Some 300 members of the Colorado Jewish community attended last week’s dedication of the newly constructed $4 million Merage and Allon Hillel Center at the corner of Wesley Avenue and Race Street.
The Center will be the new home for Hillel of Colorado headquarters, which includes CU, CSU, DU and other Denver metro colleges.
The dedication was meant to recognize donors, publicize the opening of the center and hang the mezuzah, a traditional Jewish symbol of presence of faith in the home.
The Hillel Center is now 10 times bigger than it was upon its initial construction 16 years ago.
The center features a game room, a lounge, a library, wireless Internet access, a chapel for Shabbat services and holiday celebrations, kosher meat and dairy kitchens and quiet areas to study.
Rabbi Yossi Serebryanski of Chabad at DU, said the 8,000-square-foot center. is, “like from Egypt to the Promised land.”
Planning for the new house began in 2003, talk of the possibility of a new house began at a meeting between Pat Blumenthal, Executive Director of Hillel of Colorado and David Merage local Jewish philanthropist.
Merage agreed to donate an initial challenge grant of $850,000, should Hillel privately raise the remaining money for the new Hillel center.
He was joined by Harvey Allon, another Jewish community member who gave an additional $750,000. Another grant from the Rose Community Foundation was for $625,000. The total for starting gifts was $2,225,000, leaving $1,775,000 for Hillel, a non-profit to raise.
“We went out and met with people and took them to the old house, then the [site of] the new house.” said Blumenthal. Hillel’s efforts to fundraise in the community.
In the three years that followed the Hillel project 260 other donors.
The Hillel Board toured Hillel centers on other college campuses to find inspiration for the DU center. Blumenthal and other Hillel board members visited centers at UCLA, John Hopkins University, Penn State and Santa Barbara. Hillel student leaders and members were also encouraged to give input for things to include in the new center.
“It’s like making soup,” said Blumenthal. “You keep looking for things that will get the best taste.”
The dedication of the center occurred during the time between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, a holiday which marks the Jewish new year.
This fortunate fluke has become symbolic for the leaders of Hillel, as they plan to renew goals for the organization.
This year, Hillel plans to continue focus on enriching the Jewish religion for students and provide a center that welcomes all students on campus. Campus Director Rachel Pinsker is already seeing the realization of these goals.
“Things have doubled! We had 100 students at the first BBQ and 50 at the first Shabbat,” said Pinsker of the events during Discoveries Week. “Students have even come by just to study. We never had that in the old house.”
The dedication was attended by the student leaders of Hillel, members of the Hillel Board, several Jewish community members, including Rabbi Julian Cook, who hung the mezuzah and Chancellor Robert D. Coombe.
“The mezuzah is hung in each door to remind us that what goes on in this house is with Jewish faith.” said Cook.
The mezuzah, which was designed by a local artist specifically for the Hillel house, is a traditional Jewish artifact that contains a prayer from the Torah. A mezuzah is hung in the entrance of every door at the Center.
All items within the Center have been donated or designed for Hillel. Of the items donated are kitchen items, game tables and home entertainment equipment. Also donated, was a Jerusalem stone wall, made of stone imported from Jerusalem and a handmade ark to hold the Torah.
Each of these items holds special meaning in the Jewish faith and reiterates the generosity of donors.
Hillel sponsors several events, including free bagels each Tuesday morning at Jazzman’s CafCB), Matzah ball nights in the residence halls and opportunities for all students to experience the Jewish culture.
The center gives Hillel the opportunity to program larger events and allow other organizations use of the house for their events. The center is meant to serve the DU community.
“There is no Hillel without Jewish life on campus and there is no Jewish life on campus without Hillel.” Said Doug Seserman, resident and CEO of the Allied Jewish Foundation during the dedication ceremony. For more information please contact Rachel Pinsker at 303-777-2773.
