Rabbi Kolby Morris-Dahary to Become New Rabbi of Har Mishpacha

We are pleased to announce that Har Mishpacha has hired Rabbi Kolby Morris-Dahary as our first full-time rabbi.  Rabbi Kolby, who will be moving to Steamboat from Denver with her husband Noam and their two children, will become the spiritual and educational leader and Rabbi of Har Mishpacha starting August 1st. 

Rabbi Kolby impressed everyone who met her when she visited Steamboat at the beginning of April with her warmth, her energy, her spirituality and her infectious enthusiasm. We are thrilled that she has decided to join our community. If you did not have the chance to meet Rabbi Kolby when she visited Steamboat, there will be plenty of opportunities to meet her later this summer. Stay tuned for details of events and activities following Rabbi Kolby's arrival.

July 13, 2022

Dear Har Mishpacha,

Words simply cannot describe how unbelievably thrilled my family and I are to be joining your Har Mishpacha community. Thank you for the warm welcome and all of your kindness in welcoming us to Steamboat Springs. I look forward to meeting you all, getting to know your stories, and how my work as your Rabbi can support you. I look towards the mountains of our new adventure and my heart is filled with gratitude and words of Torah.

I remember quite clearly, like it was yesterday, the first fourteen-thousand-foot mountain or “fourteener” that I climbed. As a pre-teen girl at Jewish sleepaway camp, I was a bit out of shape and certainly out of my element as I trenched on the 3 day journey up Mt. Elbert with my 11 other bunkmates. I remember many things about this climb… how incredible it was to me that it took 3 days to climb one mountain, how perplexing it was that you can still get sunburned even though the air is so frigid, and….most notably….. the unbelievably frustrating unending amount false peaks there were before the actual summit. Being a pre-teen girl, there were so many things I still needed to figure out in my life at that time. Long after the sunburn healed…. that mountain taught me something that still sticks with me to this day. I will never forget the feeling of making it to the summit. Even though it seemed physically and emotionally impossible, I discovered in that moment my own tenacity. This was my revelation. And this exemplifies the power of the mountain.

There is something about Jews and mountains. It is on Mount Sinai that our biblical hero Moses stands, after having made the journey from slavery in Egypt to redemption, to receive our sacred gift of law; the 10 commandments. Our poetry, our psalms, and our songs are full of mountain imagery. In our history, and in the land of Israel, mountains are with us, too. Our collective memories are painted with the hills of Jerusalem and the Galilee.

So why have our people elevated to the mountain for so many of the poignant moments in our story? You all probably know the answer clearer than most, as you have chosen to spend your lives being inspired by the beautiful High Rocky Mountains surrounding Steamboat Springs. Just like the heroes in the Torah, you all understand all too well what it feels like to stand at a clearing, on a mountaintop, at a summit – and how these moments afford us a sense of perspective, peace, and personal and collective revelation.

One lesson the mountain teaches us is about strength. This is exemplified in Psalm 121 which reads:

אֶשָּׂא עֵינַי, אֶל-הֶהָרִים, מֵאַיִן יָבֹא עֶזְרִי עֶזְרִי מֵעִם יְהוָה עֹשֵׂה שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ.

Esa einai el he’harim, m’ayin yavo ezri Ezri m’im Adonai, oseh shamayim va’aretz

l lift up my eyes unto the mountains From where will my help come? My help will come from God creator of heaven and earth...

These words, fixed in our musical memories, offer one way we can understand mountains. We look up - we look to God, to something higher than ourselves. Mountains are our help and our strength, a steady presence. A place to turn. Many of us climb up, or look up, pray up or even ski up! to the mountain when we are searching for meaning in our lives. And the mountain always delivers. 

Another lesson the mountain teaches us is one of humility. There is a Midrash that teaches that when God was preparing to give the Torah, all the mountains stepped forward and declared why they thought the Torah should be given on them. "I am the highest mountain," said one. "No," said another, "I am the steepest mountain and therefore the Torah should be given on me." One by one, they all stated their claims. In the end, God chose Mount Sinai - not because it was the tallest or the grandest but because, says the Midrash, it was the most humble. This humility is something that we, as human beings, reflect as we stand before the mountains. The majesty of the mountain leaves us feeling small and reminds us of the fragility of our existence. When we witness the power of the mountain, we experience “yira”…. a Hebrew word that means both awe and fear. This is completely in line with what I am beginning to understand about the people of Steamboat Springs…. That you are easy going, down to earth, humble people.

The final and perhaps most important lesson that the mountain teaches us is a lesson of perspective and vision. This is exactly what Moses experiences when he receives revelation at the top of the mountain. When we reach a high height, we gain perspective not only on the surrounding view from above, but also on our own lives. When we have mountaintop moments, we not only see where we have come from, but we also see where we are going. This is the revelatory power of the mountain; it gives us the gift of vision.

Right now, Har Mishpacha is experiencing its own mountaintop moment. As I prepare to lead us all into the future, we are on the precipice of change. Two years into a pandemic, we are all coming out of a very difficult time and yearning for meaning. We all are using the wisdom and experience of the history of the community, and you are also in a crucial moment of visioning for the future. We remain hopeful and yet humble as we continue forward in this new and exciting direction for the community. Just like Moses, after this journey I have no doubt that we all will experience an important revelation for the future of this community. 

There is one very important difference between this community’s journey and the journey of Moshe up Mt. Sinai. Anyone who has climbed a mountain knows that unlike Moses, no one can climb a mountain alone. We need our friends, our cheerleaders, our community (in my case as a teen my bunkmates) to get us to the top. And that is where the Mishpacha/family in Har Mishpacha comes in. May this community be blessed with collective strength as we all continue this exciting journey of elevation.

I will leave us all with the beautiful opening words of the travelers prayer for this journey:

יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְפָנֶיךָ יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ

שֶׁתּוֹלִיכֵנוּ לְשָׁלוֹם וְתַצְעִידֵנוּ לְשָׁלוֹם וְתַדְרִיכֵנוּ לְשָׁלוֹם, וְתִסְמְכֵנוּ לְשָׁלוֹם

וְתַגִּיעֵנוּ לִמְחוֹז חֶפְצֵנוּ לְחַיִּים וּלְשִׂמְחָה וּלְשָׁלוֹם

Yehi ratzon milefanecha Ado-nai Eloh-einu veilohei avoseinu shetolicheinu leshalom vesatzideinu leshalom vesadricheinu leshalom vesismecheinu leshalom vesagi’einu limechoz cheftzeinu lechaim ulesimchah uleshalom

May it be Your will God of generations before us, that You lead Har Mishpacha toward peace, guide our footsteps toward peace, and help us reach their desired destination for life, gladness, and peace. Amen.

B’vrachot Rabbot (with many blessings),

Rabbi Kolby Morris-Dahary (she/her)

rabbikolby@harmishpacha.org