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Josh Fine

 

Josh is a co-founder of Minyan Na'aleh, Denver's grassroots independent prayer community. He holds undergraduate and law degrees from Harvard University and spent a year of study at the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem. He was a member of the inaugural Roots & Branches Foundation and is a current member of the Wexner Heritage Program. As his day job, Josh is Vice President & General Counsel of Focus Property Group, which specializes in urban infill commercial real estate development. He lives in Denver with his wife, the national touring singer/songwriter Julie Geller, and their two children, Ilan and Aria.

Do It Yourself Jewish Community

Josh Fine, Ari Y. Kelman, Eliana Schonberg, Naomi Soetendorp

Identity & Responsibility

It seems that as synagogues are struggling to maintain memberships, minyanim, independent start ups, and other new forms of Jewish community are emerging. What does the future look like for Jewish institutions? This panel of people who have studied or built "do it yourself" Jewish communities will talk about what is happening in America and overseas.

Prayer Services - Saturday Afternoon

Traditional Mechitza

Energetic traditional davening with songs and depth that also happens to have a mechitzah, be in Hebrew, and includes all parts of a traditional service.

On the Fence: The Mechitza in the Modern Synagogue

The mechitza is a physical boundary separating men from women at a prayer service. It has also become a defining distinction between Orthodox and non-Orthodox denominations of Judaism. Nearly all Orthodox synagogues utilize a mechitza, while nearly all non-Orthodox synagogues do not. Few synagogue attributes arouse as much passion as the mechitza. It has been defended as a spiritual aid that fosters a cohesive community not divided by familial units, and it has been derided as alienating and sexist. With the rise of independent prayer communities seeking to bridge denominational divides, the mechitza has proven to a be a thorny issue where compromise is elusive. In this session, we will study a selection of ancient and contemporary texts about the mechitza. Why is it so important to some and so offensive to others? And in the context of a non-denominational community, can diverse Jews come together over a symbol that by definition divides?

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Memorial Day Weekend May 28th - 31st, 2010

Participate in Limmud Colorado’s Third Annual Conference and join us in a celebration of Jewish learning, arts, and culture. Sign up to volunteer and help make this weekend stimulating, exciting, and memorable.