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

Posted by webmaster on August 26, 2015   |   Comments Off on Or Olam in the Loop – Our Weekly Bulletin on All Things TOO

LoopTOO’s New Year, New Forms, New Ideas

We spent a good part of this summer taking stock of who we are and who we want to become: Results are in.  Our new membership forms are available.  Links below!

http://www.or-olam.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/New_membership_form_2015-2016-.pdf
http://www.or-olam.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Covenant_2015.pdf

Back to the Sources: Torah Care Before The Days of Awe

Our rabbi is always taking an opportunity to show us features of our Torah — up close and personal.  Now, Rabbi Barbara wants to teach us how to care for a Torah scroll.  We will take time as a community to unroll our beautiful Torah, and learn how to clean a handwritten scroll.  While we brush the surface clean, we’ll have the opportunity to revisit the Torah’s special features — including the beautiful crowns congregational members themselves placed in and around the Song at the Sea when we dedicated our new Torah!

Take advantage of this honor and help us prepare our Torah for High Holy Days (more on that, below….).  torah mantles

Date: August 30
Time: 3-4:30 pm
Location: McGill Baptist Church, 5300 Poplar Tent Road, Concord

S’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.

Brothers and Sisters in Kenya

A flamingo field at Lake Nakuru

A flamingo field at Lake Nakuru

Moshe Alhandro Mwangi is part of a tiny community of Jews in Kenya.  The community, Nakuru Molo, is nine years old, and consists of some twenty adults and children.  The community is in need of Jewish ritual items, books, and especially, children’s books.  We have been asked for our help!

Our rabbi has a package of all such items she is putting together for Moshe’s community; tuition from the High Holy Day class is being used to send that package to Africa.

If anyone has books or ritual items they would like to add to that package, please let Rabbi Barbara know at Rabbi.Thiede@or-olam.org.  She will be sending this package next Monday, August 31, so you may want to bring anything you have to add to our Torah care clinic on Sunday, August 30.

 

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

Posted by webmaster on August 17, 2015   |   Comments Off on Or Olam in the Loop – Our Weekly Bulletin on All Things TOO

LoopIn 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.

We have a good group attending, but if you would still like to join us and haven’t yet RSVP’d, you have until tomorrow,  August 18 to let us know.  Send an email to  Rabbi.Thiede@or-olam.org

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

Getting our Torah Ready For the Days of Awe

Our rabbi is always taking an opportunity to show us features of our Torah — up close and personal.  Now, Rabbi Barbara wants to teach us how to care for a Torah scroll.  We will take time as a community to unroll our beautiful Torah, and learn how to clean a handwritten scroll.  While we brush the surface clean, we’ll have the opportunity to revisit the Torah’s special features — including the beautiful crowns congregational members themselves placed in and around the Song at the Sea when we dedicated our new Torah!

Take advantage of this honor and help us prepare our Torah for High Holy Days (more on that, below….).  torah mantles

Date: August 30
Time: 3-4:30 pm
Location: McGill Baptist Church, 5300 Poplar Tent Road, Concord

S’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.

High Holy Days Around the Corner!

Our full schedule is available on our website.  Just click here for the details:

High Holy Days

Enter Elul

Posted by Rabbi Thiede on August 14, 2015   |   Comments Off on Enter Elul

ElulAs Shabbat ends tomorrow night, the month of Elul begins.  On that night, on Rosh Hodesh Elul, tradition tells us that Moses ascended Sinai one last time to prepare a second set of tablets to replace those broken after the Israelites themselves broke with God, worshipping a golden calf.  Moses descended at the end of Yom Kippur, we are told, when Israel’s repentance was complete.

It is the sixth month of the year.  Elul, the rabbis point out, is spelled ALEPH-LAMED-VAV-LAMED.  These letters, they say, are an acronym of one of the most well-known phrases of Tanakh: Ani l’dodi v’dodi li, (I am my Beloved’s and my Beloved is mine), a verse said to be spoken from the people Israel to God, Godself.

Elul, we are told, is a time when The Holy One leaves heavenly realms in order to wander on earth, walking in fields and meadows, waiting for us to approach, to confide, to speak our heart’s needs.  To be God’s beloved, we must trust in God’s love.

It might be time for a daily notation in a bedside journal.  It might be a time for a quiet, nourishing conversation with a family member.  It might be a time to practice letting go of grief and anger.

Elul is a time for loving awareness: Who is it that we long to be?  How, in the past year, did we come closer to realizing a dream of goodness and kindness?  How do we want to do better in the coming year?

May Elul reveal the answers you seek.

Rabbi Barbara

 

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

Shabbat-O-Gram – On Preparing for the Days of Awe During Elul

Posted by Rabbi Thiede on August 8, 2015   |   Comments Off on Shabbat-O-Gram – On Preparing for the Days of Awe During Elul

Elul and Psalm 27 as Recommended Reading

This year, Rosh Hodesh Elul arrives just after Shabbat ends, on August 15.

The rabbis say that Moses ascended Sinai for the last time on the night of Rosh Hodesh Elul. He went to recover the covenant, to make it anew. The first tablets had been destroyed after the terrible debacle of the Golden Calf. Hope seemed broken beyond repair.

And yet, Moses ascended. This time, God told Moses to carve the tablets. This time, the covenant would be carved and inscribed by both human and divine energies.

Elul was – and is – a month for reflection: Moses remained above with God, learning that the covenant would have to be a joint project. The Israelites stayed below, reflecting on the burdens they had schlepped into their new lives. How could they let go of things they no longer needed to carry?

The name of the month of Elul has exactly the same numeric value as the word binah, wisdom. It is a good time to reflect on the stuff of the past year, on the pain and trouble we have carried, the misguided decisions and the hasty actions we could wish away. It is a time to reflect on hopes and dreams yet unrealized, on the longing to draw near to God.

Elul: The name of this month is an acronym, so our sages say, for a well-known phrase from Song of Songs: Ani l’dodi v’dodi li: I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine. During Elul, we hear the call of our Beloved in the shofar that is sounded each day of the month in traditional communities. That primal sound awakens us, reminds us.

For what? To discover our own wisdom. To reflect on who we are now and who we long to become.

Our covenant is being rewritten and reinscribed every year. During the month of Elul, we partner with God in the renewal. As this year ends, we define what we long for in the next.

Elul: Wisdom and love. May we go up just as Moses did, and may we, like Moses, receive.

With many blessings,

Rabbi Barbara

Psalm 27

For some Jews, reading Psalm 27 is part of their daily practice during this month.  For those of you interested in a beautiful translation, here is one from the founder of Jewish Renewal, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l.

Psalm 27, as translated by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

Yah! You are my light.
You are my savior.
Whom need I dread?
Yah, with you as my strong protector who can make me panic?
When hateful bullies gang up on me, wanting to harass me, to oppress and terrorize me
They are the ones who stumble and fall.
Even if a gang surrounds me my heart is not weakened.
If a battle is joined around me my trust in You is firm.
Only one thing do I ask of You, Yah:
Just this alone do I seek, I want to be at home with you, Yah,
All the days of my life.
I want to delight in seeing You.
Seeing You when I come to visit You in Your temple.

You hide me in your sukkah on a foul day.
You conceal me unseen in Your tent.
You also raise me beyond anyone’s reach
And now, as You have held my head high despite the presence of my powerful foes
I prepare to celebrate and thrill, singing and making music to You, Yah!
Listen, Yah, to the sound of my cry
And, being kind, answer me!
My heart has said, I turn to seek you.
Your presence is what I beg for
Don’t hide Your face from me.
Don’t just put me down, You who have been my helper.
Don’t abandon me, don’t forsake me, God my support.
Though my father and my mother have left me
You, Yah, will hold me securely.
Please teach me Your way.
Teach me Your way and guide me on the straight path.
Discourage those who defame me
Because false witnesses stood up against me belching out violence.
Don’t let me become the victim of my foes.
I wouldn’t have survived
If I hadn’t hoped that I would see, yet,
Your goodness, God, fully alive on earth.
So I tell you, my friends: you too hope to Yah! Be sturdy!
And make strong your heart. And most of all, keep hoping to Yah.

 

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

Posted by webmaster on August 5, 2015   |   Comments Off on Or Olam in the Loop – Our Weekly Bulletin on All Things TOO

LoopCharlotte Pride Interfaith Service August 9

This Sunday, Rabbi Barbara and congregants will be heading down to Charlotte for the Charlotte Pride Interfaith Service

interfaithservice_posterThe theme for this year is “Love Leads the Way.”  Spiritual leaders will speak about a quality of love from their tradition.  Rabbi Barbara will be speaking about “honor.”

Please feel free to join us!

Date: August 9, 2015
Time: 4:00 pm
Location: Caldwell Presbyterian Church, 1609 E 5th St, Charlotte

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 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

Twelve Months of Tikkun Olam! (Starting August 18…)

If you have checked out our calendar lately, you will have noticed that third Sundays of every month are TOO’s tikkun olam day.  We are awaiting our exact assignment with Cabarrus County’s CCM/Mother’s and Children House.  If you’d like to join us this month, please keep 2-5 pm open on Sunday August 18th.

Once we have confirmation of the assignment we’ll send out the details.

Please let Will King, Vice President, know if your are interested in joining this month’s tikkun olam project at vicepresident@or-olam.org

 

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

Posted by webmaster on July 28, 2015   |   Comments Off on Or Olam in the Loop – Our Weekly Bulletin on All Things TOO

LoopHead to our Website Calendar for the Very Latest on TOO’s Activities!

Temple Or Olam’s calendar has been going up over the past week. You may already have noticed some important new additions.  If not, now is the time to take a look-see….

  1. We have a set day each and every month for tikkun olam projects, and they include Crop Walk, Mothers & Children Housing Ministry, Island Habitat and Community Garden projects, Clean Sweep and more. Check out the third Sundays each month for community service information.
  2. Board meetings are posted and they are a happening thing on fourth Sundays.  Members who wish to attend or put something on the agenda need only write to the president or vice president one week prior to the meeting.  Please contact President Steve Smith at President@or-olam.org or Will King at vicepresident@or-olam.org if you need to bring something to the board’s attention.
  3. Adult education programs and social events will be added over the next weeks. They may include anything from Israeli dancing to Jewish mysticism to movie nights. Stay tuned!
  4. Rabbi Barbara has been doing so much interfaith work over the years that we decided to make a note of it; most of these programs can be attended by our members, as well. More data on topics for winter and spring interfaith programs will be forthcoming soon.
  5. Torah Study remains mostly on our convenient phone-in conference line each Shabbat morning; some meetings will be taking place in person and that will be announced as we fine-tune our calendar. If you are interested in being added to our Torah Scholars list, please contact Melanie Carty, Director of Religious Services, at the following email address: religious-services@or-olam.org
  6. Services are now entered for High Holy Days and the rest of the year. We’ve also added occasional havdalah services and some creative Saturday morning services to our schedule. If you and your family are interested in more Saturday morning services (rather than Friday evening services), please, let us know now; we’ve still got wiggle room on scheduling! Contact info@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 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

 

Today’s Tisha B’Av – From Rabbi Barbara

Posted by Rabbi Thiede on July 26, 2015   |   Comments Off on Today’s Tisha B’Av – From Rabbi Barbara

Tisha B'AvDestruction.  Trauma.  Pain.  Jews mark such experience during the summer months,  on the ninth of Av.

Today is Tisha B’Av.  It is a day when many Jews fast, read the Book of Lamentations, and recall the destruction of both the First and Second Temples, both of which occurred on this day.  Many other terrors occurred on this same day: The Jews of England were expelled on Tisha B’Av in 1290 as were the Jews of Spain in 1492.  And, in recent memory, the Warsaw Ghetto was liquidated on the ninth of Av.

But many Jews neither know about Tisha B’Av or actually mark the day.  How would present-day Jews mourn for temples they would likely not want to see rebuilt?  The temples of our ancient times were sites of ritual sacrifice under the leadership of a long-gone priesthood. The vast majority of Jews in our time would not wish to return the slaughter of animals back to Jewish practice.

As we prepare for the month of Elul and our High Holy Days, we might think about what the word “temple” might mean for us.  Recently, our community meeting demonstrated  that our members are deeply concerned about the state of the temple we all inhabit — the one the earth itself provides for us.

Our earth is a sacred place and most be treated with reverence.  There is much to mourn in the way that we have harmed and even destroyed our earthly temple.  This year, we can mark Tisha B’Av as a day that reminds us of our calling: To engage in the real world, to heal in the real world.

It is important to recognize what we have lost.  It is critical that we respond with acts of teshuva — with return, with restoration, and with respect for the holy earth we inhabit.

Keyn y’hi ratzon.

Rabbi Barbara

 

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 — Tikkun Olam P.S.

Posted by webmaster on July 3, 2015   |   Comments Off on Or Olam in the Loop — Tikkun Olam P.S.

LoopA Tikkun Olam Summer Opportunity – Giving Back at McGill Baptist Church

We’ve worked out the date and time!  Temple Or Olam is going to be engaged in cleaning and organizing our host’s place.  We’ll be meeting at McGill Baptist Church on Sunday, July 12.  Our V.P. and Tikkun Olam Head Honcho, Will King, is going to have drinks and snacks available. work day

As most of you know, McGill Baptist Church has generously offered us a home for most of our communal life; we have reason to help out, be grateful, and otherwise do the kinds of things that take care of the place and nourish the space.  Please join us, and please let Will know that you will be coming at vicepresident@or-olam.org

Location: McGill Baptist Church, 5300 Poplar Tent Road, Concord

Date: Sunday, July 12

Time: 2-5 p.m.