It was Shavuot 2012. I was in my second year of rabbinic school, and Shavuot was still mostly a mystery to me. I knew the basics: Shavuot means “Weeks” and comes seven weeks (seven times seven days!) after Passover. It commemorates the receiving of the Ten Commandments at Mt. Sinai. It is connected to the […]
Over the past two weeks, we marked a year of living through the pandemic, coming together from afar to share a collective challah hug. It was heart-warming (and by all counts, delicious!) Thank you to all those who baked, whether you contributed one loaf or one hundred, whether you consider yourself an expert baker or […]
Crisis breeds creativity. While all of us sitting at our zoom seder tables last year hoped Passover 2021 would look different than Passover 2020, we will still gather over zoom for seder and services. However, a year of pandemic living has taught us all a couple of things, and we are excited to get even […]
Every year, MLK Jr Day and Tu Bishvat live near each other on our calendars. A holiday that celebrates trees and a holiday that honors a civil rights giant do not, on the surface, have much in common. Yet, Jewish text has a long history of connecting seemingly disparate topics, allowing for each topic to […]
The moon is growing again as I sit down to write this article on July 28th 2020, on “erev erev” Tisha b’Av. While these words are due in the next 24 hours, you will not read them until the beginning of September. I have always struggled with the need to offer words that have a […]
As a proud member of MeckMIN (Mecklenburg Metropolitan Interfaith Network), Temple Beth El is involved in a variety of interfaith efforts throughout greater Charlotte. In collaboration with Mecklenburg County, Roof Above (formerly Urban Ministry Center/Men’s Shelter of Charlotte), Salvation Army, and Supportive Housing Communities, MeckMIN is helping coordinate and support the use of hotels to […]
Sterling Elementary School: The 2020-2021 school year is about to begin and TBE’s partner school could use your help! In addition to collecting donations to support Sterling, TBE congregants often volunteer for tutoring services through the following organizations: Read Charlotte: Children’s Literacy Heart Math Tutoring Roof Above (formerly Urban Ministry Center and Men’s Shelter of […]
Getting a traffic ticket is frustrating for everyone, but for some without the ability to pay for those traffic tickets, it’s crippling. Temple Beth El has partnered with the Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy to create the Fair Driving Clinic, a community initiative designed to help Charlotte drivers with limited financial resources get their driver’s […]
Each time I get to lead t’filah with our 6th and 7th graders, I pause when we arrive at Mi Chamocha and ask: what does this prayer mark? What does it help us remember? And they respond: This prayer is about freedom! It is about the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt! They sang it when they […]