Sterling Elementary Partnership Update
Sterling Elementary School Partnership This school year marks the eighth year of Temple Beth El’s partnership with Sterling Elementary School as part of CMS’s Faith Community Partnership program. Sterling Elementary, with over 750 students; 92% of whom qualify for free or reduced lunch, is located in Pineville, off of South Boulevard. Volunteers are needed for […]
The Power of Walking Together by Rabbis Judy Schindler, Ken Carr and Gary Pokras
The shofar was sounded, summoning us to join America’s Journey for Justice sponsored by the NAACP — a 40-day 860-mile march from Selma, Alabama to Washington DC. After a summer of racial tensions, church burnings in the South and murders in Charleston, close to 200 rabbis responded from all over the nation, each committed to […]
What if Jonathan Ferrell were my son? by Rabbi Judith Schindler
What if Jonathan Ferrell were my son? That’s what I thought about when I stopped by the court room on the first day of the Kerrick trial. Jonathan – a 24 year old former Florida A&M University football player, an aspiring engineer, engaged to a beautiful woman. What if Officer Kerrick were my son? Officer […]
Beyond the Cheering by Cantor Andrew Bernard
When the United States Supreme Court ruled on marriage equality last month, there was much celebration. It was a moment that I was sure would come someday, but one which, frankly, I never thought I would live to see. Yet while it was a monumental step forward for American society, I had to walk away […]
Tisha B’Av by Rabbi Judy Schindler
The ninth of Av. A date of destruction and devastation not just once but again and again. 586 BCE. Our First Temple destroyed at the hands of Babylonians. 70 CE. Our Second Temple destroyed at the hands of the Romans. 1492. The Spanish expulsion. Our deadline for departing. World War I broke out on Tisha […]
And then, and then, and then… by Beth Warshauer, Director of Youth Engagement
Moses spends an entire book reiterating all his teachings, instructions, and lessons to the Jewish people in the hopes that they remember everything they’ve learned over the last forty years. I recall hearing someone say that for a man who self-identified as ‘slow of speech and slow of tongue’, he certainly found his voice! Having […]
One Size Never Fits All by Cantor Mary Rebecca Thomas
This morning, a voice on my radio said, “Just remember, one-size-fits-all really means one-size-fits-none.” This is the truth. If one-size-fits-all is supposed to mean, “one-size-will-sufficienty-cover-you-while-making-you-look-absolutely-atrocious,” then maybe, or “one-size-fits-AWKWARD!” (I’m reminded of my friend and TBE’s former Director of Youth Engagement Andy Harkavy rocking out a one-size-fits-all Clifford costume… If you were there, you remember […]
A Greater Fire By Rabbi Judy Schindler
(Updated 7/14/15) Two weeks ago, Charlotte’s Briar Creek Road Baptist Church was a victim of arson. It is less than three and half miles from my home. Their children’s choir sang at our Beth El MLK service three years ago and my kids were close friends with the kids of their former minister, Dennis Hall. […]
L’chaim… to life, to love, to equality by Rabbi Judy Schindler
Join us at Temple Beth El tonight, June 26, 2015 at 5:15 pm for a Shabbat champagne toast to celebrate the Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage in our country. On June 28, 1969, the American gay rights movement got its formal and strongest start with the Stonewall riots. 46 years ago this weekend, the […]
