Idea #4: Beit Cafe – Local Edition

In case you missed it  – this was the last post of February “28 Days, 28 Ideas” series.  This one really hit home with us. (Click the title to read the full post.)

28 Days, 28 Ideas #28: Beit Kneset? Beit Midrash? What about the Beit Cafe?
by David A.M. Wilensky · Sunday, February 28th, 2010

Here’s an excerpt:

What about a third kind of beit? What about the modern institution known as the Beit Cafe, perhaps better known in America as the Coffee House? It’s place where discussions happen, planned or spontaneous, as well as cultural events like readings and musical performances. In the contemporary American mind, exciting intellectual and cultural movements are associated with coffee shops, a definite plus for this model.”

Boulder’s got a lot of coffee places. Even a blog for coffee places. Elephant Journal recently ran a poll on the best cafe in Boulder (suspended when they realized that the poll could be cheated).

Some of Boulder’s coffee places are starting to look like informal “beit cafes.” During the day you can drop in at any time and run into other members of the community.  Rabbis have meetings in coffee places.  Some places are even used for larger group discussions.  Some of us play maj in cafes, some knit in cafes. . . wouldn’t it be neat if one (or more) of these places became a focal point, a “Jewish Hangout” – where we go to have coffee and dessert and schmooze? Maybe an occasional author talk.  Maybe music sometimes. Who knows what might be brewing in that kind of environment?

EDITOR’S NOTE: For more about “28 Days, 28 Ideas Local Edition,” click here. To read the original series, click on the “28 Days, 28 Ideas” link in the footer (the blue section at the bottom – scroll down, you’ll see it). To read more of the Local Edition, you can see the last few ideas in the sidebar widget – look on the right of your screen.