The TBE Blog is the space where Temple Beth El’s Leadership Team members reflect on relevant topics that are most meaningful to us. Here you will find musings on everything from prayer to politics, music to mysticism and history to current day life. From our iPads, smartphones, and laptops to yours, these are the things that inspire us, keep us up at night, and fuel our own Jewish journeys.
They are called the Days of Awe. But all too often the logistics of the High Holy Days take away from their power. We worry about planning meals, service schedules tickets, parking, streaming, managing our schedules or our kids’ school requirements. If this last year-and-a-half has taught us anything, it is that all the logistics are not what really matters. The old […]
This blog is part of Temple Beth El’s Elul Blog Project. Read more about this year’s project. Back in April of this year (2021), after dropping off a bouquet of daffodils from our yard for a friend’s Passover table, I was headed home to finish preparing for our Seder. It was a little after noon and I […]
This blog is part of Temple Beth El’s Elul Blog Project. Read more about this year’s project. So, you’re asked to write a reflection on the lessons you’ve learned during the pandemic. Easy, right? The traumatic desocialization of kids, educational disparities, healthcare access inequalities, science crisis, normalization of extremism…so many choices! But what I will remember most […]
This blog is part of Temple Beth El’s Elul Blog Project. Read more about this year’s project. The grocery store was dangerous. It was a hotbed of germs. Sanjay Gupta was showing us how to clean our groceries. I was terrified to shop. Having spent the better part of my adult hood in New York City, ordering […]
This blog is part of Temple Beth El’s Elul Blog Project. Read more about this year’s project. I’m autistic and ADHD, with some nuisance-level chronic conditions. And I’ve taught (mostly first-year college Spanish) for half my life. As a result of the pandemic, my campus went online for a year. That change improved both my job experience […]
This blog is part of Temple Beth El’s Elul Blog Project. Read more about this year’s project. Over the last year, many of us have navigated the balance of protecting our loved ones, leading through uncertain times and consistently choosing compassion for others in our Kehillah (community). As a father, husband, son, brother, uncle, friend and HR […]
This blog is part of Temple Beth El’s Elul Blog Project. Read more about this year’s project. For the past seven years, I have been on the teaching faculty as an Adjunct Professor in the College of Engineering at UNC Charlotte, typically teaching two to three courses per semester as well as mentoring senior design projects and […]