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.
Judah P. Benjamin Monument Bearing the Names of Temple Beth El and Temple Israel
Temple Beth El
June 17, 2020
Dear Temple Beth El and Temple Israel, Over seventy years ago, our congregations were approached by the United Daughters of the Confederacy to support the ...
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The Blessing of Transitions
Rabbi Asher Knight
June 1, 2020
The Mishnah’s Tractate Berakhot starts with a discussion about how and when we sing of the Shema, the foundational prayer of our faith. The rabbis ...
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Going Beyond Thoughts and Prayers – Racial Justice
Temple Beth El
May 31, 2020
Dear Temple Beth El Family, The coronavirus pandemic has magnified and exacerbated the inequalities in our society. While we are in the same storm, we ...
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Resources to Watch, Read, Listen, & Notice
Temple Beth El
May 31, 2020
Resources to Watch, Read, Listen, & Notice Watch This is Us – Dr. Eddie Glaude explains why blaming current racial tensions on Donald Trump misses ...
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The Dance and the Dimmer Switch: Our Plan to Reopen the Building
Rabbi Asher Knight
May 18, 2020
Dear Temple Beth El Family, I write this letter to you having just visited the Blumenthal Sanctuary. I went to record a video, check-in on ...
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Caring for Our Communities and Neighbors Together
Rabbi Asher Knight
May 18, 2020
The Charlotte region has thousands of diverse faith communities impacted by the persistent and serious threats associated with COVID-19. Each faith community has found creative ...
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Hotel Collaboration Meal Support
Rabbi Dusty Klass
May 7, 2020
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 ...
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Discover Meaning by Making Meaning
Rabbi Asher Knight
May 1, 2020
We are not the first generation of Jews to live through periods of great uncertainty. If any group can face tough challenges, it’s us. The ...
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Organizations Across Charlotte Need Your Help!
Rabbi Dusty Klass
April 10, 2020
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 ...
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Seattle Lockdown – Day #24
Cantor Bernard
April 8, 2020
Tonight on the evening of Seder, Jews around the world are supposed to gather with family and friends to retell the story of liberation that ...
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A Reflection on Yom HaShoah
Temple Beth El
April 1, 2020
My grandmother, Erika, who I called “Nana,” was born in Vienna, Austria in 1924. She was a survivor of both the Auschwitz-Birkenau and Bergen-Belsen concentration ...
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Fair Driving Clinic Helps Drivers Who Can’t Afford to Pay
Rabbi Dusty Klass
April 1, 2020
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 ...
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Reflections on COVID-19
Cantor Bernard
April 1, 2020
Friends, This is a set of three daily reflections from Seattle, written March 20–22, 2020. Seattle reported the first U.S. case of COVID-19 in January ...
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A Different “Hatikvah” By Sydney Abeshaus
Temple Beth El
February 26, 2020
When my family first joined Temple Beth El in 2011, I was shy, apprehensive, and an overall introvert. Beginning religious school in the middle of ...
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Purim and the reframing of “How are you?”
Cantor Mary Thomas
February 25, 2020
Last week at a conference out of town, surrounded for two days by old friends and colleagues, I was plagued by three small words: “How ...
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