And speaking of snowy day, if you have time and are looking for something interesting to watch, be sure to check out Limmud Rabbi Smackdown – Video Update and watch the whole Limmud session with Rabbis Goldfeder, Soloway and Rose.

Welcome to February in Boulder; stay safe and warm!  Enjoy this week’s stories, and we’ll see you after Shabbat at Reflections!

Updated Editor’s Note: Stan Kreis, a regular BJN contributor, took video of this Limmud Colorado panel with Rabbi Gavriel Goldfeder, Rabbi Marc Soloway, and Rabbi Josh Rose, which we link to below.  BJN appreciates Rabbi Soloway’s introductory remarks as well!

Thanks, Stan!

Editor’s Note: One of the participants at Limmud Colorado “live-blogged” the morning discussion among Rabbi Gavriel Goldfeder, Rabbi Marc Soloway, and Rabbi Josh Rose.

We are certain this is not the last we’ve heard in this engaging discussion. However, we are most appreciative to Chaviva Galatz for her diligence in capturing the discussion.  Check it out on her blog, The Kvetching Editor.

If you haven’t met her yet, learn a little about her in this video from Ignite Chanukah. Thanks, Chaviva!

There is more history coming up this weekend, as the Boulder JCC commemorates the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War with an evening looking at Jewish life in America in the 1860′s.  The event, Sunday night, includes a book discussion, a film, and a meal based on Jewish and American dishes of the period.

As we look back at Rosh Chodesh Shevat in the week wrapping up, and Rosh Chodesh February in the week to come, the Boulder Jewish News wishes you all a chodesh tov, a good month.

Next week is Holocaust Awareness Week at CU, and the Movers program starts ramping up for the spring as well.  Be sure and check out the lovely story about Andy and Audrey Franklin, two of this year’s honorees at the Boulder JCC Gala, Reflections.  Our community continues to grow and amaze.

Have a great, snowy, safe weekend!

Don’t forget to register for two great upcoming events:  Limmud Colorado and Reflections.  Have a great weekend.

In fact, Thursday was a first at the Boulder Jewish News — all of our posts — four to be exact — were written by local rabbis.  It is so interesting and gratifying to be living in a community that provides such diversity of thought and yet manages to be friendly and united at the same.

Enjoy the posts, be sure to read the comments (and post your own if your viewpoint isn’t represented yet) and have a beautiful, restful Shabbat!

Dvora Meyers’ article about Boulder, “Share and Share Alike: Boulder’s Jewish Community at Work“ appeared on the JTA site on December 27th.  It starts thusly:

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK

BOULDER, Colo. (JTA) — On a sunny Thursday in this city at the base of the Rocky Mountains foothills, 25 Jewish communal professionals have gathered for their monthly “Schmoozers” meeting at the JCC.

The fact that the powwow always takes place over lunch is unremarkable — when Jews get together, there is usually food involved. What stands out is the degree of communal cooperation: The meeting, participants say, allows representatives from all organizations to plan ahead together and pool limited resources, embodying the collaborative spirit that pervades Boulder’s Jewish community and which has allowed it to grow and innovate.”

Here are links to Boulder organizations appearing in the article, plus the article itself and the author’s page on the JTA site:

• Boulder JCC
• Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
• Hazon in Colorado
• Jewish Studies Program, University of Colorado, Boulder
• Reb Zalman Schacter-Shalomi
• The Adventure Rabbi
• Limmud Colorado
• Haver
• Ignite Chanukah
• Open Snow
• Boulder Jewish Festival
• Share and Share Alike: Boulder’s Jewish Community at Work
• Dvora Meyers JTA Archive
• Dvora’s Matisyahu Concert Review

If you aren’t familiar with JTA, they are truly the Associated Press of the Jewish World.  Boulder Jewish News has links to JTA’s most recent ten articles at the bottom of each BJN page, and for history buffs, JTA has a fabulous browsable and searchable archive of 250,000 stories going all the way back to their early days, starting in 1923.  It is worth spending some time on their site if you haven’t before, and signing up for their newsletters.

Enjoy our latest brush with international fame!

Shabbat Shalom and Happy New Year!  Believe it or not, this is our last post for 2011.  We can’t believe how fast the year has gone, particularly the last few weeks of whirlwind activity here in Boulder.

Even though it was a holiday week, the BJN staff took advantage of a relatively light news week to do some end-of-year site work. If you noticed some fluctuation in load times, it’s likely due to our behind-the-scenes work.  Website performance should settle down (means: improve) further over the weekend. Thank you for your patience!

While it is clearly a quiet week, many of you have been thoughtful during this holiday. As a result, more than half of today’s news is opinion/guest blog pieces.  Each is thought-provoking as well, so curl up with your iPhone, iPad, Nook, Kindle or other e-reading device in front of a blazing fire and enjoy.  Boulder Jewish News looks great on Flipboard (iPad and iPhone), Pulse (iPad, Kindle, Nook Tablet), and of course Google Reader (on any device) – no need to wait for the morning (or weekly) email, you can get the latest news on any of these great gadgets.* Still have your original Kindle? Boulder Jewish News is available by subscription in a Kindle format as well, through Amazon (click here to check it out!). Smartphones work too with a mobile-optimized version, just visit boulderjewishnews.org in your browser. As always, bookmark it for an easy find!

See you next year!