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.

It’s All Coming Back to Me Now: Everything 90s is New Again

Early in the summer of 2021, I went to pick up dinner at Chopt in the Arboretum on the way to Temple to lead Shabbat ...
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TriBE Spotlight: Nosh, Schmooze, Explore & Soar by Linda and Ira Bass

Our TriBE, Nosh, Schmooze, Explore & Soar, met via Zoom on Saturday night, February 19th. We had a great time catching up and really had ...
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Geography & Wine TriBE by Peter Benjamin

Who would have thought that taking virtual trips around the world and learning about a particular region’s wines was of interest to anyone but serious ...
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Helping Our Unhoused Neighbors

It was hard to look away. For the first time, Charlotte’s homeless problem was gathered in one place and no one uptown could avoid it. ...
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Search Committee Member Bios

ALAN KRONOVET (HE/HIM) CHAIR; TBE BOARD FIRST VICE PRESIDENT My wife, Cary Bernstein, and I have been married for more than 31 years and we ...
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Fight Antisemitism by Building Interfaith Relationships

Last year our Chanukah was brightened by Glacier, our extremely large puppy. I’d like to say that I take Glacier on walks every day. But the ...
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Choose to Engage: On Egypt, Exodus, and Marching Together

A few years ago, after a screening of the film “13th,” which explores the intersection of race, justice, and mass incarceration in the United States, I sat ...
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Alternative Chanukah Nights

Ask a Jewish kid what their favorite holiday is, and most will tell you Chanukah. And it’s not surprising. After all, who wouldn’t like a ...
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The Music Man, Larry Farber

Through music and faith, Larry Farber has devoted his life to the cause of building harmony. As Rabbi Knight puts it, “Larry is synonymous with ...
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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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Celebrate Passover with Temple Beth El!

Make this Passover meaningful and memorable!