Literacy Tutors
Biannual Blood Drives
Max Frankel Jewish Prisoner Program
Leadville Jewish Cemetery
Literacy Tutors
Bruce Ogin and Bill Berger with students
and their mother at Holm Elementary School
As President Bill Berger said, "Your involvement will be personally rewarding - and goes to the heart of the foundation of Bnai B'rith: Service to our Community".
Biannual Blood Drives
B'nai B'rith Denver president
Bill Berger donating blood
B'nai B'rith Denver has brought back its twice yearly blood drives which are held in May and November for the benefit of The Childrens Hospital. Many of you have donated to help Denver's smallest patients, and we thank you for your life saving contributions.
Donating blood is the community service that is the gift of life.
The next drive will be on Veteran's Day, November 11, from 9:00 a.m. until 12:45 p.m. The mobile unit will be parked in the Greek Orthodox Church's lower parking lot due to construction at the JCC.
Please call 303-393-7358 to make an appointment to donate.
Max Frankel Jewish Prisoner Program
B'nai B'rith Denver has sponsored Passover Seders and Rosh Hashanah services for over 60 years and volunteers are needed to help with this program. If you are unable to actually go to the correctional facility, Ed can use help getting kosher food donated and asking for donations to offset expenses. The following story describes the 2010 Passover Seder. If you are interested, please email Ed Koplin at bnaibrith5280@gmail.com.
Max Frankel
This year's Seder was attended by 8 inmates. According to tradition, some non-Jewish inmates were invited to attend. A few inmates have converted to Judaism while incarcerated; with the help of the Jewish inmates, they have learned to read Hebrew and very often know the Seder service better than we do. An abbreviated Seder is conducted due to the time allotted by the Prison management. No candles or matches are allowed so we use electric candle sticks. While the Seder is shortened, it is still a traditional one except for the absence of the.." opening the door for Elijah" portion in consideration of the inmate’s incarceration.
The inmates were very appreciative of our annual trek to conduct the Seder. They participated in the service and enjoyed the Kosher Pesach food supplied by B'nai B'rith. The menu included matzah, charoset (made by the inmates from the apples, nuts, honey & raisins),horseradish, pre-sliced meats , herring, hard boiled eggs donated by East Side Kosher Deli (Eggs must be peeled and vacuum-sealed to be brought into the Facility) gefilte fish, chopped liver, grape juice, Coke products, pickles, and assorted candies & sweets.
Prison Passover
Lay Rabbi Allan Markman and Ed Koplin shop for Kosher food weeks prior to the Passover visit since all food on the menu must be pre-approved by the CDOC, in addition to being factory sealed and unopened. No longer can we have charoset made by the Temple Sisterhood, as used to be the case when Uncle Max Frankel, (of blessed memory), brought with him individually packaged servings in plastic-wrapped paper cups. All food items are closely inspected by a guard.
Over the past couple of years, volunteering has become more difficult due to the Colorado Department of Corrections new security requirements that all Faith-Based Volunteers take a basic 8-hour CDOC Prison Training Class, plus a 4-hour follow up class each year. Following approval of their application process, volunteers must take a Facility Orientation at each prison the volunteer visits so they are fully aware of the Facility/Prison layout. In addition, each volunteer is subjected to an intensive security check prior to each visit, as well as a personal screening at entry to the facility.
"As a result many of our Volunteers have just not been able to cope with the new time-consuming security requirements, and have dropped out of our Program and we are deeply appreciative of our B'nai B'rith volunteers who helped make the 2010 Seder a great success due to their personal effort and commitment to this mitzvah"... said Ed Koplin, co chair of the Max Frankel Jewish Prisoner Program. Allan Markman, Jonnie Pizer, and Gerald Rosenblatt contributed to making this Seder a great success by giving up most of their second day of Pesach to visit the Jewish Inmates.
Leadville Cemetery Mitzvah
B'nai B'rith Denver's 15th Annual Cemetery Project was
a meaningful and fun weekend in Leadville this past summer for the volunteers who spent the the weekend of June 25 and 26 in Leadville, Colorado.
This year B'nai B'rith held the dedication of its Rescued Torah at the Saturday morning service. This 90-year-old Torah was purchased, then cleaned and restored to its original kosher condition by B'nai B'rith Denver. Aspen Jewish Congregation has donated a beautiful Ark to house the Torah. The Torah will be kept on site in Temple Israel in Leadville, and made available for the Jewish congregations of Aspen, Vail, and Summit County whenever needed.
Rabbi Debra Rappaport from B'nai Vail Congregation, Rabbi Joel Schwartzman from Synagogue of the Summit, Rabbi David Segal from Aspen Jewish Congregation, and Rabbi Birdie Becker took part in the dedication.
A Schachrit Service at 10:00 am at the beautifully restored Temple Israel on June 25, started off the Saturday program,and was followed by an Oneg. At 5:30 pm at St. George Epsicopal Church there was a community pot-luck with following Havdalah Service Saturday evening, where volunteers enjoyed an uplifting Jewish experience while preparing for the work ahead.
Sunday was dedicated to the clean-up of the cemetery with a kosher barbeque lunch provided by B'nai B'rith Denver for all the volunteers. Clean-up started at 9:00 am with free coffee and bagels available for early arrivals, and continued until 4:00 pm.
The Young Professionals of B'nai B'rith Denver sponsored a camping trip Saturday night for those volunteers who wanted a night in nature before working in the cemetery the next morning.
The Leadville Hebrew Cemetery was established in January of 1880, during Leadville's pioneer boom times. When the Temple Israel Foundation acquired the cemetery, it had experienced decades of neglect. Only 59 orginal markers from 130 burials remained, and the locations of 12 burials had been lost. Working with the Temple Israel Foundation, B'nai B'rith Denver took control of the cemetery grounds 15 years ago and since then the site has been cleared of heavy overgrowth, a new encircling fence constructed, and an entry arch and monument constructed. It was reconsecrated in 1999, and the replacement of missing markers completed in 2004. MORE Leadville Newsletter 2011