Growing a Jewish Life, Together
A Conversation with Robert Warren & Elsa Sackett Warren
When Robert Warren and Elsa Sackett Warren first found The Jewish Experience, they were searching for connection. Newly engaged and new to Denver, Robert was looking for ways to engage with Jewish life that felt deeper than what he had known growing up, yet still welcoming and accessible. “I was new to the city and looking for real ways to connect,” he shared, “and I wanted something that felt meaningful, not intimidating.”
That search led him to Olami, which he discovered online. What began as a simple inquiry quickly became a relationship, even before the Ross family arrived in Denver. As Robert and Elsa built their life together, their connection to TJE grew alongside them.
What first brought them through the door was curiosity and a desire to grow. What keeps them coming back is joy, especially the joy of experiencing Jewish life as a family. “What started as something individual,” Robert reflected, “has become something we experience together.”
As their family expanded, so did the role TJE played in their lives. Thoughtful outreach and consistent care made it clear this was more than programming. From small parent support groups to ongoing check-ins after each child was born, the Warrens felt seen and supported. “It felt personal,” Elsa noted. “like people actually noticed what stage we were in.”
“Seeing her associate joy and comfort with Jewish life is incredibly powerful. I love that this feels like her default.”
Now parents of a three-year-old and a newborn, they see the impact most clearly through their daughter, Jory. She is completely at ease in Jewish spaces, especially in the home of Family Experience Co-Directors Rabbi Samuel and Gila Ross. She knows the faces, the songs, and the rhythms of Shabbat. Visiting the Rosses’ home even has its own name: the “Shabbat house.”
Any time the family prepares for Shabbat at home, Jory eagerly asks if they are going to the Shabbat house. For Robert, that moment is deeply meaningful. “Seeing her associate joy and comfort with Jewish life is incredibly powerful,” he said. “It wasn’t something I had growing up, and I love that this feels like her default.”
That philosophy defines what the Warrens value most about The Jewish Experience. Learning and growth are encouraged, never forced. Jewish life is presented as something that unfolds naturally alongside marriage, careers, and parenting. As Robert put it, “It’s not a crash course. It’s a relationship.”
For Elsa, much of the joy comes from watching her children feel fully welcomed, included by older children and surrounded by families just a bit further along the journey. “It makes Jewish life feel possible,” she shared, “not overwhelming.”
For Robert and Elsa, The Jewish Experience is a place where Judaism is not only taught, but lived. A place where a child looks forward to Shabbat, and where family, learning, and joy come together around the same table.
