Members of Congregation Har HaShem celebrating Simhat Torah, Boulder, CO, United States
The Oster Visual Documentation Center, ANU - Museum of the Jewish People, courtesy of Rabbi Fred Greene, United States
Boulder, CO
(Place)Boulder
A city and seat of the Boulder County in the State of Colorado, United States.
21st Century
There are approximately 13,000 Jewish households (2018-2019 study) in Boulder. It is among the fastest-growing Jewish communities per capita in the United States. During the 2010s, the population grew from 19,000 to 35,000 Jews. There are a growing number of professionals and young families. The trends in Boulder are typical of Jewish communities in the West. Over half the families have intermarried and there is more openness and inclusion of LGBTQ. There are five synagogues: Bonei Shalom (Conservative), Har Hashem (Reform), Nevei Kodesh (Renewal), Pardes Levavaot (Renewal) and Chabad (Orthodox) - that reflect the spectrum of Jewish observance. The community has a JCC and Jewish Family Services. Hence there are a wide variety of Jewish family, educational and cultural activities in the community. There is also a Chabad that services the University of Colorado. Chabad at the University opened in 2005. The University has a Jewish Studies program and also Hillel. A mikveh was opened in 2005 as well.
History
Jews first came to Colorado in response to the gold rush in the 1860’s. Some were miners, but most opened businesses to serve the new mining towns. At the turn of the century, many health seekers came to Colorado and it became a center for hospitals and sanitoriums for the care of Tuberculosis patients. Many of the synagogues in Boulder were established in the 1990’s and 2000’s, hence it’s a relatively new Jewish community.