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.
Once a Camper, Always a Camper by Susan Jacobs, Director of Education
Susan Jacobs
04/25/2018
Once a camper, always a camper! It’s been many, many years since I was a camper at a Jewish sleep away camp but it’s in ...
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Celebrate Your Life. Be a Part of Mitzvah Day. by Jill Lipson
Temple Beth El
04/24/2018
One Saturday morning after our Farber Leadership Group session in 2010, I was having brunch before services. Rabbi Judy took a seat beside me, and ...
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Generations Care for the Hebrew Cemetery by Brian Yesowitch
Temple Beth El
04/19/2018
Mitzvah Day is a very special day for our family. Each May, we look forward to wrapping up the school year and eagerly await the ...
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Immeasurable Fulfillment on Mitzvah Day by Marissa Brooks
Temple Beth El
04/13/2018
To be honest, I have lost count of how many actual Mitzvah Days our family has done. We started many years ago when our oldest ...
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Counting the Omer by Rabbi Dusty Klass
Rabbi Dusty Klass
04/12/2018
“Blessed are you, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the Universe, who has made us holy with your commandments and commanded us to count the Omer**. ...
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Do A Mitzvah for Our Community and for Yourself by Laura Lewin
Temple Beth El
04/11/2018
OK, so I am not the most organized mom in the world. Five years ago when my kids were 8, 9, and 11 I had ...
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Focus on Tikkun Olam This Passover by Moira Quinn Klein, Past President (From Charlotte Jewish News Editorial, April 2018)
Temple Beth El
04/11/2018
I SO look forward to Passover and the Seder even with all the work to clean, cook, set the table with my best, bring out ...
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Mitzvah Day: A History by Sue Hummel, in consultation with Martin Multer
Temple Beth El
04/05/2018
Each year, on one Sunday in May, Temple Beth El congregants come together to perform mitzvot, or good deeds, throughout the Charlotte community. Aptly named ...
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March For Our Lives and Our Pesach Preparations by Rabbi Judy Schindler
Rabbi Schindler
03/28/2018
This past Shabbat was a wakeup call. On one hand, it was a wakeup call to the painful world we have created for our kids ...
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Mitzvah Day 2018 is Coming! by Rabbi Dusty Klass
Rabbi Dusty Klass
03/28/2018
Mitzvah Day is rapidly approaching — it all takes place on Sunday, May 6! For our newer members, Mitzvah Day is Temple Beth El’s annual ...
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Passover Resources from TBE Clergy
Temple Beth El
03/28/2018
Beginning Friday night, Jews all over the world will gather in their homes, surrounded by family and friends. We will sit down at tables large ...
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Creating Worship Experiences at Temple Beth El by Rabbi Asher Knight
Rabbi Asher Knight
03/22/2018
As a rabbi, I believe that the communal prayer experience begins with the individual, and the potential for individual spiritual growth and transformation within community. ...
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Elements of Judaism: Walking Jewishly Through Life by Cantor Mary Rebecca Thomas (From Charlotte Jewish News Editorial, March 2018)
Cantor Mary Thomas
03/01/2018
Being a Jewish clergy person is a pretty fantastic job. On almost any given day, I will encounter lots of different people, each experiencing a ...
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Bashert – Being Right Where You Belong by Cantor Mary Rebecca Thomas
Cantor Mary Thomas
02/27/2018
Sometimes one finds themselves in exactly the right place at the right time. Jewish custom might designate circumstances like these as bashert – meant to ...
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Queen for a Day! by Susan Jacobs, Director of Education
Susan Jacobs
02/22/2018
When I was a little girl, my parents went to a Purim ball at Temple Israel and came home with the most beautifully decorated crowns ...
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