Why Refugee Protection Matters by Rabbi Asher Knight
I was recently in Dallas to attend a meeting of the Union for Reform Judaism. The meeting happened to be held at the hotel at the Dallas airport – in the very same terminal where the government was detaining 50 refugees who had received green cards and visas. I met a young man named Mohamed. […]
God, By Any Other Name? by Rabbi Dusty Klass
A few weeks ago, during Torah Study here at Temple Beth El, our group ended up in an hour-long study of a single sentence in the torah portion. The beginning of parashat Vayera reads: “And God spoke to Moses and said to him, ‘I am Yud-Hey-Vav-Hey; I appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as El […]
Celebrating Rabbi Dusty Klass by Rabbi Asher Knight
Exactly a year ago I met Rabbi Dusty Klass for the first time. I traveled to New York having been named Temple Beth El’s Senior Rabbi less than a month earlier. I joined Ginny Rosenberg, Cantor Bernard, and Laura Bernstein to interview soon-to-be ordained rabbis from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Prior to our […]
Justice Shabbat Report from Our Rabbis
Just over three weeks ago, 136 of us gathered in Silverman Social Hall to begin a conversation about justice, and Charlotte, and our role in building a more just city. We promised to report back to you, and this email serves to do that. But before we begin, we want to express a few notes […]
We Were Strangers by Cantor Mary R. Thomas
“The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love the stranger as yourself for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” (Leviticus 19:34) We were strangers. We were on the outside. We were feared. We were maligned. We were not trusted. We were turned away. […]
Double Chai by Cantor Mary Rebecca Thomas
I have a birthday at the beginning of this month. I hadn’t given it too much thought before because it isn’t a milestone and, at a point, birthdays that aren’t milestones seem to become days like the rest. I’ve already had enough non-milestone birthdays as an adult to know that this is true. Milestones are […]
The Final Gift by Susan Jacobs, Director of Education
I’m getting old. I feel great and I have a truly amazing life but the comforting layer of family, friends and members of my community who are older than me is thinning. That safe bubble that kept me young because they were the old ones is dwindling. Honestly, it’s a little unsettling. When I look […]
Measuring Success by Cantor Andrew Bernard
When I was in cantorial school in the 90s, there was great consternation and hand-wringing about how “camp music” (used as a derogatory term) represented the dumbing-down of the rich heritage of Jewish music, and would ultimately lead to its demise. After four years of having that dire warning drummed into my head, it […]
One Egg at a Time by Rabbi Dusty Klass
This week, a chicken taught me a really important lesson. Kind of. I was at the gym listening to On Being, a podcast that explores some of the larger existential life questions through interviews with scholars and thinkers of all stripes. In this particular episode, Krista Tippet interviewed Brain Pickings* creator and curator Maria Popova […]
