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.

Breathe! It’s Almost Thanksgiving

Elohai neshama shenatata bi tehora hi – Oh God, the soul-breath you have given me is pure. Atah b’rata, Atah y’tzarta, Atah nefachta bi – You ...
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Afghan Refugee Resettlement Assistance – We Need Your Help!

Dear Temple Beth El Community, From the beginning of the evacuation of thousands of Afghan people began in mid-August, congregants have been reaching out to ...
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Temple Beth El Is Organizing for Justice, One Story at a Time

We thought this would be a post-pandemic fall, and so we sought to learn what the pandemic had taught us, not realizing that its lessons ...
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From Jewish Study to Jewish Life

Throughout rabbinic literature we can find strains of a debate over which is better, study or action? One classic version of this argument is cited ...
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May the Sacred Season of Blessing Begin

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 ...
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Shabbat Across Charlotte

Shabbat is a cathedral in time, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel famously wrote. It is a palace of moments set aside for reflection, study, introspection, family, ...
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From Social Distance to Social Justice: Bringing Congregants Together

Jill: In the early days of the shutdown in March through May 2020, most Friday nights I found myself logging onto Zoom around 7:30 pm.  ...
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New Member TriBE

The New Member TriBE is for congregants who have joined Temple Beth El over the past two years, as well as those who still feel new and seek a deeper, ...
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Shabbat Across Charlotte

Shabbat is a cathedral in time, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel famously said. It is a palace of moments set aside for reflection, study, introspection, family, ...
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Counting Our Blessings and Summer Reading

As I write this article, we are in the midst of counting the S’firat Haomer. So often, we count down – the days to a birthday (especially for ...
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Grateful for Our Community by Jessica Auslander

Our family just celebrated our daughter’s bat mitzvah. It was an amazing milestone for our family for multiple reasons. As I reflected on her journey, I ...
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TriBE Spotlight: The Spice Girls by Beth Lewis

The Spice Girls TriBE is a great group of women, diverse in our stages of life. We all enjoy cooking and baking and sharing our ...
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A Message from Clergy About Israel

Dear Temple Beth El Community and Friends, We write to you with sadness and grave concern as we read and watch the news reports of ...
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Register for a House Meeting

On Tuesday, April 27, Temple Beth El kicked off our 2021 listening campaign, “From Social Distance to Social Justice,” with an hour-long online meeting bringing ...
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Together at Sinai

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 ...
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