Celebrating the High Holidays in Charlotte

Tova הבוט הנשל

Celebrating High Holidays In Charlotte

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

Families with School-Age Children, 8:30 a.m.

Rosh Hashanah Morning Service, 11 a.m.

Tashlich Across Charlotte, 4:30 p.m.

Yom Kippur Morning Service for Families with School-Age Children, 8:30 a.m.

Yom Kippur Morning Service, 11 a.m.

Saturday, September 30

Torah Study/Sukkot Sojourn: In the Footsteps of Our Ancestors, 9 a.m./10 a.m.

James Boyce Park

Services will be held at 5101 Providence Rd, Charlotte, NC 28226 unless noted otherwise).

Saturday, September 9

Selichot: Service of Return, Repentance and Renewal (joint program with Temple Israel), 8 p.m.

Temple Beth El and TBE Livestream

Friday, September 15

Rosh Hashanah Evening Service, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, September 16

Rosh Hashanah Morning Service for Families with Young Children, 8:30 a.m.

LJCC – Gorelick Hall

Rosh Hashanah Morning Service for

Arboretum with Rabbi Knight and Cantor Roskin, Dogwood Park with Cantor Thomas, and Freedom Park with Rabbi Erdheim and Rabbi Nichols

Friday, September 22

Shabbat Shuvah Service, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, September 24

Kol Nidre: Yom Kippur Evening Service, 7:30 p.m.

Monday, September 25

Yom Kippur Morning Service for Families with Young Children, 8:30 a.m., Gorelick Hall at Shalom Park

Rosh Hashanah Morning Service, 9 a.m.

Morris & Sylvia Speizman Sanctuary and Livestream

Tashlich, 1 p.m. (approx.) Creek by Temple Israel

Evening Service, 7 p.m.

Mindy Ellen Levine Chapel

Sunday, September 24

VISION. REFLECT. MOVE. Our TBE. Our Future., 2 p.m. Write Now on Yom Kippur, 2 p.m.

Yom Kippur Yoga, 2 p.m. Gorelick Hall at Shalom Park

Healing, Yizkor, Neilah, and Havdalah, 3:30 .p.m

Friday, September 29

Shabbat and Sukkot Evening Service and Congregational Picnic in the Sukkah, 6 p.m.

Teen Sukkah Hang-Out, 6 p.m.

Young Adult Sukkot Cookout, 6 p.m. Offsite

Wednesday, October 4 SPICE Lunch in the Sukkah, 12 p.m.

Friday, October 6

Kehillat Shabbat and Simchat Torah with Special Celebration of our Recent B’nei Mitzvah, 6 p.m.

Saturday, October 7

Tot Simchat Torah, 9:30 a.m.

Festival Morning Service with Yizkor, 10:30 a.m.

To learn more and register, please visit www.templebethel.org/highholydays. Questions? Please contact the TBE office at info@templebethel.org or call (704) 366-1948.

Saturday, September 9

Selichot: Service of Return, Repentance and Renewal (joint program with Temple Beth El), 8 p.m.

Temple Beth El and TBE Livestream

Friday, September 15

Erev Rosh Hashanah Service, 6:15 p.m.

Morris & Sylvia Speizman Sanctuary and Livestream

Saturday, September 16

Rosh Hashanah Family Service, 9 a.m.

Morris & Sylvia Speizman Sanctuary and Livestream

Traditional Shacharit Service, 9 a.m.

Mindy Ellen Levine Chapel

Rosh Hashanah Morning Service, beginning with Torah Service, 10 a.m.

Morris & Sylvia Speizman Sanctuary and Livestream

Rosh Hashanah Evening Service, 7 p.m.

Mindy Ellen Levine Chapel

Sunday, September 17

Young Families: Rosh Hashanah PreSchool Program, 9 a.m.

Sam Lerner Center at Shalom Park

Kol Nidre, Yom Kippur Evening Service, 7 p.m. (seated by 6:45 p.m.)

Morris & Sylvia Speizman Sanctuary and Livestream

Monday, September 25

Yom Kippur Family Service, 9 a.m.

Morris & Sylvia Speizman Sanctuary and Livestream

Traditional Shacharit Service, 9 a.m.

Mindy Ellen Levine Chapel

Yom Kippur Morning Service beginning with Torah Service, 10 a.m.

Morris & Sylvia Speizman Sanctuary and Livestream

Young Families: Yom Kippur PreSchool Program, 10:45 a.m. Sam Lerner Center at Shalom Park

Yizkor, 11:30 a.m. (approximately)

Morris & Sylvia Speizman Sanctuary

Study Session with Rabbi Wolk, 4 p.m.

Mindy Ellen Levine Chapel Mincha Service, 5 p.m.

Morris & Sylvia Speizman Sanctuary and Livestream

Neilah & Shofar Blast, 6:30 p.m. Morris & Sylvia Speizman Sanctuary and Livestream

Break Fast, 8 p.m.

Leon & Sandra Levine Social Hall (Reservations Required)

Friday, September 29

Erev Sukkot Service, 6:15 p.m. Morris & Sylvia Speizman Sanctuary and Livestream

Southern Fried Sukkot , 7:15 p.m. (Reservations Requred)

TI Sukkah

Saturday, September 30

Sukkot Morning Service, 9:30 a.m. Morris & Sylvia Speizman Sanctuary and Livestream

Young Families:Sukkot Pre-School Program, 10 a.m.

TI Sukkah

Kiddush, following services

TI Sukkah

Evening Minyan, 5:30 p.m.

Mindy Ellen Levine Chapel

Sunday, October 1

Sukkot Morning Service, 9:30 a.m. Morris & Sylvia Speizman Sanctuary and Livestream

Kiddush, following services

TI Sukkah

Evening Minyan, 5:30 p.m.

Mindy Ellen Levine Chapel

Monday, October 2

Evening Minyan, 7 p.m.

Mindy Ellen Levine Chapel

Friday, October 6

Hoshanah Rabbah Service, 8 a.m.

Morris & Sylvia Speizman Sanctuary and Livestream

Erev Shemini Atzeret Service, 6:15 p.m.

Morris & Sylvia Speizman Sanctuary and Livestream

Saturday, October 7 Shemini Atzeret Service – Yizkor, 9:30 a.m.

Morris & Sylvia Speizman Sanctuary and Livestream

Kiddush, following services

TI Sukkah

Young Families: Simchat Pre-School Program, 5 p.m.

Mindy Ellen Levine Chapel

Evening Minyan, 5:30 p.m.

Morris & Sylvia Speizman Sanctuary (in-person only)

Simchat Torah Food Truck Festival, 5:45 p.m. (Reservations Required)

TI Sukkah and Inner Parking Lot

Simchat Torah Dancing with The Torahs, 7 p.m.

TI Inner Parking Lot (in-person only)

Sunday, October 8

Simchat Torah Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.

Morris & Sylvia Speizman Sanctuary

Kiddush, following services (Reservations Required)

TI Sukkah

Evening Minyan, 5:30 p.m.

Mindy Ellen Levine Chapel

Services will be held at 4901 Providence Road, Charlotte, NC 28226 (unless noted otherwise). For a complete listing of services and events, tickets, and information call (980) 960-2380 or email Kelly at kwilson@templeisraelnc.org.

Community

10:30 a.m.

TEMPLE ISRAEL

TEMPLE BETH EL

Celebrating High Holidays In Charlotte

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

Saturday, September 16

Rosh Hashanah Day 1 Morning Service, 9 a.m. (No Shofar) Mincha and Evening Service, 7 p.m. (Candle lighting after 8:07 p.m.)

CONGREGATION OHR HATORAH

Saturday, September 9 Selichot Service, Just after midnight.

Friday, September 15

Erev Rosh Hashanah Evening Service, 7 p.m. (Candle lighting at 7:12 p.m.)

Sunday, September 17

Rosh Hashanah Day 2 Morning Service, 9 a.m. Shofar Service, 11:30 a.m.

Special Children, Teen, and Adult Beginner’s Services, 10:30 a.m. Mincha and Evening Service, 7 p.m.

Monday, September 18

Fast of Gedaliah, Fast begins, 5:48 a.m. Fast ends, 7:52 p.m.

Saturday, September 16

Rosh Hashanah Day 1 Morning Service, 10 a.m.

Sunday, September 17

THE UPTOWN CHABAD

Friday, September 15

Rosh Hashanah Evening Service, 6:15 p.m.

Young Professional Rosh Hashanah Dinner, 7 p.m.

Sunday, September 24 Eve of Yom Kippur, Kol Nidre Service, 6:30 p.m.

Candle Lighting and Beginning of Fast, 6:59 p.m.

Monday, September 25

Yom Kippur Morning Service, 9 a.m. Yizkor Service at 11:30 a.m.

Special Children, Teen, and Adult Beginner’s Services, 10:30 a.m. Mincha, 5 p.m. Fast ends, 7:53 p.m.

To let us know you’re coming, please email us at deb@chabadnc.org or visit www.chabadnc.org/daysofawe.

Friday, September 15

Erev Rosh Hashanah Service, 7 p.m.

Saturday, September 16

Rosh Hashanah Service, 9 a.m. Junior Congregation, 10 a.m.

Sunday, September 24

Kol Nidre, 7 p.m.

Monday, September 25

Yom Kippur Service, 9 a.m.

Junior Congregation, 10 a.m. Neilah, 4 p.m.

Tickets are included in TKA membership but non-members are welcome to purchase tickets and join us as well. Military and college students are invited to worship with us for free. Rosh Hashanah services will be taking place at Unity Presbyterian Church 303 Tom Hall St. Fort Mill, SC. Yom Kippur services will be taking place at Philadelphia United Methodist Church 1691 SC-160, Fort Mill, SC, 29708. Further information about junior congregation services, Tashlich, Yizkor and Break Fast can be found on our website at www.templekolamisc.org.

Rosh Hashanah Day 2 Morning Service, 10 a.m. Tashlich Service, 5 p.m.

Sunday, September 24 Kol Nidre, 6:45 p.m.

Monday, September 25

Yom Kippur Morning Service,10 a.m. Yizkor, 11:30 p.m.

Yom Kippur Evening Service, 6 p.m. Break the Fast, 8 p.m.

There will be no shofar sounding due to Shabbat. Morning service followed by Kiddush lunch .

Sunday, September 17 Morning Service, 9 a.m.

Children’s Program, 11 a.m.

BALLANTYNE

JEWISH CENTER

Friday, September 15

Rosh Hashanah Evening Service, 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, September 16 Morning Services, 9 a.m.

Children’s Program, 11 a.m.

Rabbi’s Sermon, 11 a.m.

Rabbi’s Sermon & Shofar Blowing, 11 a.m. Morning service followed by Kiddush lunch.

Rosh Hashanah services will take place at the South Charlotte Banquet Center 9009 Bryant Farms Rd., Charlotte, NC, 28277

Sunday, September 17

Tashlich, 3:30 p.m.

Tashlich location to be announced at a later date (see website for information as the day grows closer). Bring bread crumbs to use during service.

HAVURAT TIKVAH

Saturday, September 16

Rosh Hashanah Morning Service, 10 a.m.

Service followed by Kiddush, kosher/ veggie/dairy/parve potluck lunch

Sunday, September 24

Kol Nidre, 7 p.m.

Must be seated by 6:45 p.m.

Monday, September 25 Morning Service, 10 a.m. Yizkor, 1 p.m. (approx.)

Connect with your soul and Creator with services conducted in English and Hebrew. Enjoy simultaneous insights and explanations into the prayers, practices, and rituals.

Join us for intimate Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services exclusively for young adults. Location to be confirmed.

To register for any of these events, email motti@theuptownchabad.com or visit theuptownchabad.com.

Friday, September 15 Erev Rosh Hashanah Service, 7 p.m.

Saturday, September 16

Children’s Service, 9 a.m. Rosh Hashanah Service, 10 a.m. Tashlich, 3 p.m.

Sunday, September 24

Kol Nidre, Yom Kippur Evening Service, 7 p.m.

Monday, September 25

Children’s Service, 9 a.m. Yom Kippur Morning Service, 10 a.m.

Healing Service, 2 p.m. Afternoon Service, 3:30 p.m. Yizkor, 4:30 p.m. Neilah, 5:30 p.m. Break the Fast, 6 p.m.

Check out www.templekoltikvah.org for more information. For tickets, call (704) 987-9980 or email admin@templekoltikvah.org.

Sunday, September 24 Kol Nidre Service, 6:30 p.m.

Monday, September 25 Morning Service, 10 a.m. Children’s Program, 11 a.m. Yizkor Memorial Service, 12 p.m. Neilah Closing Service, 6:30 p.m. Fast Ends, 7:53 p.m. Services followed by light break fast

Yom Kippur services will take place at Courtyard Waverly 6319 Providence Farm Ln., Charlotte NC 28277. Everyone is welcome free of charge and reservations are not required. Register at www.JewishBallantyne.com/ HH2023

Healing Service, 6 p.m. Neilah/Concluding Service, 6:50 p.m. Break the Fast - kosher/veggie/ dairy/parve potluck, Immediately after Neilah, 7:54 p.m.

All services located at Avondale Presbyterian Church MacLean Fellowship Hall, 2821 Park Rd., Charlotte, NC 28209 (unless otherwise noted). For more information, email admin@havurattikvah.org or visit the website at havurattikvah.org.

Services will be held at Grace Presbyterian Church at 2955 W. Hwy 160, Fort Mill, SC 29708.

Friday, September 15 Erev Rosh Hashanah Service, 7 p.m.

Saturday, September 16 Rosh Hashanah Service, 10 a.m.

THE RUACH COMMUNITY

The Days of Awe Experience Modern Services Built on Jewish Tradition

Saturday, September 16 Rosh Hashanah Morning Service, 10 a.m.

Friday, September 22 Shabbat Shuvah Service, 7 p.m.

Sunday, September 24 Yom Kippur Kol Nidre Service, 7 p.m.

Monday, September 25 Yom Kippur Morning Service, 10 a.m. Yiskor Service, 3 p.m. Afternoon Service, 4 p.m.

All are welcome to any of these services. For more information visit www.templesolelsc.org or email us at info@templesolelsc.org.

The Historic Great Aunt Stella Center, 926 Elizabeth Avenue, Charlotte 28204

Sunday, September 24 Kol Nidre Service, 7 p.m.

The New Theater in the Parr Center at CPCC, 1201 Elizabeth Avenue, Charlotte, NC 28204

Services are free of charge; no tickets or membership required For more information contact the.ruach.band@gmail.com.

TEMPLE KOL AMI

TEMPLE KOL TIKVAH OF LAKE NORMAN

TEMPLE SOLEL

Celebrating High Holidays In Charlotte FROM THE BIMAH

A Countercultural Celebration

the kids in the grade above us and wondered if we would ever be as big and as cool as them. We looked forward to the start of a new school year, and then winter break, and the summer break, and then the next school year. From the beginning of life, we measured our lives in terms of all the milestones and goalposts that were just around the corner, and we looked ever forward.

By Rabbi Becca Diamond, Temple Kol Tikvah

As children, we were always looking ahead. We counted the inches we grew each year and looked to the next inch. We saw

As adults, our path becomes less clear. Although there may still be markers of what’s next, everyone’s path is different. There is no set road that we all walk as if in a straight line. The only goals we have to reach are the ones we make for ourselves.

Maybe we are working towards a promotion at work. Maybe we are saving up to buy a house. Maybe we are learning how to speak another language. The possibilities are endless! As an adult, there is so much freedom, and we can determine the direction of our lives. But with this freedom also comes uncertainty. It is the feeling of opening up a notebook to a blank page, and not knowing what words to start with. In many ways, it is much easier to follow the markers on a well-worn trail than to bushwhack your own way through a forest.

The thing that makes this so difficult is the idea of intention. Intention means doing things

Discovering the Real You

of the Year.

Why is the word head used?

Why not say the first of the year?

The word head is by design, to indicate that Rosh Hashanah is indeed the head of the year. Just as the head leads, guides, and controls the rest of the body, so, too, do the holy days of Rosh Hashanah lead, guide, and control the rest of the year.

self-transformation in a positive way. That is why Jews the world over gather in synagogues to stand before G-d and pray for a good and blessed year. But most of all, they come face-to-face with themselves.

with purpose, which requires thinking about what you want to be doing and planning for it. Intention is the name of the game during the High Holidays. We spend this time reflecting on our past year, and taking the time to sift through our inner selves, accounting for the parts we like and the parts that aren’t so pleasant. In addition to thinking about our mistakes, this can also be a time to think about what we want from life, and to plan for the future. It is a gift: time to reflect, to sit with ourselves, and to take stock of whether the path we’re traveling is the path we actually want to be on.

On Erev Yom Kippur, we chant Kol Nidre, all our vows.

really are?

By Rabbi Yossi Groner, Congregation Ohr HaTorah

On Rosh Hashanah we usher in the New Year of 5784. The Hebrew word “rosh” translates in English as ‘head’, thus Rosh Hashanah translates as the Head

That is why there is a higher level of Divine consciousness on Rosh Hashanah, culminating with Yom Kippur, as these holy days have a unique energy that encapsulates all the days of the year.

It is a time of self-reflection which can and should lead to

Finding the “real me” is not as easy as we think. The real me dwells in the depth of my heart, which is covered and concealed by layers of shells. It creates an external facade with which I identify, obstructing the true encounter with the real me.

This is especially challenging in current times when there is a perceived identity crisis, collectively and perhaps individually.

So how do we know who we

As Jewish people, we recognize that we are more than just what we appear to be. Our inner being is our soul, which is in essence a part of the Divine. Our morning prayers begin daily with the recognition of the G-dly soul inserted into our bodies. This soul is granted to us by G-d, she is pure and gentle, and is created in a way that she can interface with our bodies in perfect harmony.

The Zohar (Early Book of Kabbalah) states that the soul, in essence, is who we are. Our body is like a garment to the soul that allows the soul to interact in this physical world.

Each human soul is unique and has been custom designed and is therefore individualistic with its own set of talents, strengths, and capabilities. Another essential aspect of the soul is that it is constantly connected to its source. There is a constant flow of divine energy which allows the person to rejuvenate and the soul to refresh itself.

There are many benefits of being in touch with our soul. First and foremost, it gives us a sense of purpose in life. We are not just an accident of being, we are here for a reason, our life has meaning more than just material success, our mere existence is part of

Shana tova!

In this prayer, instead of asking to be forgiven for the vows we cannot keep from the past year, we actually ask this of the vows we have yet to make in the coming year. The implication is that instead of looking backward, we are looking forward to our future actions. During this High Holiday season, let us remember to look in both directions. We take stock of our past actions, and also look towards the future to determine what path we want to travel.

G-d’s divine plan.

It also allows us to put life in general in perspective and especially when we face challenges or obstacles in our journey of life. What’s more, the soul does not suffer from an identity crisis, as it knows itself well.

Our challenge is to free ourselves from the external and sometimes artificial obstructions that will free our soul to lead us and inspire us, which will refresh our sense of who we are. This can restore our sense of self-confidence and sense of self-worth and improve our sensitivity to the needs of others.

This is what we can and should focus on during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Beyond just asking for our materialistic needs, we should focus on our inner, true selves. This will have a greater benefit for society as well. Less strife, more positivity, and kindness in our world.

Ktivah Vachatima Tova!

Celebrating High Holidays In Charlotte

Unfinished Walls: Embracing Life’s Unfinished Journey Through the High Holy Days

unfinished.

In Talmudic lore, we find a parable of Honi the Circle Drawer, a man who planted a carob tree knowing that he would not live to see it bear fruit. This act of faith, of understanding that some endeavors go beyond our own timeline, reminds us of our role within the continuous thread of existence. We, too, are gardeners in life, sowing seeds we may never see bloom. Each of us can plant a legacy.

By Rabbi Asher Knight, Temple Beth El

The Jewish calendar with its cyclical rhythms usher in a profound pause with the High Holy Days. These Days of Awe are a time for introspection, seeking forgiveness, and looking forward. Yet, the sacred journey of this season also serves to illuminate an existential truth: our lives are beautifully and necessarily

To further understand our unfinished nature, we journey back to 70 CE. The Second Temple, the vibrant heart of our Jewish tradition, was ruthlessly destroyed by the Romans. This act of destruction was not merely a loss of a structure; it was a brutal rupture in our spiritual and communal existence. The sense of grief and disorientation was overwhelming. Yet, through this

abyss of chaos and despair, the Sages of that generation delivered a remarkable edict: Jews should leave a portion of their houses unpainted and unfinished. This teaching is a tangible embodiment of our collective tragedy, a vivid reminder carried within our everyday spaces. The rabbis chose to memorialize the pain in our lives, to make us confront it every day, to recognize and absorb it, to learn from it rather than denying or avoiding it.

The High Holy Days offer us a mirror to this unfinished nature of our lives, to the realization that we are works in progress. This sacred season is not about presenting a perfect self but about acknowledging our shortcomings, our missed marks, our unresolved issues. It encourages us to reflect on all the ways we’ve hurt and been hurt,

Finding the Awe in Awesome

composer, and statesman) visited the site accompanied by the director of the museum and the international press, all of whom had come in the hope that he would play the piano. When he entered the room, he gazed at the piano in silent contemplation for almost fifteen minutes. The director of the museum then invited him to play the piano, but with tears welling in his eyes Paderewski declined, saying that he was not worthy even to touch it.

er challenge to find meaning, and even failing health.

An article in “The Wall Street Journal” describes how current research shows that the capacity to feel awe makes people more empathetic, generous, kind, and humble. The actual feeling of awe and the experiences that inspire it makes us healthier, improves our relationships, and gives more meaning to our lives.

the ways we’ve disappointed or been disappointed, the ways we’ve failed and succeeded.

The High Holy Days are a spiritual space where our unfinished selves are not a source of shame, but a call for introspection, growth, and compassion. We, people on our individual journeys, should anticipate that we have the inner work of our souls left undone.

As we embark on this season of reflection, repentance, and repair, we invite you to contemplate: How can we live amidst this brokenness and incompleteness? How can we embrace our unfinished tasks without being shattered or depressed, but rather find in them a compass for direction, a catalyst for deeper connections, and a source of purposeful intention?

As we step into the New Year, 5784, we are all like Honi, plant-

ing seeds for a future we might not witness, but a legacy that we want to be remembered by. Each unpainted wall in the home of our soul, is an invitation for growth and learning - a potent reminder of our potential and resilience.

May we approach the New Year with an open heart, stepping into our unfinished spaces with courage, curiosity, and compassion. May we use these lessons from our past to strengthen our resolve, to nurture our resilience, and to inspire us towards a hopeful future of legacy and love.

L’Shana Tovah!

By Rabbi Chanoch Oppenheim, Charlotte Torah Center

The story is told about a group of students from Vassar College who visited the Beethoven Museum in Bonn, Germany. One of the students saw Beethoven’s piano and couldn’t resist the temptation to ask a museum guard if she could play it for a moment. He agreed (for a generous “tip” of course). She proceeded to play several bars of Moonlight Sonata. When she finished, she asked the guard if any great pianists over the years have come here to play the piano. He replied that just two years ago, Ignacy Paderewski (a Polish pianist,

The young student saw the piano and thought it would be cool to casually play it. Paderewski was in a room with Beethoven’s piano and was frozen with awe.

Researchers believe we are living in a time of awe deprivation. We FaceTime with people on the other side of the globe, have search engines accessing millions of pages of information in nanoseconds, and use global satellites to find the quickest route and avoid traffic, without giving it a second thought. We have gone from calling technology “awesome,” to reacting to everything by saying (or thinking) “eh.” The byproducts of being awe-deprived are increased arrogance, decreased empathy, great-

“Awe is an emotional response to something vast, and it challenges and expands our way of seeing the world. It might be triggered by an encounter with nature, a religious experience, a concert,a political rally, or a sports event. We’re not likely to find it on a treadmill at the gym.”

Some experience awe at the birth of a child, others by watching a meteor shower, others through visiting a majestic pine forest in California, and others who found it awe-inspiring to work with homeless people and witness their resilience and kindness. Dr. Dacher Keltner from UC Berkeley found that feeling awe can help fight depression and can even help reduce inflammation in the body. Dr. Paul Piff from UC Irvine explained that

“awe minimizes our individual identity and attunes us to things bigger than ourselves.”

We are currently counting down toward the Days of Awe. On Rosh Hashanah, we will coronate G-d as King of the Universe and remind ourselves of His awesome omnipotence. On Yom Kippur, we will be evaluated and judged to determine if we are fulfilling our role in His renewed kingdom and the purpose for which we were created.

But we will only be moved by the awesomeness of these days if we still have the capacity for awe, reverence, and veneration. If everything is so utterly unimpressive, uninspiring, and ordinary, these days will be ritualistic and ceremonial, empty and devoid of meaning and transformation.

We, the Jewish people, are charged to live life with the opposite attitude and approach. Our mission is to live life with awe and see ourselves as a small part of something much greater. Our charge is to see and create meaning and purpose, to lift up, build, admire, revere, and venerate that which is worthy and important in the world.

Preparing for the Days of Awe includes working to defeat our inner coldness and cynicism and, simultaneously, building our capacity to see that which is impressive, remarkable, and praiseworthy in people, places, and things all around us. In short, to reeducate ourselves in being sensitive to finding the awe in awesome.

For the remainder of this month until Rosh Hashanah, let’s look at,study, contemplate, admire, and experience something that makes you feel and think “Wow! That’s awesome.” “That is incredible.” “That is humbling.”

Albert Einstein is quoted as saying, “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle, the other is as though everything is a miracle.” As we prepare for the Days of Awe, let’s choose to see everything as a miracle and be filled with awe as a result.

Shana tova u’metuka/May you have a year of health, happiness, friendship—and awe.

Celebrating High Holidays In Charlotte

Living Where the Warmth Is

By Rabbi Rachel Smookler, The Ruach Community

As we approach our High Holy Days, I can’t stop thinking about a rabbinic story I heard from a rabbi a few decades ago. The story he told went something like this.

A very prominent and active member of the Jewish community decided to make a change in his life. Going forward, he wanted to take a step back from his involvement in Jewish life. Whether from the tzedakah programs or the social/religious events, this Jewish community member thought he needed a break. He couldn’t just disappear, people would worry about his welfare. He simply had to go talk to the rabbi about his important decision. He respected his rabbi, after all. That week, he knocked

on the rabbi’s office door. The rabbi greeted him warmly and invited him to take a seat by the fireplace that was just getting warm on that cold morning. The man suddenly found himself to be nervous about telling the rabbi, his good friend, his plans to step away from his involvement in the Jewish community. While the man began telling the rabbi his plans, and how the Jewish community won’t even notice his withdrawal, the rabbi was busy stoking the embers of his office fire. As the man began listing his excuses for pulling away from communal life, the rabbi did a curious thing. Instead of stoking the fire, the rabbi purposefully took up the fire tongs, and carefully picked up a flaming hot ember from the midst of the now roaring fire. He then placed the red hot ember down in the cold dark corner of the fireplace. The rabbi interrupted his friend’s heartfelt speech and said: “Do you see this flaming ember I just took from the fire?

Curious, but confused, the man said, “Yes.” The rabbi said to the man, “Let’s sit and watch this ember for a few minutes.”

Not knowing what else to say, the man and the rabbi watched as the once red-hot, flaming em-

ber quickly began to turn black and ashy sitting away from the main fire. Once the ember had completely gone cold, the rabbi said to the man, “See? This once fiery ember that was helping to feed the fire is now completely cold and lifeless. Our Jewish community is here,” the rabbi said, pointing to the now roaring fire in the middle of the fireplace. “Those who are not part of the community or remove themselves from the community, no longer feel the warmth and the embrace of the Jewish community and all that it has to offer.” The rabbi picked up the lone, now cold, ember with his bare hands and placed it in the man’s hands. Upon recognizing the powerful imagery the rabbi’s lesson evoked, the man stood up, placed his hat on his head, and before completely closing the door of the rabbi’s office, said, “Rabbi, I will see you on Shabbat.”

As I said, I have been thinking about the message of this story a lot as we approach our High Holy Days. We are now a few years removed from the pandemic and yet there are many people who, after experiencing how easy it is to stay home and stream services, have not com-

Best Wishes for a Happy and Healthy New Year Sandra Levine

mitted to showing up in person to services. This new year, 5784, please consider how important your presence is to the entire Jewish community. All our prayers are said in the collective, “we”. Wherever you usually attend, the community needs you! The stronger we are together the greater our warmth and embrace andthe greater chance we have that our prayers will be heard. As the Talmud teaches, “We should never exclude ourselves from the collective” Berakhot 49B:16.

May you have a healthy, sweet, New Year! I look forward to seeing you over the Holy Days. Shana Tovah.

Year

Celebrating High Holidays In Charlotte

FROM THE BIMAH

Finding Meaning in Silence

that music is not only defined by its content, but also by the reaction that it elicits in the listener.

By Rabbi Michael Wolk, Temple Israel

In 1952 the American composer John Cage premiered a piece of music that would come to be known as 4’33. Pianist David Tudor took his seat in front of the piano at a New York concert hall and in front of a stunned audience, closed the piano lid and did not play a single note for four minutes and 33 seconds. The piece consists of three movements of musical “rests.” Needless to say, the audience and critics were not impressed. When I first heard about this “music,” I, too, felt that Cage’s idea was a little silly, but then I read about his motivation.

The premise of 4’33 is that concertgoers come with certain expectations. They dress up and come to a beautiful concert hall expecting to hear music from a master musician. As a result, they are more focused than they would normally be and pay attention to everything that is happening around them. Then they experience an unexpected silence, and the “music” according to Cage, is all the ambient noise that can be heard as the audience and pianist sit there in silence. Cage believed

This year there will be a noticeable silence when we come to services on the first day of Rosh Hashanah. The Haftarah will conclude and almost immediately we will return the holy sifrei Torah to the ark, but something important will be missing. Most years at this point, the rabbi will call out tekiah, shevarim, teruah, and the blasts of the ram’s horn will fill the room and enter the hearts of those looking for a new start this year. This year however we will have to wait one more day to hear the shofar. This is because the first day of Rosh Hashanah 5784 takes place on Shabbat, and on Shabbat, we do not sound the shofar. Originally, the shofar was only sounded in the ancient temple in Jerusalem, but when the temple was destroyed the practice spread to communities far and wide. The Talmudic rabbis ruled that we should not sound the Shofar on Shabbat because a person might carry it from one place to another and this would violate an important rule of the weekly day of rest. No matter how important Rosh Hashanah is, we remember that Shabbat, our weekly time of rest, is more important.

While this practice is correct according to Halakhah or Jewish law, it feels strange. Like the confused concert goers in 1952, we get dressed up on Rosh Hashanah morning. We come to our beautiful sanctuaries and are ready to hear the soaring words and melodies of our ancient prayers and the wise insights of rabbis channeling the best of Jewish

tradition, but at this part of the service when we expect to hear something specific, there is silence.

The purpose of the shofar is to serve as a spiritual alarm clock, and it serves this purpose well. Standing next to the shofar blower as I often do, I can feel the vibrations of the sound in my body. On the first day of Rosh Hashanah however, I hope that we can derive meaning from the silence that takes the place of the powerful blasts. When the shofar is silent, I will ask myself how I have handled unexpected events in the past year. When I did not get what I expected, did I react with anger or disappointment or did I try to turn those situations into opportunities? I will look around me at all the people gathered together in their holiday finest to celebrate Rosh Hashanah and ask what I can learn from the ambient noise that they make. What are they saying with their words or their actions that I may not hear normally because I am listening to other “music?” God gives us many spiritual tools to use on the High Holidays. Some years we are wakened by the call of the shofar, but this year we embrace the silence of the ram’s horn as a call to examine our thoughts and actions. And don’t forget… You can hear the shofar if you come back for the second day!

Shanah Tovah!

L’Shanah Tovah