TBE Blog

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.

The Power of Our Congregation by Judy Seldin-Cohen

Temple Beth El 02/16/2018

Lessons from TBE’s Action on Affordable Housing That Can Inspire Us Today In April 2010, the Temple Beth El Board passed a resolution on affordable ...

PERSPECTIVE: reflections on turning 65 by Cantor Andrew Bernard

Cantor Bernard 02/14/2018

Many a day as I’m stretching on the pool deck getting ready for my swim, I tell one of my lifeguard friends, “Don’t get old. ...

The Fault in our Bubbles by Rabbi Dusty Klass (From Charlotte Jewish News Editorial, February 2018)

Rabbi Dusty Klass 02/08/2018

For me, Christmas has never been about Chinese and a movie – it has been about family and food, watching It’s a Wonderful Life, and ...

Purim – Tradition, Innovation, Experimentation by Andy Harkavy, Director of Congregational Engagement

Madeline White 02/01/2018

Judaism is all about tradition. We do what we do because our parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and so on and so forth did it at one ...

Adult Education at Temple Beth El by Rabbi Asher Knight

Rabbi Asher Knight 01/30/2018

At Temple Beth El, our Jewish learning helps to create sacred connections inspired by Jewish wisdom. Temple Beth El has been proud of our strong ...

Cultivating A Prayer and Meditation Practice by Rabbi Asher Knight

Rabbi Asher Knight 01/25/2018

Prayer means something different to each of us. And in each stage and moment in our lives, we may need prayer differently. Recently, our high ...

It’s a Learning Process by Dr. Laura Bernstein, Executive Director

Temple Beth El 01/18/2018

Plagues. Plagues. And more plagues. This week’s Torah portion, Bo (Exodus 10:1 – 13:16) begins with Moses and the eighth plague of locusts. It continues ...

Purim at Temple Beth El by Cantor Mary R. Thomas

Cantor Mary Thomas 01/11/2018

The Book of Esther – Megillat Esteir – was likely one of the last to enter the cannon of the Hebrew Bible, as late as ...

Social Justice and Action at Temple Beth El by Jill Blumenthal (From Charlotte Jewish News Editorial, January 2018)

Temple Beth El 01/03/2018

Recently, I invited a friend to join me at a Shabbat service. He declined my invitation, explaining that at the last service he’d attended, the ...

The Jewish Community Refugee Initiative (JCRI) Needs You! by Amy Lefkof

Temple Beth El 12/28/2017

How many Jewish families does it take to resettle a Kurdish refugee family from Kirkuk? TBE families have been helping the Omar household, which consists ...

Speech, Silence, and #TBERace&Justice: Why We Need You in a TBE Listening Circle by Rabbi Dusty Klass

Rabbi Dusty Klass 12/28/2017

I first discovered the Jewish call for silence at age seventeen. It had been chosen as the ‘wisdom quote of the day’ at camp: “Rabbi ...

Unpacking Audacious Hospitality by Ginny Rosenberg, President

Temple Beth El 12/27/2017

It has been my privilege to receive congregants’ feedback about Temple life during my term. While most people are full of praise for our services, ...