Mountain Family

Steamboat Springs' Jewish Congregation

President's Message

August, 2012

Dear Members and Friends of the Har Mishpacha Family,

With our Board leadership and inspiration of our Rabbi Stephen Booth-Nadav, plus the participation of our own Har Mish members, our Congregation has enriched itself with more educational programs, social opportunities and Family and Home Shabbat services for all. We have shared, and will continue to share, the stimulation of our Torah Study group, our Jewish Book Club, and our Shabbat services--from the traditional to the eclectic--with much time devoted to the solemnity of our High Holiday Services and the joy of our Festival parties such as Chanukah and Purim. We are determined to extend our Mountain Family's "welcome mat" to all who wish to partake.

To this end, we now offer a First Year Family Dues Program for the 2012-13 year to our first-time members with children under Bar/Bat Mitzvah age, as well as those former members who have been away for over 3 years. Dues of $180 include Religious School! Other First Year Introductory dues are now reduced by 50% to $100 for Individuals, $200 for Couples, and $300 for Families with children post-Bar/Bat Mitzvah, applicable to new or former members who have been away for over 3 years.

To continue this progress, our devoted Board pledges to take an active role in providing your families and our Jewish community with the activities and opportunities you and we wish for ourselves---religious, cultural, educational and social. This will happen only with your support--that is, your time and spirit, your sharing and funding.

I am looking forward to the growth of our "Mountain Family". I ask each of you to volunteer, and together we will provide the way to living Jewishly. Yes, this is a mitzvot.

Shalom,
Bert Halberstadt
President

Introducing Rabbi Steve

Congregation Har Mishpacha welcomes Rabbi Stephen Booth-Nadav as our new rabbi, effective Feb. 2011.  He joins us from Denver, visiting monthly for long weekends.  He is a graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Philadelphia (92).  He served as a Hillel Director at the University of Delaware, and in congregations in Lansing, Michigan and Denver, Colorado.  He brings us over fourteen years of congregational experience.  

In Denver Rabbi Steve is also the Executive Director (and founder) of "Wisdom House Denver: A Center for Multifaith Dialogue and Spiritual Inquiry."  Here he teaches classes, leads contemplative hikes and a Jewish meditation practice group.   Also from here he is the project manager for "9/11 Ten Years After: A Multifaith Response" in Denver.  

Rabbi Steve is also an adjunct staff member of "Adventure Rabbi," based in Boulder, CO., and works with R. Mike Comins at TorahTrek, where he learns and trains leaders in Jewish Wilderness Spirituality.

Rabbi Steve is a past board member of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, and is on the program committee for Limmud Colorado. 

 Rabbi Steve lives in Denver with his wife and daughter, Jan and Ariella, and their dog "Reb Zusya," a reincarnation of an 18^th Cent. Hasidic rabbi.

 We look forward to sharing and growing with Rabbi Steve in our mutual love for joyful, meaningful Jewish life, learning, celebration and community in a contemporary context.