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But if two sit together and words of Torah are uttered,
God's indwelling presense, the Shechina, abides between them.
Mishnah 2
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The
Temple Or Olam Shmoozeletter
November 09, 2008 - 11 Cheshvan, 5768
Volume
VI, Issue 2
[Note
from Reb Barbara] [New Members] [Services]
[School Excursion] [Hillel
Beatles Service] [December events] [Yahrzeits]
[Birthdays]
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And Yet...
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 We
can pile up the reasons for cynicism, for exhaustion, for a life lived
in a precious celebration of individuality. We can make it all about
ourselves, and pursue comfort, security and personal contentment.
"And yet," as
Elie
Wiesel says. And yet, most of us figure it out at some point in our
lives: We need more than the satisfaction we gain with our jobs well
done, our homes kept warm and our stomachs full. We need to be a part of
something grander, something that gives us the opportunity to be better
human beings.
Recently, I got an email from one of our
congregants, who wrote: “I am very selfish when it comes to Or Olam. My
involvement with the congregation is something that I need... [it] makes
me a better person.”
Our congregants include folks born Jewish,
individuals who came to Judaism later in life, and spouses whose Jewish
partners have brought them into our midst. Our Jewish congregation
includes many a ger toshav, a righteous non-Jew living alongside
Jews. We are grateful for their full and welcome participation in our
community.
This email came from just such a person.
This congregant believes that who we are and
what we aspire to be at Temple Or Olam fills a critical human
need – a need for community and moral purpose, a need for expressing a
connection to God or, simply, the godly in us.
Keyn y’hi Ratzon – May it (ever) be
so.
Shalom,
Reb Barbara |
The Jacobson Family, the Quintero Family, Kim Jordan, and William King
We would like to issue a warm welcome to our newest
members. In addition to the enthusiasm it takes to help at the school (or dance
at our celebrations), the Jacobson family has brought us three thoughtful new
students to the New School for All Things Jewish (Phillip, Jing-Jing, and
Ling-Ling) and the Quintero's have brought us a new baby to cuddle and coddle
(who hasn’t delighted in Gabriel’s dimples, his sweet smiles, and his open
arms?). Will and Kim have brought dedication and commitment we are grateful to
receive. May we deserve you all!
Second Friday Family Service: Baruchim Haba'im
Blessed are they that have arrived...
November 14, 2008
“Looking up, he saw three men standing near
him.. As soon as he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet
them…” (Genesis 18:2)
Parsha Va’yera: Abraham demonstrates the
enormous importance of hospitality to strangers. Tonight’s service will
center around this mitzvah. As we welcome Shabbat, how do we learn to
welcome those who come to us, those who need our help, those who look for
our support?
Fourth Friday Adult Service: Thanksgiving Potluck and Parsha Toldot
But what big eyes you have, Grandma...
November 29, 2008
Parsha Toldot certainly does evoke the
little girl and the wolf. “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands
are the hands of Esau,” Isaac quavers. No wonder the patriarch is
confused. Jacob shows up dressed as Esau with food prepared by Rebecca. Esau
comes in to visit with his father bringing his own measure of half-truths
and bitter burdens.
It’s another typical family gathering -- filled
with drama and comic tragedies. Join us as we chant through scenes of
confusion and despair and sit down to a little Torah study thereafter. Who
really deserved to be blessed?
It’s also our annual Thanksgiving service. So
please, bring your leftover sweet potato pie and green bean casserole and
we’ll all give thanks once more for all that we have.
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Event: |
Fourth Friday Adult Service
-- child care provided -- |
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Date: |
November 28, 2008 |
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Time: |
7:00 p.m. |
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Location: |
McGill Baptist
Church
5300 Poplar Tent Rd.
Concord NC 28027 -9757
map
directions
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...heads to Mudslinger's Pottery
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What a year we are having!
What an incredible year we’ve been having. Our Torah
Study has produced a number of oversized drash pages (check them out at
services, please). We’ve been watching delightedly as our children sailed
through their independent Hebrew learning, enjoyed a delicious taste of a modern
version of Jacob’s stew, and enjoyed our Jewish ethics and tzedakkah project
(the children are raising money to help pay someone’s power bill this December
as their Hanukah gift to the community).
This November, the kids are taking a flex day to
head to Concord’s
Mudslinger’s Pottery to make their own clay dreidels. Really. We’re hoping
to display their work at one of our Hanukah celebrations in December. Another
something to look forward to from the kids at The New School for All things
Jewish!
November 21, 2008
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Temple Or Olam’s
band, Musika Olam (Hebrew for Music of/for/to the
world/universe/eternity), has created a DVD recording from our first Beatles
Service.
So if others want a copy, we’re ready for a mere
$18. Let us know
if you’re interested by replying to this email and we’ll be happy to oblige.
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Visit a Jewish worship service, and you may feel
utterly unsure of what’s happening. People are singing in a language you’ve
never heard, inexplicably standing up to say some prayers and sitting during
others.
Still: There’s an extraordinary order and beauty
underlying the order of the Friday night service wecloming the Jewish Sabbath.
UNC-Charlotte’s Hillel
has asked Temple or Olam to deliver its inventive approach to making sense of
the Jewish worship service on November 21. We’ll be interpreting each part of
the service with a different Fab Four song. Imagine a mi sheberach prayer
for healing with a soft rendition of “Blackbird,” a decision to interpret God’s
commandment to love the godly with … well, we’ll let you guess which tune seemed
right to us.
The public is invited to the event, and we will send
out more information on location a.s.a.p. But you can already mark your
calendar!
Please join us as we take one Shabbat for traveling
on our own Magical Mystery Tour…. |
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Event: |
Beatles Service |
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Date: |
November 21, 2008 |
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Time: |
8:00 p.m. |
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Location: |
To
be announced |
Upcoming Events
Including our annual Interfaith holiday bash with
McGill Baptist Church, our own Happy Hanukah Hoe-down and Talent Show, a
singalong Shabbat morning Shabbat (yes, there will be bagels and lox), and
more….
Keep your eyes, please, on our home page for
updates.
Cheshvan 5769
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If you would like to make donations in the
memory or in honor of someone you love, please send them to: |
Dewey
Mace
(father of Stan Mace)
Wilhelm Thiede (father of Ralf Thiede)
Hulda
Dörzbach
(mother of Ruth Kingberg) |
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Julie Gardner
5339 Bendix Ct.
Harrisburg, NC 28075-3902 |
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November 11 |
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Brian Cutler |
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November 12 |
Richard Jacobson |
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November 15 |
Lisa Boguslaw |
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November 23 |
Philip Jacobson |
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November 24 |
Stan Mace |
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November 26 |
Alyssa Rose Gardner |
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November 29 |
Samuel Leder |
