues to meet the various needs of its diversified Jewish members by subscribing to the inclusionary philosophy that it was founded on 35 years ago.
We invite you to attend any of our religious services, community events or programs to see for yourself exactly why the Aspen Jewish Congregation is such a special place to worship and to meet old and new friends!
