BY BEVERLY M. POST
The Los Alamos Jewish Center celebrates its 70th anniversary as an official congregation, and the Jewish community on the Hill celebrates the past while looking to the future.
Celebrations will take place Friday, August 23, through Saturday, August 24, and will include a mix of Shabbat services, meals and history-related events, as well as opportunities for the community to come together, share and reminisce. The anniversary festivities will culminate in a dinner-dance party Saturday night at the historic Fuller Lodge. In attendance will be longtime residents, as well as members of the Los Alamos Jewish Center who have moved out of state and newer members of the community.
In Jewish tradition, 70 years is considered a full lifespan. Since the founding of the LAJC in 1954, the 70th The 50th anniversary seemed an opportune time for a celebratory community gathering. Festivities will begin with Friday evening Shabbat services at 5:30 p.m., followed by hearty refreshments including homemade challah and other special dishes. Saturday morning Shabbat services will begin with a participatory Torah discussion at 9:30 a.m. and the Shabbat service at 10 a.m. will feature Torah readings by various Jewish Center congregation members. The Los Alamos Jewish Center Board of Directors is sponsoring a bagel lunch following the service.
Afternoon activities include two historical lectures, one by each of the current co-presidents of the New Mexico Jewish Historical Society. First, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., is Linda Goff’s slideshow presentation, “Rabbi Helman: The Rabbi Who’s Different in the Town That’s Different,” which highlights one of Santa Fe’s iconic figures. Rabbi Leonard Helman was known not only for connecting diverse strands of northern New Mexico’s Jewish communities, but also for his public service and as a champion of international humanitarian causes. During his tenure as rabbi of Temple Beth Shalom in Santa Fe in the 1980s and 1990s, Rabbi Helman simultaneously served the Los Alamos Jewish community part-time. Longtime LAJC members remember Rabbi Helman fondly and have fun stories to tell about this colorful personality.
From 2:45 to 3:45 p.m., New Mexico Jewish Historical Society Co-President Naomi Sandweiss will present her slide show “New Mexico Jewish History.” Ms. Sandweiss is a New Mexico native and author of Jewish Albuquerque 1860-1960, as well as numerous articles on Jewish history in the West. Parallel to the afternoon activities, there are babysitting and children’s craft activities.
The grand finale of the 70thth The anniversary celebration will take place on Saturday evening from 6 to 9 p.m. at Fuller Lodge. There will be dinner, music and dancing, lawn games for the young and young at heart, and the opportunity to reminisce with photos and stories. The evening will end with Havdalah, the short ritual with woven candles, wine and spices that marks the end of the Jewish Sabbath and takes place on the lawn of Fuller Lodge.
The LAJC is looking for old photos of Jewish Center members and events, including newspaper clippings, obituaries and life event photos and other Los Alamos Jewish Center memorabilia.
All are welcome to attend the festivities. For planning purposes, we ask that you register for individual events on the Los Alamos Jewish Center website: https://www.lajc.org/event-list. All events are free, and donations are gratefully accepted.
The Los Alamos Jewish Center is located at 2400 Canyon Road, just down the street from the PEEC Nature Center. For more information about the Jewish Center, visit www.lajc.org, call 505-662-2140, or email [email protected]
Continue supporting Jewish life at Los Alamos with a gift from your will, trust, life insurance or retirement account to the LAJC Life & Legacy Endowment Fund.
