Services

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 21, 2015   |   Comments Off on Or Olam in the Loop – Our Weekly Bulletin on All Things TOO

LoopOn Wearing White And Other Yom Kippur Traditions… A Note from Rabbi Barbara

Dear Congregants and Guests,

As we enter the Day of At-One-Ment, feel free to…

  • wear white during Yom Kippur. We dress in the clarity white brings to our spirits as we do the good work of clearing away the dross our souls have collected this past year.
  • bring and wear your tallitot. Though prayer shawls are mandated for morning services only, Kol Nidre is a single exception to that rule. We wear our prayer shawls for this service to emphasize Yom Kippur’s special holiness.
  • bring something to write with! There may be journaling opportunities during services.

I look forward to a deeply meaningful Day of Awe with you all.

Rabbi Barbara

Kol Nidre and Yom Kippur Service Schedule

All services will be held at McGill Baptist Church, 5300 Poplar Tent Road, Concord, NC

Note: TOO is also offering the chance to engage in peaceful reflection on the afternoon of Yom Kippur; Two programs will be available during that time (see below!)

  • September 22: Kol Nidre Service, 7 p.m.
  • September 23: Yom Kippur Morning Service, 10 a.m. – 12 a.m.
  • September 23: Afternoon Community Reflections, 4:30

pomegranate tree During this time we will consider what it means to nourish our community’s tree of life and wisdom.  We’ll reflect on the ways we may have deprived the tree over the past year. We will also explore what our inner Torah/tree of wisdom tells us about how we want to nourish and sustain ourselves and our community in the coming year.  Activities will include a a time of quiet contemplation – we’ll begin by dimming the lights and playing background music to foster active meditation. To this end we encourage you to bring a sleeping bag so that you can meditate and reflect comfortably.  Afterward, we will (literally!) hang the fruit of our reflections on the limbs of our TOO tree in the sanctuary.

Please join us with open hearts and minds.

  • September 23: Neilah Service: 6:30 p.m., Havdalah, and break fast

Temple Or Olam does not require tickets for attendance at our services. Suggested donations for guests to defray our rental costs are below:

Suggested donations for non-members:

  • Families: $216
  • Individuals: $108
  • Students: gratis

Please visit www.or-olam.org for more information.

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

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

Posted by webmaster on July 13, 2015   |   Comments Off on Or Olam in the Loop – Our Weekly Bulletin on All Things TOO

LoopNew Forms Formulated and Now Online!

Our new covenant and membership forms are now online.  Our new covenant was created based on a community-wide get-together in which TOO members visioned the kind of future they wanted to build together.  The results were smart, sweet, and make for good vibes all around.  You can find the forms here:

Membership form:

http://www.or-olam.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Membership_form_2015.pdf

Covenant:

http://www.or-olam.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Covenant_2015.pdf

If you are renewing your membership, please be sure to send in the forms by July 30; if you are interested applying for membership, look over the forms and send any questions to info@or-olam.org.  We are looking forward to an especially active, spiritually conscious, and peaceful new year!

High Holy Day Seminar in August

Rabbi Barbara will be offering an intensive, Shabbat morning class this August on High Holy Day liturgy, practice, and purpose.  We’ll explore chassidic readings of Elul, the month of exploration that precedes Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.  We’ll also the importance of both forgiving and asking for forgiveness at S’lichot, take a look at how Torah imagines these all-important holidays, and discover what we ourselves want to renew in ourselves for the New Year.  Look for an announcement about time, place, and other relevant data in the coming weeks…

High Holy DaysHigh Holy Day Planning Circle

This year’s High Holy Days will include a number of creative programs, including reflective journaling, meditative prayer, and even a walk in the park.  Some of our community’s members will be focusing on the planning for S’lichot and for Yom Kippur afternoon study and reflection.

Members: Are you interested in joining the planning circle?  If your creative spiritual juices need outlet, this is the place to be this August.  Let us know if you are interested by writing to our Director of Religious Services, Melanie Carty at religious-services@or-olam.org

McGill Baptist Church CleanupTikkun Olam at McGill Baptist Church

Thanks to a dedicated team of hard workers who didn’t mind getting a tad grimy, the storeroom at McGill Baptist Church is now sparkling clean, beautifully organized, and generally as near to new as we could make it.  Thanks to those who showed up for cleaning day!

 

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 May 7, 2015   |   Comments Off on Or Olam in the Loop – Our Weekly Bulletin on All Things TOO

LoopReligious School Shabbat this Friday, May 8!

Join us this Shabbat for a sweet and lovely service led by the children of our Religious School!  Each has a part, each is leading, and each student will surely give you something to smile about.

We hope to see you there, supporting the children of Temple Or Olam’s Religious School!  Our service will begin at 7 p.m. sharp and will be followed by our oneg where we can take every opportunity to congratulate the students and their teachers for a job well done.

Figures in a circle

Location: Piedmont Unitarian Universalist Church, 9704 Mallard Creek Rd, Charlotte.

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

Posted by webmaster on April 21, 2015   |   Comments Off on Or Olam in the Loop – Our Weekly Bulletin on All Things TOO

LoopKabbalat Shabbat Torah Service

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 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

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

 

 

Partaking at Pesach: What About that Quinoa?

Posted by Rabbi Thiede on April 2, 2015   |   Comments Off on Partaking at Pesach: What About that Quinoa?

Miriam Dancing MedievalMaybe the pathways of Passover are easier to walk than we have been taught.

What does Torah tell us?  Not as much as you might think, actually.  In Exodus 13:3, we learn that the Israelites  may not eat chamatz during Pesach (Passover).

Chametz is leaven made from five grains known at the time: chitim (wheat), seorim (barley), kusmin (rice wheat), shibolet shual (millet, oats, or two-rowed barley), and shifon (spelt wheat or oat).

So then: Jews should not be eating chametz. That’s wheat, barley, rye, oats and spelt — if they have been sitting in water for more than 18 minutes. Water exposure for longer than 18 minutes creates the chemical reaction we know in common parlance as leavening. Some grains are processed using water. If you want to eat oatmeal for breakfast, look for the designation “kosher for Pesach” or “kasher l’pesach” and warm up your porridge (quickly…).

But what about kasha or quinoa or rice? What about corn, peas, lentils, and beans?  These items are classed as kitniyot which all Jews can have in the house during the hag (festival) but which Ashkenazi Jews typically won’t eat.

Why? European rabbis may have ruled against eating kitniyot because they are often made into edible items that look like chametz (e.g. cornbread). Another explanation: These items were stored in the same sacks as five grains and rabbis were afraid the one would be contaminated by chametz from the other. And finally, the rabbis worried that if farmers alternated kityinot crops with forbidden chametz grains the two could get mixed together.

But way back in 1988, Rabbi David Golinkin noted that the many additional prohibitions observed by Ashkenazim were not that old in the grand scheme of Jewish history. Before the 13th century the Jews of Europe appear to have had no compunction whatsoever about eating kityinot during Pesach. Sephardi and Mizrachi Jews never joined their Ashkenazi brethren in expanding the list of prohibited foods.

Rabbi Golinken felt that the prohibitions detracted from the joy of the holiday by limiting the number of permitted foods. He added that prohibitions against eating kityinot caused exorbitant price rises, that they emphasized the insignificant at the expense of paying attention to the significant (chametz), and that they caused unnecessary divisions between Israel’s different ethnic groups.

Does it make sense to prohibit food items that were entirely unknown in Torah times? Can we imagine the Ancient Israelites worrying about whether they could eat soybeans and sweetcorn? These items were unknown to the medieval authorities some Ashkenazi rabbis claim to be following when they proscribe them from our Pesach diet.

Rabbis have asked: Why insist on adding restrictions when Torah itself permits us to eat kityinot?

We don’t.

So if you see soy or rice at Temple Or Olam’s Passover seder, please be aware that our congregation cares about observing the festival as Torah asks us to. Joyfully!

What you won’t see is chametz, because that is what Torah prohibits. No more. No less.

Chag sameach!

Rabbi Barbara

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

Posted by Rabbi Thiede on April 1, 2015   |   Comments Off on Or Olam in the Loop – Our Weekly Bulletin on All Things TOO

LoopMaking it Real, Not Rote: Temple Or Olam Community Seder

We’ll be engaging in plenty of new interactive exercises that will help us tell our story, understand it in our own terms, and learn how and why it can tell us how to be the kind of community and the kinds of menschy people we long to be.

Join us for a family-friendly seder that promises to be thought-provoking, fun, and a true learning experience.

All members were issued an evite and a link to the SignUpGenius for Seder preparation and buffet offerings. We are also thrilled to have quite a few guests joining us.

Seder plate
Several members have RSVP’ed to attend but did not note what food they want to bring. Please check the link below and tell us what delicious Passover dish you want to share. We are preparing to feed 45 people, 8 of which are children.
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0b48aba928a1f49-orolam

Sunday, April 5, 5:00 pm
Piedmont Unitarian Universalist Church
9704 Mallard Creek Rd, Charlotte

Yom Hashoah 2015  Yom Hashoah candle

In recent years, European newspapers have reported a significant rise in acts of violence against Jews. In January and February of 2015 alone, Jews have been beaten, graves have been defaced and overturned in Jewish cemeteries, and Jews attending synagogue or going shopping have been murdered. Polls across the continent demonstrate a rise in antisemitism.

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?

This year, Temple Or Olam will mark Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, with a program that seeks to explore 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

Thanks to All for Helping us Do the Crowd-Sourcing…Thanks

Our ability to confidently pay our obligations, including the rabbi’s contract, rental agreements at Advent Lutheran and PUUC, and the like, comes from all of you who are paying your dues as you pledged to do. Thank you so much! The last email invoice for the year will be coming your way next week if you still owe dues for 2014-15.

Figures in a circleAnnual Meeting – Food, Fun (Really!) and a Request: Please Put it on Your Calendar!

What will we raffle off this year?  What will we feed you?

And most important, how will be ensure that we have fun while…electing officers, approve the budget and rabbi’s contract?  Stay tuned, we’ll let you know…

Sunday, June 7
5:00 pm
Piedmont Unitarian Universalist Church
9704 Mallard Creek Rd, Charlotte