Events

Or Olam in the Loop – Our Weekly Bulletin on All Things TOO

Posted by webmaster on November 30, 2015   |   Comments Off on Or Olam in the Loop – Our Weekly Bulletin on All Things TOO

LoopHeads Up: Hanukkah!

Our Hanukkah Party will feature, among other things, an adult education session followed by dinner, local entertainment, a white elephant gift exchange and songs (see below for our schedule).

From Darkness to Light: Crossing the Threshold at Hanukkah: Adult Education (4:30 p.m.)blast

Hanukkah is a story of heroism and rededication. But it is also a festival with deep mystical and spiritual significance. How does Hanukkah ask us to press the reset button so that we can continue the work of so many months before during High Holy Days? How is Hanukkah a rededication for our neshamot, our souls? How does it help us transition spiritually into the coming festivals of spring?

Hanukkah Dinner (5:30 p.m.) – Please bring your Hanukkah menoras!

latkesLatkes, applesauce, and other goodies for a pot-luck dinner that will make our mouths water! We’ll light the Hanukkiahs, sing blessings, and eat during, we hope, a theater in the round with stories, jokes, and songs. Please look for our evite and sign up for pot luck and talent offerings!

And after dinner…. (6:30-7:30 p.m.)

  •    White Elephant gift exchange
  •    A game of Family Feud Hanukkah (or Hanukkah Jewpardy – We’ll let you know…)
  •    More songs and general revelry

Date and Time: December 12; see above schedule for activity times….
Location: McGill Baptist Church, 5300 Poplar Tent Road, Concord, NC Up ahead….

In the Rabbi’s Library: Praying with Direction, Focus, and Feeling: A Workshop for Lay Leaderslibrary

During this workshop, we will learn the basic architecture of a Shabbat service, explore the trajectory and purpose of our prayers, and brainstorm different ways lay leaders can offer a prayerful experience to others.

We’ll begin by learning about the seven essential stages of the Shabbat service. Once we’ve understood both kevah (order) and kavanah (intention), we’ll workshop in small groups, using a set of different service models. These will include chant services, services structured around meditation and journaling, services structured according to text and story, and services centered on prayerful acts of study.

This workshop is open to our members – even those who might not want to actively lead a service, but hope to learn how services are led.

Date and Location: January 3, In the Rabbi’s Library (please email Rabbi Barbara for directions at Rabbi.Thiede@or-olam.org)
Time: 10 am – 12 p.m.

 

 

Or Olam in the Loop – Our Weekly Bulletin on All Things TOO

Posted by webmaster on November 18, 2015   |   Comments Off on Or Olam in the Loop – Our Weekly Bulletin on All Things TOO

LoopTOO Tikkun Olam for November 21

We are painting interior walls of a house for CCM and we need volunteers!

The address is 965 E. 13th Street, Kannapolis. Vice president Will King and crew will I will be there from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with snacks and drinks. Lunch around noon.

Please contact Will SOON at vicepresident@or-olam.orgwork day

Heads-up Hanukkah! Mark Your Calendars for December 12…

Our Hanukkah Party will feature, among other things, an adult education session followed by dinner, local entertainment, a white elephant gift exchange and songs. See below for our schedule…

From Darkness to Light: Crossing the Threshold at Hanukkah: Adult Education (4:30 p.m.)

Hanukkah is a story of heroism and rededication. But it is also a festival with deep mystical and spiritual significance. How does Hanukkah ask us to press the reset button so that we can continue the work of so many months before during High Holy Days? How is Hanukkah a rededication for our neshamot, our souls? How does it help us transition spiritually into the coming festivals of spring?

latkesHanukkah Dinner (5:30 p.m.) – Please bring your Hanukkah menoras!

Latkes, applesauce, and other goodies for a pot-luck dinner that will make our mouths water! We’ll light the Hanukkiahs, sing blessings, and eat during, we hope, a theater in the round with stories, jokes, and songs. Please look for our evite and sign up for pot luck and talent offerings!

Package in handAnd after dinner…. (6:30-7:30 p.m.)

  • White Elephant gift exchange
  • A game of Family Feud Hanukkah (or Hanukkah Jewpardy – We’ll let you know…)
  • More songs and general revelry

Or Olam in the Loop – Our Weekly Bulletin on All Things TOO

Posted by Rabbi Thiede on November 4, 2015   |   Comments Off on Or Olam in the Loop – Our Weekly Bulletin on All Things TOO

LoopKabbalat Shabbat November 13 – On Blessings and Birthrights

Our Kabbalat Shabbat service will, as always, include beautiful music and prayer. We will also explore the story of blessings and birthright that is narrated in this Shabbat’s Torah portion, Toldot.

In Toldot, we read of a sibling rivalry so intense that it separates a family for decades. Esau and Jacob yearn, struggle, and even contend over earning their place in the world. Which son receives blessings and birthright, and why? How does Torah evoke our own stories?

During our service, we will consider the birthrights we have earned the blessings we ourselves have yearned for, using Parshat Toldot as our inspiration for reflection.

Please join us, and feel free to bring something to our oneg Shabbat to share with others.

Date: November 13
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: McGill Baptist Church, 5300 Poplar Tent Road, Concord, NC

The Global Day of Jewish Learning – November 15!Global Day of Jewish Learning

On Sunday, November 15, the Aleph Society is sponsoring 24 hours of Jewish Learning with a program of free video learning open to everyone. This program was created by The Global Day of Jewish Learning with the generous participation of world-class scholars, artists, rabbis and authors.

Sessions are broadcast from both in-person events and web-based gatherings. Speakers will engage with this year’s Global Day theme of Love: Devotion, Desire and Deception. Viewers will be able to ask questions of the speakers and engage with their fellow far-flung viewers, live on Twitter, Facebook and Google.

Topics will include, among others:

  • Love Yourself More than Your Neighbor,
  • Desire-It’s Good for You
  • First Love-What we can discover about Love from the Garden of Eden
  • Lekha Dodi: The Most Famous Jewish Poem
  • Rachel and Leah: Sibling Rivalry and Jewish Unity

To get a full listing of the speakers and the times of their presentations, please google, www.TheGlobalDay.org. If you have any further questions, please contact Marilyn Atlas at adult-education@or-olam.org.

CamelLove (and How to Water a Thirsty Camel)

Consider Joining us for Torah Study!

Each week, on Shabbat morning at 10 a.m., an intrepid group of TOO members pick up the phone to talk Torah. It’s easy, convenient, and you don’t even have to get out of your pajamas to join in the conversation.

This week, we will be studying Parshat Chayyei Sarah (Genesis 23:1 – 25:18), which includes the most romantic story in the Torah scroll – and an ancient yenta to arrange the pairing. If you want to be added to the list, please send a note to religious-services@or-olam.org and we will send you the call-in number.

Our parsha this week is Chayei Sarah (Genesis 23:1 – 25:18): https://www.jtsa.edu/prebuilt/ParashahArchives/jpstext/hayyeisarah.shtml.

The haftorah is 1 Kings 1:1-13 https://www.jtsa.edu/prebuilt/ParashahArchives/jpstext/hayyeisarah_haft.shtml.

Or Olam in the Loop – Our Weekly Bulletin on All Things TOO

Posted by webmaster on October 14, 2015   |   Comments Off on Or Olam in the Loop – Our Weekly Bulletin on All Things TOO

LoopKabbalat Shabbat, and the Man Who Didn’t Know How to Pray

This Friday’s service will be relaxed, gentle, and provide food for the soul. We’ll share plenty of beautiful music and moments for prayerful reflection. Rabbi Barbara will tell a Chassidic story of a meeting between the Baal Shem Tov and the innkeeper who didn’t know how to pray. Feel free to join us, and if you do, please bring something to share at our oneg!

Date: October 16
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: McGill Baptist Church, 5300 Poplar Tent Road, Concord, NC

Crop WalkTOO’s Tikkun Olam Project This Month: Featuring Crop Walk

Nice, isn’t it?  Temple Or Olam is currently in the lead in fundraising in our local Crop Walk.

If you haven’t already made a donation to Temple Or Olam’s Team for this Sunday’s Crop Walk (or want to join the team at the last minute), please think about supporting the cause.

Temple Or Olam members Will King and Linda VanArsdale are leading our team this year. CROP Hunger Walks help feed children and families around the world. Last year more than 116,000 CROP Walkers, volunteers and sponsors raised money for this important cause.

Click here to view the team page for Temple Or Olam:

http://hunger.cwsglobal.org/site/TR?team_id=121587&pg=team&fr_id=20852&et=eQznU09oKHCbLHFm54ib_w&s_tafId=139733

If you want to join our walkers, here’s what you need to know:

Date: October 18
Time: Registration at 1 p.m.; step off at 2 p.m.
Location: Forest Hills United Methodist Church, 265 Union St N, Concord, NC 28025

 

Or Olam in the Loop – Our Weekly Bulletin on All Things TOO

Posted by webmaster on September 30, 2015   |   Comments Off on Or Olam in the Loop – Our Weekly Bulletin on All Things TOO

LoopOn Sukkot, Sh’mini Atzeret, and Thresholds and Liminal Moments in Jewish Time – Adult Education with Rabbi Barbara This Shabbat

Sh’mini Atzeret is, according to the rabbis, the true completion of the High Holy Day season. On Shabbat, October 3, Temple Or Olam members will meet at McGill Baptist Church at 10 a.m. and explore the threshold between Sukkot and Sh’mini Atzeret, a last time to ask for God’s forgiveness.

One of our themes during High Holy Days explored our Torah as a tree of life and wisdom; torah mantleswe will continue this exploration on Shabbat by celebrating our Torah with spontaneous discoveries about where we stand in the Book of Genesis (literally!).  Three congregants (chosen, as in ancient tradition, by lot…) will choose the column that calls to them and Rabbi Barbara will look for the verse that clearly belongs to them in this New Year.

Pot-luck lunch afterwards, too, so please bring something to share!

Or Olam in the Loop…. P.S.

Posted by webmaster on September 25, 2015   |   Comments Off on Or Olam in the Loop…. P.S.

LoopInterfaith Outreach During Succot

The rabbis say that one mitzvah is to lead directly to the next. In that spirit, after concluding the mitzvah of completing the soul-work of the Days of Awe, Temple Or Olam members are engaging in outreach with our wonderful hosts at McGill Baptist Church.

How? By building our congregational succah and inviting McGill Baptist Church members to join us there for an interfaith celebration and exploration of what the succah stands for. Why do we enter a place of such fragility right after the Days of Awe? SuccahWhat do we ask of ourselves as we stand in the succah and look to the sky above? Why is inviting guests into that tender space so important to our tradition?

This is a happening thing this Sunday morning at 10 a.m. at McGill Baptist Church at 5300 Poplar Tent Road, so if you would like to join us, please feel free!

On Sukkot, Sh’mini Atzeret, and Thresholds and Liminal Moments in Jewish Time – Adult Education with Rabbi Barbara

Sh’mini Atzeret is, according to the rabbis, the true completion of the High Holy Day season. On Shabbat, October 3, Temple Or Olam members will meet at McGill Baptist Church at 10 a.m. and explore the threshold between Sukkot and Sh’mini Atzeret, a last time to ask for God’s forgiveness. There will be learning, discussion, and celebration of our Torah with readings and song.

Pot-luck lunch afterwards, too, so please bring something to share!

Or Olam in the Loop – Our Weekly Bulletin on All Things TOO

Posted by webmaster on August 10, 2015   |   Comments Off on Or Olam in the Loop – Our Weekly Bulletin on All Things TOO

LoopS’lichot at the Lake – September 5, 2015

Schedule
4:30 pm: Arrive for mingling and greeting
5:00 pm: Selichot service and meditation
6:00 pm: Pot Luck *
Please bring your own cooler/ food storage.
7:00 pm: Boat ride and enjoyment of the lake environment
8:00 pm: Havdalah
8:30 pm: Conclusion of the evening – announcements for HHD

*Please RSVP by 8/30/15 to Marilyn Atlas, marilynaf@aol.com for location and also tell her what food you are going to share.

Charlotte Pride Interfaith Service (Our Report)

Charlotte Pride croppedYesterday’s moving and joyful Charlotte Pride Interfaith Service brought several members of Temple Or Olam to Charlotte. While Rabbi Barbara spokeabout TOO’s theme – honor as a necessary quality of love – Zannah Kimbrel wove the TOO ribbon into a banner that will be carried at the Pride parade next weekend. Jack Groves and Alan Coffman accompanied faith leaders and helped us all sing (and dance) on the curb outside. A shout out to Rabbi Jonathan Freirich of Temple Beth El for helping represent the Jewish community.

Yes, that is Zannah getting ready to weave…!

And speaking of pride…

We discovered that our tikkun olam plans conflicted with… other plans. Some of TOO members have wanted to attend the Charlotte Pride Parade on Sunday, Aug. 16, 2015, 1-3 p.m. (For more information head here: http://charlottepride.org/parade/.) So keeping that in mind, Will King is going to be organizing a group to head down to Charlotte and arranging a different time for us to work with CCM. Please contact Will if you are interested in joining a group heading down to Charlotte for the parade next Sunday at vice-president@or-olam.org

libraryIn the Rabbi’s Library – Learning About the Days of Awe During Elul

Rosh Hashanah is not to be found in Torah – at least not under that name. According to our sacred texts, the day we know as the birthday of the world is simply a day to sound the shofar, a yom t’ruah. Yom Kippur, a day when we spend hours in prayer, was once a time when the ancient Israelites could be sure that if they appeared at the Temple they would be cleansed — purely by announcement from the High Priest!

Come spend an afternoon with Rabbi Barbara and learn about the history of our High Holy Days, from S’lichot to Neilah. We’ll also explore Chassidic and mystical explorations of our liturgy and rituals and discuss their importance for present-day practice.

Please RSVP by  August 16 to Rabbi.Thiede@or-olam.org if you plan to attend.

Date: August 22
Time: 1-3 p.m.
Location: Our Rabbi’s library (for more information on location, please contact info@or-olam.org)
Tuition fee: $25

What is Zionism and Are Jews Obligated to Be Zionists? A Shavuot Program

Posted by webmaster on May 21, 2015   |   Comments Off on What is Zionism and Are Jews Obligated to Be Zionists? A Shavuot Program

Late Night Discussion to Commemorate Shavuot

Panel Conversation with Rabbis Murray Ezring, Judy Schindler, and Barbara Thiede

Charlotte Jewish News: Published May 18, 2015

By Rabbi Noam Raucher and Rabbi Jonathan Freirich

It is hard not to talk about Israel lately. Almost without a beat we see Israel in the headlines as top news stories or stories of interest. Pick your topic: Israel’s security, its relationship with the United States as an ally, Bibi and Obama’s relationship with each other, Jewish-U.S support for Israel (or lack thereof), Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS), Iran as a nuclear power, the Palestinian question, or even questions about Israel’s internal climate – it is hard to recall a day lately that we did not hear about Israel. And that’s just the dramatic stuff.

Our community expresses its deep connection to Israel in beautiful ways. Attend any of our Yom Ha’atzma’ut (Independence Day) and/or Yom HaZikaron (Memorial Day) events and you will see what it means to love Israel. But when Israel is in the news we find ourselves talking more and more about it. As passions rise it is possible that you have found yourself in at least one conversation turned debate without even knowing it. Individual and small group conversations about Israel take place on a regular basis. But how often do we get together to talk about Israel on a community-wide level?

Rabbi Jonathan Freirich and Rabbi Noam Raucher share a vision of our community, the greater Charlotte Jewish community, in dialogue about one of Judaism’s most pressing topics. Imagine, late in a springtime evening, as Shabbat is dwindling into the night, a room full of your friends and family members listening to thought provoking conversations about Israel and Zionism. (Perhaps even with some nosh and coffee in hand). What an opportunity it would be to get to know one another through honest and respectful conversations. Imagine what you could learn about yourself, and our fellow community members. Imagine how much more we would understand about one another.

Saturday evening, May 23, brings with it Shavuot, and opportunity for us to talk about Israel with depth and honesty. Rabbinic legend teaches us that the newly liberated Israelites slept late on the day that God gave them the Ten Commandments and a covenant to enter – the moments that Shavuot celebrates and sanctifies. (This also came to be known as the very first instance of “Jewish Standard Time”). But in response, Rabbi Isaac Luria and the 16th century mystical Kabbalists instituted that on Shavuot we spend all night studying so we can receive the Torah while awake in the morning. Somewhat of a backwards approach considering most people would rather go right to sleep after spending the entire night awake. Jewish celebrations usually take a lot of energy. Sometimes the experience is worth the exhaustion.

Interestingly, most Jewish laws and customs focus on the individual’s responsibility to celebrate the holiday. Our synagogues make for great communal celebrations for all individuals to be included. But Shavuot asks us that we experience the holiday specifically with someone else. And that is done through study with one another. For this holiday we do not spend our time with our faces looking down at a siddur. For Shavuot we spend our time eye-to-eye with our neighbor, in conversation, as student and teacher.

Jewish study is not meant to be done in private. Texts, in whatever form, are meant to be torn apart (metaphorically speaking) by two individuals through a back and forth process that seeks to, respectfully and lovingly, challenge answers and assumptions; eventually yielding a deeper understanding of truth. Judaism affirms that there are no simple answers and in order to learn we must dig deeper.

What is Zionism, and Are Jews Obligated to Be Zionists?

Saturday – May 23rd – Lerner Hall, Levine JCC

8 PM – Panel Conversation with Rabbis Murray Ezring, Judy Schindler, and Barbara Thiede

Or Olam in the Loop – Our Weekly Bulletin on All Things TOO

Posted by webmaster on May 19, 2015   |   Comments Off on Or Olam in the Loop – Our Weekly Bulletin on All Things TOO

LoopKabbalat Shabbat Torah Service May 22

We begin a new book this Shabbat, the Book of Numbers (also known as B’midbar).  This book in our scroll picks up where Exodus left off, telling the story of the long wandonkey from Shrekdering of the Ancient Israelites.

What’s in the Book of Numbers? Korach, the dude who led a rebellion against Moses and Aaron. A seer and a talking donkey. A goodly number of marches, hither and yon.  Fiery serpents and a metal one made by Moses himself.

This Friday night we will look at the Book of Numbers in the light of the haftorah from Hosea that accompanies it’s very first parsha.

Please bring something to share at oneg!

Friday, May 22, 7:00 pm
Piedmont Unitarian Universalist Church, 9704 Mallard Creek Rd, Charlotte

ALEPHALEPH: Ruach Ha’Aretz Summer Retreat

July 6-12

Exploring Deep Ecumenism is the theme, and Rabbi Barbara is one of the teachers at this weeklong  retreat in at West Chester University in Pennsylvania.  Deep Ecumenism was a central teaching of Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l.  Deep Ecumenism teaches that all religious traditions are a way to the Holy One.

The retreat is preceded by “Getting It… Together,” a weekend celebrating the 25th anniversary of the publication of  The Jew in the Lotus with nationally recognized Jewish leaders who were part of the Jewish delegation that met with the Dalai Lama and inspired the well-known book.

For more information, head to aleph.org/ruach

Or Olam in the Loop – Our Weekly Bulletin on All Things TOO

Posted by webmaster on April 14, 2015   |   Comments Off on Or Olam in the Loop – Our Weekly Bulletin on All Things TOO

LoopYom Hashoah Program 2015

In recent years, European newspapers have reported a significant rise in acts of violence against Jews. Jews have been beaten, graves have been defaced and overturned in Jewish cemeteries, synagogues and kosher groceries attacked. Some suggest that this phenomenon is linked to tensions in the Middle East, Israel’s settlement policies, treatment of Arab citizens, and control over Palestinian territories.
Is frustration over Israel’s position and politics actually linked to the rise in antisemitism elsewhere in the world? Is Anti-Zionism simply antisemitism in disguise? Yom Hashoah candle

This year, Rabbi Barbara will lead us in exploring these difficult questions. Participants will be learning and studying together in small groups and sharing their conclusions in and with community.

Wednesday, April 15, 7:30 pm
Piedmont Unitarian Universalist Church
9704 Mallard Creek Rd, Charlotte This event is free and open to the public.

torah mantlesTorah Study, Anyone?

Did you know that some of our members get on the phone every Shabbat to talk Torah?

This week, we’ll be discussing Parshat Shimini, when two of Aaron’s sons attempt to offer a special sacrifice in the sanctuary only to be struck down. Why would God fail to accept their offering? How do we explain Moses’ insistence that Aaron dismiss his own grief?
If you are interested in joining our Torah study for one day, the occasional Saturday, or on a regular basis, please contact Ginger Jensen at gjensen.orolam@gmail.com

She will add you to our email list, send you instructions and reminders!

Kabbalat Shabbat Torah ServiceLeviticus

Despite what you may have thought, all those concerns about skin disease in Leviticus have absolutely nothing to do with hygienic issues. Neither does the priest “cure” anything. His rituals are performed only after a disease has disappeared. So what’s it all about, really?

The ancient Israelites were responding to a primal fear; one we all face.

Join us for a Kabbalat Shabbat Torah service in which we learn what they dreaded and why their efforts can help us face the same fears, thousands of years later.

We will also celebrate as Melanie Carty and Jacob Brayton are called to Torah!

Friday, April 24, 7:00 pm
Piedmont Unitarian Universalist Church, 9704 Mallard Creek Rd, Charlotte

Anybody having a yard sale??Yard sale

We have been promising a yard sale all year. Now that the perfect time is here, our preferred provider is skipping this season. Is anyone having a neighborhood-wide yard sale that would bring in a good crowd? You provide the space and any sellable stuff you want to jettison. We invite members to bring their items to your yard the previous day and others to tend the cash box on sale day.

Have an idea or a location? Email templeadmin@or-olam.org