Resources & Events

The Rocky Mountain Jewish Historical Society is dedicated to providing our community with the resources necessary to engage with the rich history of the Jewish community in the Rocky Mountain region, and bringing that history into classrooms.

The RMJHS offers access to digitized collections and online exhibits drawing from the treasures in the Beck Archives, as well as curriculum guides for classroom learning, family tree charts for genealogists, and publications, videos and stories about the origins and development of Colorado's vibrant Jewish community.

We also host events and make exhibits available through the DU Special Collections & Archives.

Resources for Educators and Scholars

  • Curriculum Guide

    Our “Curriculum Guide for the Study of the Early History of Jews of Colorado,” created in 1998 by the Center for Judaic Studies, Penrose Library and the Central Agency for Jewish Education in Colorado, covers the following:

    • the impact of Jewish pioneers on development and growth of specific Colorado communities;
    • similarities and differences among early pioneers, regardless of country of origin;
    • the creation and development of health institutions for the population of Colorado and the United States; and
    • the creation and development of charity organizations, and development of charity organizations by members of the Jewish community for the benefit of the community at large.

     

    Portions of the guide and the online exhibit are available online via PDF. When you buy the curriculum guide from the RMJHS for $25, you'll also receive the guide in video format.

  • Publications and Videos

    To further facilitate the study and celebration of the Jewish experience in the Rocky Mountain region, you can find and buy videos and publications written and directed by the director of RMJHS, Jeanne E. Abrams, PhD, and produced by Starwest.

    Videos in DVD or VHS format are available for $20 each and you can contact Abrams at 303-871-3016 for information and prices on her publications.

    Videos:

    • "A Legacy of Healing: Early Colorado Jews in Medicine 1865–1930"
    • "And Justice You Shall Pursue : Colorado's Early Jewish Attorneys, 1885–1930"
    • "Legacy of Caring: Early Colorado Jewish Women, 1860–1930"
    • "A Legacy of Healing : Early Colorado Jews in Medicine, 1865–1930"
    • "Blazing the Trail: An Early History of Denver's Jewish Community"
    • "A Grocery Store on Every Corner: A Century of Jewish Grocers in Colorado, 1859–1959"
    • "Citizens of the State: Colorado's Early Jewish Politicians, 1859–1940"
    • "Civilizing the West: Early Colorado Jewish in the Arts, 1865–1950"
    • "From Cotopaxi to Denver: Immigrant Jewish Farmers Become American Urban Leaders"
    • "Growing Up in Early Colorado: The Lives of Jewish Children, 1860–1940"

     

    Publications:

    • "A Curriculum Guide: Early History of the Jews of Colorado"—This book includes photographs and video.
    • "A Pioneering Legacy: An Early History of the Jews of Colorado"—This video is $25 plus shipping and handling.
    • " Dr. Charles David Spivak: A Jewish Immigrant and the American Tuberculosis Movement" (University Press of Colorado, 2009)
    • "Jewish Denver, 1859–1940" (Arcadia Press, 2007)
    • "Jewish Women Pioneering the Frontier Trail: A History of the American West" (New York University Press, 2006)

     

  • Family Tree Charts

    The Rocky Mountain Jewish Historical Society encourages the community to appreciate family and Colorado Jewish and American Jewish History by providing ways for people to engage in their own family history.

    The RMJHS commissioned local noted artist Martin Mendelsberg to create a unique "Dor L'Dor"—"From Generation to Generation"—family tree chart. The Hebrew word "etz" (tree) forms the trunk of the tree, and the accompanying directions explain how to complete the chart by beginning with the name of the student and going back to include parents, grandparents and great-grandparents for five generations.

    Mendelsberg is a talented graphic artist who received his MFA from DU. He teaches at the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design.

    The family tree chart is sponsored by E. James Judd, in honor of Eleanore Judd, PhD. The RMJHS will gift the charts to young, local Jewish women and men who are celebrating the Bat and Bar Mitzvahs to encourage them to explore their own family histories.

    To order a family tree chart for a friend or relative, please contact Jeanne Abrams, PhD, at 303-871-3016.

Exhibits

We currently have several collections and exhibits available through Special Collections in Anderson Academic Commons, including:

Check out the Beck Archives webpage for more information on available collections or to make an appointment.

Upcoming Center for Judaic Studies Events

CJS Event

Tuesday, April 1, 2025

Livingston & Abrams Lecture in American Jewish History
Behind the Podcast: The Nightingale of Iran

RMJHS welcomes sisters Galeet and Danielle Dardashti, creators of the award-winning audio documentary The Nightingale of Iran, for an evening of storytelling and song as they discuss the making of the podcast exploring their family’s musical journey from Persia to Israel and to the United States. 

  • 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. MT
  • JCC Elaine Wolf Theatre, 350 S Dahlia St, Denver CO, 80246

Get Your Tickets!

Stella exhibit flyer

Wednesday, April 2, 2025

An Evening of Art and Story: Frank Stella’s "Had Gadya" in Conversation

University of Denver Libraries and the Center for Judaic Studies present a conversation with CJS Director Adam Rovner and Dean Sobel, Professor of the Practice of Art History and Museum Studies and founding director of the Clyfford Still Museum about Stella’s impact on modern art, the cultural weight of Had Gadya, and what it means for a major contemporary artist to illustrate this powerful narrative. 

  • 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. MT
  • Kvistad Special Events Room, Anderson Academic Commons 290

RSVP Here

Blind Spot event flyer

Thursday, April 10, 2025

Blind Spot: Film Screening & Discussion

Join us for a special screening of the film Blind Spot, the first film to document the presence of antisemitism on American campuses prior to the October 7 attacks on Israel, and to examine how it grew into the explosion of virulent and often violent campus antisemitism in the aftermath of October 7.

  • 5:30 - 8:00 p.m. MT
  • Reiman Theater, Margery Reed Hall 113

RSVP Here

Event at the Governor's house

Wednesday, April 23, 2025

The 44th Annual Governor's Holocaust Remembrance Program

CJS joins the Mountain States ADL and other sponsors for a special commemorative program bringing together people of all faiths to honor survivors, remember those who perished, educate about this horrific crime against humanity, and translate those lessons into contemporary action.

  • 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. MT
  • Temple Emanuel, 51 Grape Street, Denver, CO (or livestream)

RSVP Here

event flyer

Sunday, May 4, 2025

The RMJHS Book Club is reading "Extracted: Unmasking Rampant Antisemitism in America’s Higher Education"

Join RMJHS in Boulder for a discussion of Dr. S. Perry Brickman’s in-depth study of antisemitism at Emory University. In 2006, Brickman attended an exhibit on the history of Jewish life at Emory, where he encountered documents strongly suggesting that many―himself included―had been failed out of Emory’s School of Dentistry because they were Jewish. Determined to uncover the truth, Brickman began extracting evidence hidden deep in the archives.

RSVP to joshua.furman@du.edu or 303-871-3085.

  • 2:00 - 3:30 p.m. MT
  • Congregation Har Hashem in Boulder, 3950 Baseline Rd, Boulder, CO 80303
event flyer

Thursday, May 15, 2025

The 31st Annual RMJHS Heritage Award Evening: Honoring Colorado Jewish Journalism

Join us at History Colorado for a special evening celebrating Colorado Jewish Journalism. This year's event features a panel discussion with our three Heritage Award honorees, veteran journalists Chris Leppek, Kathy Neustadt, and Gary Shapiro. 

Proceeds benefit the Rocky Mountain Jewish Historical Society in our mission to preserve Jewish history in Colorado and the Mountain West. Explore our past and build our future with RMJHS!

  • 5:30 - 8:00 p.m. MT
  • History Colorado Center, 1200 Broadway, Denver, CO 80203

RSVP Here

event flyer

Thursday, May 29, 2025

When Strawberries Bloom: The Creation of Golda Meir

When Strawberries Bloom chronicles the life and times of Golda Meir, former Prime Minister of Israel (and one-time Denver resident), from her early childhood in the Russian Empire through her adult years as a world leader. Don't miss this special one-night-only performance featuring CJS' own Selena A. Naumoff as Golda Meir!

  • 7:00 p.m. MT
  • Historic Elitch Theatre, 4550 W 38th St, Denver CO 80212

Get Your Tickets!

people near a carriage

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