Shabbat in Frisco

What more could you want?

Skiing, nature, Judaism, food BACKCOUNTRY BAYIT

BY CHRIS LEPPEK

18 • Generations — INTERMOUNTAIN JEWISH NEWS • July 5, 2019

Shabbat in Frisco

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Special Shabbat activities — including occasional fun and games — are a regular feature during the Bayit’s wintertime season. hen snow season arrives in Summit County, the sights, sounds and scents are unmistakable — the gentle schuss of skiers and snowboarders zooming down the slopes, the pines and spruces draped in white mantles, the happy sounds of après-ski socializing in taverns and eateries.

For the last couple of years, there have also been new, and unmistakably Jewish, sensory elements on those alpine Friday nights — the aroma of baking challah and burning candle wax, the exotic accents of Hebrew and Yiddish, the distinct rhythms of klezmer music, the sound of Shabbat prayers.

These things emanate from a house in Frisco, home to a program called the Backcountry Bayit, where youthful

Jews — virtually all of them drawn to the mountains by the lure of Colorado’s ski culture — come together to celebrate not only their love of the Rockies but simply being Jewish.

Self-described on its Facebook page as “the amazing Jewish community house in the heart of Colorado ski country,” [the Hebrew word bayit means “house”] the BCB serves as a home base for the droves of young Jews from Colorado, from the rest of the US and various places around the world who flock to Summit County every winter.

It provides homemade kosher Shabbat meals to any and all who come, frequently provides “authentic Jewish experiences” in the form of parties, cultural happenings and discussions, organizes group ski days and, in

many cases, even provides visiting travelers a place to stay overnight.

The BCB originated organically some four years ago, the brainchild of a group of young Jews from Boulder, and last year came under the funding and management umbrella of the national Ramah organization, affiliated with the Conservative movement, specifically Reshet Ramah, the organization’s alumni network that supports youth engagement projects.

“The goal of Reshet Ramah is really to provide enriching Jewish programming that keeps people connected to Judaism socially,” Ariel Goodman, program associate of the National Ramah Commission, told the INTERMOUNTAIN JEWISH NEWS recently.

Please see BAYIT on Page 20

July 5, 2019 • INTERMOUNTAIN JEWISH NEWS — Generations • 19

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BAYIT from Page 19

a strong Jewish community.”

Targeted toward “young adults who might no longer actually go to camp or work at camp and who are post-college or even in college, and are looking to stay connected Jewishly,” Reshet currently manages programs in seven US cities, including the Backcountry Bayit in Frisco.

“The BCB provides good networking opportunities, learning opportunities and opportunities to connect with Israel,” Goodman says.

“The young people who started it saw a need in their town — they felt like they were ‘out there’ — meaning they had gorgeous nature, skiing, they were living in an amazing place, but one of the things that they felt was lacking for them was sense of

ne of those who was in on the bayit from the beginning was Zack Sapinsley, 27, a native of the Chicago area who started coming to Colorado to visit a friend, a student at DU. Although he grew up in a

grew up in a traditional Conservative home where we kept kosher in the house, I went to a Jewish day school.

There was a bit of a rebellion period on my part, like, I really didn’t want to be a part of this Judaism thing that’s been kind of forced onto me.

“But toward the end of my college career I started doing the classic rebound, like a boomerang coming back, and began seeking out Judaism and the Jewish community.”

That’s a personal profile that closely fits many of those who are participants at the BCB, he says.

Later, when he became a student at CU Boulder — and had “fallen in love” both with Colorado and skiing — Sapinsley met fellow student Becca Habalow who, along with Bryan Goldstein and Hindy Finman, was

A homebase for droves of young Jews from Colorado, the US and around the world Conservative home with “a good Jewish foundation,” Sapinsley told the IJN, “at the beginning of college I really wasn’t interested in being Jewish. I

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20 • Generations — INTERMOUNTAIN JEWISH NEWS • July 5, 2019

working to organize a Moishe House in Boulder.

“Becca thought I would be a great fit for that,” he says. “At the time I had never heard of Moishe House, but I looked into it and learned a little more about it, as far as community and peer-led Jewish community building. I was moving to Boulder and didn’t know anyone there so I thought, what better way to find a good community than start one and build it from the ground up.

“We made it happen. We found some roommates and we found a house and thank G-d the funding was there.

That was really my first step into my role as a community leader, a community organizer in the Colorado Jewish community. It was an amazing experience. It was such an incredible platform that we had as Jewish young adults.”

together something similar to the Moishe House in Frisco.

The experiment was initially geared toward young Jews from the Front Range, mostly ski enthusiasts, who were spending a lot of their weekends in Summit County.

“We were asking, can we take that critical mass and make something out of it?” Sapinsley says.

“I did not start the Backcountry Bayit, but during the first season I was up here for most Shabbats, spending Shabbat with friends and community. It was a place to crash where I didn’t have to bear the Saturday morning ski traffic.

That’s exactly the purpose of the Backcountry Bayit, really.

“I really became good friends with these folks and having had at that point at least two years of community building under my belt, it was really nice that I could give them some tips and help them out with programming points or working together.”

Over his two winter seasons at BCB, Sapinsley became Please see BAYIT on Page 22

‘A small Shabbat dinner for us is 25 people’’

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n late 2016, during Sapinsley’s final year in Boulder, a group of his friends, including Gabi Wasserman, Robyn Goldstein and Danit Cohen — some of them alumni of Ramah of the Rockies — were putting

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BAYIT from Page 21 one of the anchors at the Frisco house, residing there full time and organizing many of the activities. Dividing his time as a part-time ski patrol member and host-cook-activities coordinator at BCB, Sapinsley has watched the program grow steadily.

For the past two seasons, more than 600 young Jews (and occasionally non-Jews) per year have paid visits to the BCB.

“A

small Shabbat dinner for us is 25 people,” Sapinsley says, adding that the group largely relies on Instagram and word-of-mouth to spread the word.

“It’s fun to hang together and have Shabbat and have some wine, but one of my favorite things is to take it to the next level.”

The BCB has hosted young Israelis and done sessions on yoga — one of Sapinsley’s personal passions — illustrating the free form approach the Bayit likes to take.

“Music is one of my passions,” he says. “There is a band from Boulder, Hadgaba, a klezmer-funk band, so I pulled in some funding for them to do a three-part series this season.

“Another passion of mine and some of the others here is sustainability. So we got a grant to get some kosher, cage-free chickens specially ordered and we did a heritage Shabbat, talking about where our food comes from and food systems and tie-ins with kashrut.

“We try to infuse Judaism into our Shabbat dinners, sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less, whether it’s talking about the parsha before we say the Kiddush or bringing in rabbis for a musical Kabbalat Shabbat.”

But even on Shabbats when there is no special activity planned, the opportunity to interact with other Jewish young adults is priceless, Sapinsley says.

“Some Shabbats are fun when everyone comes and hangs and helps out. We do all the cooking; Friday afternoons at the BCB are just electric.”

F

or its part, national Ramah is happy with its 2018 decision to assume funding and management of the Backcountry Bayit, says Ariel Goodman.

“We think that it’s been incredibly successful.

We’re passionate about this project. They’ve done an amazing job of engaging people. They’ve found a lot of the people out there who are seeking Jewish community.

Socialization with fellow Jewish young adults — skiers and mountain enthusiasts every one — is a main component of the Backcountry Bayit’s attraction.

22 • Generations — INTERMOUNTAIN JEWISH NEWS • July 5, 2019

Zack Sapinsley prepares challah for a recent Backcountry Bayit meal. He has been active with the Bayit almost since its inception and hopes to spend at least one more winter there.

“Last year they engaged over 600 people at their events. This year they’re on track to do the same, if not more.

The people who go to the events genuinely seem to love being there, love being involved, love having a place for them to go and feel comfortable.”

Ramah is raising funds for the program from its own sources, from

Moishe House Without Walls, One Table and a few “very generous local donors,” Goodman says.

“During the first full year, we really wanted to see how it would go. It was such a success that we committed to raise the funds to make sure it could happen again this year. Regarding next year, we absolutely would love to con-

tinue doing it. It’ll be dependent on the funding.”

The future level of funding will also determine whether the BCB is able to function on a year-round basis.

Currently, Ramah is paying the rent on the Frisco house during the active ski Please see BAYIT on Page 24

July 5, 2019 • INTERMOUNTAIN JEWISH NEWS — Generations • 23

BAYIT from Page 23 season, roughly November through April, and turning over the dwelling to other renters during the warm season.

The numbers suggest that it would be a popular gathering place for young

“T

he primary demographic being served are young adults,” she says. “Most of them come from the Denver-Boulder area.

They’re young professionals, most of them transplants. They didn’t grow up

ski instructors and living their passion.

They find this to be a great source of Jewish community and engagement in the mountains.

“A good chunk of them are Ramah alumni and a good chunk are not.

Some are friends of the current resi-

A collection of skis, snowboards, boots, shoes and coats at the Backcountry Bayit illustrate vividly what has brought these young Jewish adults to Summit County, Colorado.

Jews all through the year, Goodman says. “I think they would do well all year round if we could fund it, but we don’t have the funding to keep it going year round at this point.”

In working to raise those funds, Goodman says that Ramah will emphasize that BCB addresses precisely the Jewish demographic they hope to reach.

there and they don’t necessarily have a strong Jewish community in the area and are looking for that.”

A growing number of BCB visitors are local, Goodman adds, meaning they live fulltime in such Summit County communities as Frisco, Breckinridge or Aspen.

“They’re out there to ski,” she says.

“They’re working in coffee shops or as

24 • Generations — INTERMOUNTAIN JEWISH NEWS • July 5, 2019

dents and some of them come through word of mouth.

“There is a core group of people who are there all the time and each week they’re also getting a lot of people who they haven’t necessarily seen before or who are maybe coming back for the second time.”

Ramah is encouraged that the program attracts the kind of people it most

wants to appeal to — young, energetic, relatively isolated from established Jewish communities and interested in, but not yet heavily involved in, Jewish engagement.

“The idea is Jewish engagement, creating community, enriching community in a place that can really use it.”

S

apinsley hopes to spend at least one more ski season as a mainstay at the Backcountry Bayit.

Having just completed his second season there, he’ll spend much of this summer in Israel as a Birthright group leader. After finishing his education he plans to find work in a field that will likely involve athletic training or physical therapy.

When next April rolls around, he’ll probably leave the BCB for good, he says, but not without regrets.

“I love it but I also think it’s worthwhile for the community to have some turnover. I would love for the next group of post-college kids to move out here and find it, love it and want to take it over.”

In addition to all of the people he has met at the Bayit, Sapinsley says he’ll miss being part of something larger than himself, which, in essence, is helping create what amounts to a new form of Jewish community, one that is building upon and enhancing the one he grew up with and that appeals to Jews of the generation to which he belongs.

“We grew up with the shul, the synagogue, as the central meeting point.

Even with youth groups, everything was . . . I don’t want to say a power structure, but structured around a leader that was much older and more powerful, and then there was the rest of the group.

“One of the things that appeals to

Havdalah at Backcountry Bayit in Frisco.

Jews and non-Jews alike at the BCB is the way that we use community and togetherness as our central avenue. It’s something that appeals to a lot of us as milennials who want to use it as a form of belonging and coming together and connecting over shared ideas.

“We’re not going to synagogue every week and we don’t have a rabbi or a director. It’s a grassroots, community-based approach. It has been a very strong way for us to connect and to build what we’re building.”

His experience with the Backcountry Bayit has already changed his life, both as an individual

and as a Jew, Sapinsley says.

“There’s no question that community-based Judaism is going to be part of my life for the rest of it,” he says.

“I imagine that 10 years down the road I will be making more financially and hopefully be one who contributes to these efforts as opposed to being the one who is leading it, but I will still be getting together with my friends and family and putting on events, celebrating our Judaism together.

“The spirit of this model certainly will continue.”

Chris Leppek may be reached at IJNEWS@aol.com.

July 5, 2019 • INTERMOUNTAIN JEWISH NEWS — Generations • 25