Hanukkah doesn’t begin for another 13 days, but Colorado youths on Sunday marked the event by reaching out across cyberspace to young people in Israel to recognize the holiday.
As part of Rose Medical Center’s Community Hanukkah Celebration, teenagers and younger children in Denver were able to e-mail virtual greeting cards to Israeli youths in the Ramat Negev region.
The e-mail messages are a way to show those in the thick of conflict that they are spiritually connected throughout the world, said Doug Seserman, president of the Allied Jewish Federation.
“In the last four years, it has been very challenging since all of the suicide bombings started,” he said. “You can feel woefully isolated. It’s important for them to know they have Jewish families in Colorado and elsewhere.”
About 2,000 people came to last year’s celebration, said Wendy Greenwald, Rose Medical Center spokeswoman, and more were expected Sunday. The ninth annual event featured traditional Jewish food, music, a puppet show and booths from the 40 participating organizations.
Denver “is one of the few cities in the United States to do this,” Greenwald said. “It is becoming a model for other cities. Jewish families from all over Colorado come to this.”
Ken Feiler, chief executive of Rose Medical Center, said the event “is the bringing together of the Jewish community to celebrate Hanukkah.”
“Many of the children here were born at Rose. We get to see all those babies. It’s really an incredible experience.”
