Spiritual Enlightenment is Rosh Hashana

As new rabbis of Congregation Har Shalom in Fort Collins, meeting Jews on those paths is exactly what she and her husband, Rabbi Ben Newman, plan to do.

"We want to reach people where they are," Leis said, describing ideas for services on the bank of the Poudre River, hikes with her congregation and integrating more music into the services because "music helps souls to understand," she said.

Leis and Newman were busy preparing for Rosh Hashanah on Thursday and said they were excited to observe the Jewish new year with their new synagogue. Leis and Newman were married three years ago and moved in early August, along with their 2-year-old daughter, Sophia, from Riverdale in the Bronx borough of New York City. A major part of their mission in Fort Collins, they said, is reaching out to young families.

"A lot of places in New York, you have to harangue people," Newman said.

He explained that he was happy to see that isn't so for the Congregation Har Shalom. The passion and commitment of Jews in Fort Collins were evident to Newman and Leis from their initial visit last winter.

Rosh Hashanah is a time for deep reflection and self-analysis, said Leis and Newman. It begins the 10 "Days of Awe" and culminates in Yom Kippur or "the day of forgiveness," as the pair translates it.

This is a time for "denying our physical needs so we can focus on our spiritual needs," said Leis, explaining that many Jews will practice a 25-hour period of fasting to help bring them closer to God.