Friday, October 23,  12-1 

Last Friday our group discussed Chapter 11 of The Bible Unearthed, which deals with the ”Great Reformation” of Judah during King Josiah’s reign. By now, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that we went off on a few tangents during our discussion.  Here are some of the things we talked about:

• Josiah’s reign represented an ideal toward which Israel was heading; his efforts at religious reform (destruction of idols, deposing idolatrous priests, eliminating child sacrifice, i.e. overturning the sins of the past) offered the Jewish people their greatest hope for national redemption
• During the reign of King Josiah, there began the production of the Hebrew Bible, a literary expression of national identity and a moral code in Deuteronomy that emphasized social justice.
• The group spent some time discussing whether all civilizations required core documents/texts (written or oral), national epics or myths that we tell ourselves to establish some sense of moral authority.
• We also discussed how, overall, the Bible offerred what our authors call a ”profoundly optimistic history” that invites its readers to become part of its happy ending.
• We discussed whether the text that was ”discovered” while purifying the Temple was in fact ”discovered” or was it created/composed during Josiah’s reign.
• We concluded by pondering the fact that all the good work that King Josiah seemed to have done crumbled during three generations of the kings who succeeded him, ultimately leading to the destruction of the Temple and the Babylonian Exile.
   

When we gather on October 23, our group will conclude its discussion of the The Bible Unearthed by looking at its final chapter ”Exile and Return” and the Epilogue, ”The Future of Biblical Israel” (pp. 296-318).   

Our informal discussion group is held online every Friday from 12-1.  All are welcome to join us, regardless of their level of expertise or attendance at previous noon study group discussions. If you have questions, or would like the Zoom link, please contact Jay Jacoby at  jbjacoby@uncc.edu.

With services unavoidably cancelled, the Ritual Committee is working hard to find ways we can support each other as a community when we can’t be together in person. It’s very distressing to be unable to say Kaddish for a loved one, or to contemplate not sharing a Seder meal with friends and family. We’d like to share with you some plans we have for filling these gaps in our lives.

Please join us for Kabbalat Shabbat services via Zoom.  As long as at least 10 adults log in, we’ll be able to say Kaddish, so please consider attending, even if you’re not a Friday night regular.

You can join the service by going to Our Virtual Community here, then scroll down and click on the blue Kabbalat Shabbat Service button.

If you’d like to borrow a siddur for use at home while services are cancelled, we’ll be happy to lend you one!  Please contact the office for details.

Join Justin Goldstein for an hour of Torah study and discussion of the week’s Torah portion.

All are welcome, link to join the Zoom meeting here.

Just as healthy foods nourish us through the blood stream, so Jewish meditation nourishes our “soul stream.” Meditation can be transformative, taking us from the intellectual awareness of ourselves to a deeper spiritual practice that links us to Judaism in the most profound way. Each mitzvah, holy day and cycle of life has its own rhythm, nuance, taste and character. Jewish meditation is a practice of infusing their essence into our daily spiritual lives.

Ready to give it a try? Join us via Zoom (every Sunday from 2:30pm – 4pm. No previous meditation experience necessary.  This opportunity is free and open to all. Please contact Linda Wolf at linda@networktype.com for the online meeting information.

With so much of CBI’s programming unavoidably cancelled, we’re working hard to find ways we can support each other as a community when we can’t be together in person. Please join me this Sunday, April 26, at 4:00pm, when we will be holding Torah on Tap via Zoom. A link to the online discussion group is below.  Zoom is easy to use and will let us see and hear each other as we speak.  If you haven’t already downloaded Zoom to your computer or phone, you must do so before joining the meeting on Sunday at 4:00pm.  You only need to download Zoom once, after that you simply log in, always using the same Meeting ID: 819 7668 2790.  Easy instructions are below this message. This is a temporary measure to keep us all connected while we can’t be together physically. Alan Silverman Torah on Tap Host Instructions for Downloading Zoom The first time you ever use Zoom on a computer, do the following: Go to https://zoom.us Hover over (don’t click) “RESOURCES” on the top right and then click “Download Zoom Client” from the drop-down menu that appears Click “Download” under “Zoom Client for Meetings” If it asks you to allow it to download “zoom.us”, click “Allow” or “Yes” Open the downloaded file and follow the instructions to install Zoom on your computer The first time you ever use Zoom on a smart phone, do the following: Go to the App Store and find “Zoom Cloud Meetings” and download it (it is free) Instructions for attending Torah on Tap on CBI’s Zoom Account: Right before the start of services, either go to https://zoom.us on your computer or open your Zoom app on your smartphone Click “Join a Meeting” Type in this Meeting ID: 819 7668 2790 and click “Join” If you’re using the computer and Zoom asks you to allow it to open “zoom.us”, click “Allow” or “Yes” or “Open” and then click “Join With Computer Audio” If you’re using a smart phone and Zoom asks you to allow using the microphone/camera, allow it If it says “Waiting for the host to start this meeting”, just wait a few minutes for Alan to start the meeting Unless you’ve been out of the country for the last several weeks, you probably know that there’s some pretty important proceedings taking place in our nation’s capitol. In the 230-year history of the American presidency, only two sitting presidents have been impeached. President Trump may well be the third. The historicity of the proceedings, however, pale in comparison to real underlying battle. This is not just an investigation to determine whether impeachable offenses occurred; it is a tug war between strength and morality, and it’s as old as humanity itself. Join us this Sunday as we look at the dynamics of accountability from a Jewish perspective. More specifically, we will consider one very particular confrontation involving Rabbi Shimon ben Shetach and King Yannai. “Why is a king of Israel “not judged” [Mishnah Sanhedrin 2:1]? Because of what once happened.”  Intrigued? Wait until you see how many parallels there are between this 2,100-year-old Talmudic tale and what is happening now in our country. To see how the story unfolds and to unlock the universal lessons it holds, join us this Sunday at Archetype Brewing (the former Habitat Tavern, 174 Broadway St., Asheville). Rabbi Justin will help us understand this epic power struggle between the executive and legislative branches of ancient Israel. This program is free and open to all. Differing opinions are not only welcomed but encouraged. Non-alcoholic beverages are available, there is ample parking in the Moog Music parking lot off Bordeau Pl. Looking forward to seeing you there!!

Join us on the last Sunday of the month online for a refreshing and often provocative discussion. Each month, we take on a new topic – often ripped from the headlines of today’s news. We spend the first 45 minutes wrapping our arms around it, defining it, dissecting and analyzing it from various viewpoints. Then we spend the rest of the time discussing it from Judaism’s point of view.

• What’s Judaism’s take on universal healthcare?
• Would Moses walk the streets of Chicago today packing heat?
• Is it okay to punch a white supremacist?

Torah on Tap gives us a chance to learn, vent, share and, most of all, understand what 4,000 years of cultural development, debate and dialogue has to say about some of the issues that confront us today. Torah on Tap is free and open to all. Varying viewpoints are not only welcome, but encouraged.

See you there!

Friday, October 23,  12-1 

Last Friday our group discussed Chapter 11 of The Bible Unearthed, which deals with the ”Great Reformation” of Judah during King Josiah’s reign. By now, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that we went off on a few tangents during our discussion.  Here are some of the things we talked about:

• Josiah’s reign represented an ideal toward which Israel was heading; his efforts at religious reform (destruction of idols, deposing idolatrous priests, eliminating child sacrifice, i.e. overturning the sins of the past) offered the Jewish people their greatest hope for national redemption
• During the reign of King Josiah, there began the production of the Hebrew Bible, a literary expression of national identity and a moral code in Deuteronomy that emphasized social justice.
• The group spent some time discussing whether all civilizations required core documents/texts (written or oral), national epics or myths that we tell ourselves to establish some sense of moral authority.
• We also discussed how, overall, the Bible offerred what our authors call a ”profoundly optimistic history” that invites its readers to become part of its happy ending.
• We discussed whether the text that was ”discovered” while purifying the Temple was in fact ”discovered” or was it created/composed during Josiah’s reign.
• We concluded by pondering the fact that all the good work that King Josiah seemed to have done crumbled during three generations of the kings who succeeded him, ultimately leading to the destruction of the Temple and the Babylonian Exile.
   

When we gather on October 23, our group will conclude its discussion of the The Bible Unearthed by looking at its final chapter ”Exile and Return” and the Epilogue, ”The Future of Biblical Israel” (pp. 296-318).   

Our informal discussion group is held online every Friday from 12-1.  All are welcome to join us, regardless of their level of expertise or attendance at previous noon study group discussions. If you have questions, or would like the Zoom link, please contact Jay Jacoby at  jbjacoby@uncc.edu.

Join us for Shabbat morning services via Zoom every other Saturday morning at 10:00am.

Join the service by going to Our Virtual Community here, then scroll down and click on the blue Saturday Morning Service button.