Littleton – Monique Nobil stepped outside the white tent where Yom Kippur services were about to begin Friday to call her sons, ages 10 and 12, from the flower-lined terraces of Hudson Gardens.
Rabbi Brian Field, leader of the group Judaism Your Way, was about to begin.
For the first time in 15 years of attending services in Denver with her Jewish husband, this non-Jewish woman said she felt welcomed.
“I’m on equal spiritual footing here with my family,” she said. “I can pray with my children.”
The aim of Field’s group is to serve as a bridge for Jews and families who may not feel comfortable in traditional settings.
The High Holy Days for Jews who are unaffiliated with a synagogue can create a mixture of longing for ties to tradition and uncertainty over fitting in, Field said.
Attendance at Friday night’s open and relaxed service was about 400.
Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is the holiest day of the Jewish year. Observant Jews spend most, if not all, of the day fasting in the synagogue. Sins are confessed and repented.
“We’re approaching the holiday with a slightly different attitude,” Field said Friday. “Yom Kippur is the promise of forgiveness. If you take it seriously, you can emerge with a deeper sense of connection between you and the sacred.”
The service, Field said, is designed so that it can be sung in Hebrew or English.
“Where we were before was very traditional. Most of it was in Hebrew. I couldn’t read it, follow it or sing any of it,” said Barbara Schneller, who was attending the service.
Most Jews in the Denver area are not members of a synagogue or even of the Jewish community center, Field said.
Initial results of a Jewish Community Study show that the number of Jews in the seven-county Denver-metro area has increased 29 percent in 10 years to 81,500.
“Judaism is so rich, but people have such a variety of lifestyles, temperaments and takes on spirituality,” Field said. “We offer a Judaism that, as much as possible, lowers the barriers … to people exploring Jewish life and culture.”
The biggest challenge, Field said, has been interfaith marriage.
Non-Jewish spouses have told Field that services at Hudson Gardens have made them feel safe and accepted.
However, Field said, traditions mean something.
“We’re just not going to greet you with a definition of a good Jew,” Field said. “We want to start with a conversation about who you are, and then we’ll meet you as Jewishly as possible.”
Gale Kahn, executive director of the American Jewish Committee in Colorado, said that Judaism Your Way is healthy for the Jewish community.
“It’s a home for people who don’t choose the more traditional outlets for Jewish faith,” Kahn said.
