Weekly Message from our Board President

We discovered a fun bit of Mt. Sinai history last week, thanks to Karen Schwartz. Karen found an article from the November 8, 1888, issue of the American Israelite that talks about the Jewish community of Cheyenne.

Before we get to the article, here’s some context.  Cheyenne was founded in 1867 as a railroad camp for the construction of the transcontinental railroad.  The article appeared just 21 years after the town was founded.  There was no newspaper focused on Jews in the Rocky Mountain region back in the 1880’s… the closest Jewish newspaper was the American Israelite, which was based in Ohio.

Here’s an image of the article Karen Schwartz found.  We’ll have the text of the article below, since it might be hard to read in the image.

Here’s what the article says:

“It may, perhaps, surprise many of your readers to learn that way out here on the frontier, and, as many term it, “the other end of civilization,” there is an intelligent and prosperous Jewish population, that bids fair to become a creditable congregation in the very near future.  Already an embryo Killah has been formed and during the holidays just passed services were held in Odd Fellows Hall, which were largely attended.

“A few days ago, Mr. Max Idelman received a Sefer Torah which was presented to him by his father, under whose surveillance it was executed in Europe.  It was created quite a little excitement, it being, undoubtedly, the first one that has ever reached this section.  It is magnificently ornamented and handsomely made. It is, without a doubt, as fine a scroll as can be found anywhere.

“With this beginning, you may expect some encouraging words in the near future. 

“The American Israelite is read extensively here and its arrival weekly is looked forward to with great interest.”

The article is signed M.M.

Max Idelman was one of the founders of the first Synagogue in Cheyenne, which eventually became Mt. Sinai.  Our small sanctuary is named after him, and the residential Idelman Hotel is located downtown. The Idelman mansion is across the street from the Wyoming Capitol and served as the Schrader Funeral Home for many years. There is a story that Theodore Roosevelt stayed at the Idelman mansion when he came to town to attend Cheyenne Frontier Days.

Max Idelman was born in 1844 in Poland and came to Cheyenne in 1877.  He and his half-brother Abraham founded the Yellowstone Tobacco and Liquor Distributorship and later Adelman Bros. Liquor and Cigars.  Max Idelman died in 1913 and is buried in the Jewish Cemetery in Cheyenne.

Rabbi Delacu’s Friday Torah Teaching is growing.  More and more people come each week.  Torah Teaching takes place Fridays at noon in the Synagogue, and you are encouraged to bring your lunch (since it takes place over the lunch hour).

The See’s Candy Sale is in full swing.  Order from our website here.  The candy will be available for pickup after Thanksgiving (you’ll pay for it when you pick it up).

We have five candidates for four open seats on the Mt. Sinai Board of Directors.  Would you like to serve?  The Board meets once a month via Zoom for about an hour and a half.  To qualify for a seat on the Board, you have to have been a member of Mt. Sinai for more than a year and have paid your dues.  We’ll elect new Board members at the congregation’s annual meeting on December 20.  Contact the Synagogue office at [email protected] if you would like to run.

One other scheduling note – The next class in our series on Jewish History is “Beyond Fiddler on the Roof – The Real World of the Shtetl.”  It’s this Thursday at 7 PM in the Synagogue.  It’s also available on Zoom.  If you would like the Zoom link, please send an email to [email protected].

Here’s our Yiddish Phrase of the Week:

Ven er zol handlen mit likht, volt di zun nit untergegangen.            
If he were in the candle business, the sun would never set.  

Dave Lerner
President
Mt. Sinai Board of Directors

Community Partner with Family Promise of Cheyenne

November Birthdays

4              Julie Breen

7              Ya’el McLoud

11           Alan Wolf

11           Aviv Mantaka

11           Chayale Mendelsohn

19           Dennis Fisher

25           Therese McKinnon

25           Stephanie Ehrlich

26           James Peebles

26           Devorah Leah Mendelsohn

27           Phyllis Bloomberg

29           Lila Gallensky