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
Cantor Mary Thomas
March 1, 2022
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
Temple Beth El
February 28, 2022
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
Temple Beth El
February 7, 2022
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
Nicole Sidman
February 7, 2022
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
Temple Beth El
February 2, 2022
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
Rabbi Asher Knight
February 1, 2022
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
Rabbi Dusty Klass
January 1, 2022
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
Rabbi Beth Nichols
December 1, 2021
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
Temple Beth El
November 8, 2021
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
Cantor Mary Thomas
November 1, 2021
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!
Nicole Sidman
October 29, 2021
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
Nicole Sidman
October 1, 2021
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
Rabbi Beth Nichols
September 1, 2021
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
Rabbi Asher Knight
September 1, 2021
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
Cantor Mary Thomas
August 1, 2021
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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