Postponed
Stay Tuned for Updates
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.
The Friday Noon Study Group will not meet on August 14.
Last Friday, our study group concluded its discussion of Barry Holtz’s Rabbi Akiva with a consideration of the following issues:
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The question of which is greater, the study of Torah or the practice of Judaism? Can we conclude, as the sages did, that because practice (ethical behavior) is the purpose of study, then study is greater because it leads to practice? Is there evidence that clearly demonstrates this theoretical conclusion?
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The question of why Rabbi Akiva was so hardly regarded by Jewish mystics. Akiva achieved a superior position among the sages in part because he was the only sage to have emerged unscathed from the visit to Pardes. It was alleged that he had actually seen the face of HaShem during that visit.
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The significance of Akiva’s meticulous methods of textual interpretation of the mysteries of Torah. Unlike Rabbi Ishmael, Akiva went beyond the plain sense of texts to examine their hidden meanings. This point is aptly driven home in the Talmudic tale involving Moses questioning the elaborate calligraphic flourishes God put into his inscription of the Torah. God gives Moses a glimpse into the future to watch Akiva explaining the significance of those flourishes (crowns on the letters) to his students.
Our group will reconvene for one more session in August when we meet on Friday, August 21 for a brief prelude to our next topic: Biblical Archaeology.
On the 21st, we will discuss material that can be found at the following links:
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https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/06/29/in-search-of-king-davids-lost-empire
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_of_Letters
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https://library.brown.edu/iip/stories/bar_kokhba/
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http://www.sci-news.com/archaeology/bar-kokhba-revolt-coin-08434.html
The Noon Study Group will not meet on August 28. When we resume on Friday, September 4, we will be discussing Israel Finkelstein and Neil Silberman’s The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology’s New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of its Sacred Texts. This book is available at a variety of internet outlets.
Unless indicated to the contrary, our informal discussion group will be conducted 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.
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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.
2020 Artist-in-Residence
Bound Together from Stark to Bright
A four-day journey into the healing power of art
Sunday, August 24th – Thursday, August 27th (9:30 AM to 4:30 PM)
The act of creating can be powerful and transformative. Creating the pages of books provides an avenue and impetus for healing, helping us cope with loss, grief and anger. CBI invites you to explore the possibilities during a four-day workshop led by one of North Carolina’s most celebrated art teachers.
Bound Together from Stark to Bright allows participants to express themselves by writing their stories, not through words, but by exploring and investigating the lines and marks of their lives. Guided by calligrapher and book artist, Joyce Teta, participants learn to visualize themselves from the ”inside” and create their artistic expression on the “outside” through their own unique graphic story. The products of this workshop will be two books: Stark and Bright.
The first book, STARK will be an expression of black on white using black sumi ink on white watercolor paper. Black on white teaches us the stark clarity of design. In the process there is a special juxtaposition allowing the artist to generate meaningful ideas in the nonverbal graphic text. The resulting book’s structure will be a soft cover with a leather spine.
The second book, BRIGHT involves learning the surface design process. Students will investigate color, texture, design, and concept. Using acrylic paints, artists will create unique and beautiful surface designs for the pages of their books. This book’s structure will be a traditional hard cover book with a cloth spine.
The workshop is limited to 20 participants.
Price: $285 for four days, plus $15 supply fee.
Instructor will provide all supplies including paper, ink, paint, brushes, paper towels, and water containers. Participants should bring an apron, latex gloves, tools for mark making, and stencils.
Cost also includes a vegetarian lunch, served daily. Coffee and tea will be available throughout the day. Participants may bring snacks to share. Please no meat, since the synagogue keeps kosher.
Instructor: Joyce Teta
JOYCE TETA founded Calligraphy Centre in 1984 in the Triad and is well-known for her enthusiastic and inclusive teaching. She is Director and founder of International Calligraphic Retreats at Cheerio Calligraphic retreats from 1981 to present and has served as instructor with the Sawtooth School for Visual Arts 1977 to present. Joyce is also an exhibiting member of Associated Artists of Winston Salem since 1981 and was named the 1996 Artist of the Year in Winston-Salem. Her Cheerio Calligraphy Retreats, created with her husband Jim, attracts artists from across the country and around the world.
For more information, visit her website: http://calligraphycentre.com/joyce-teta/
To register, click here.
Jewish Prayer: What About the Pray – er?
Congregation Beth Israel
Tuesday, August 25 & Thursday, September 3, 7:00 – 8:00pm
Rabbi Neil Sandler
In a recent issue of Ha’shofar Walter Ziffer helped us to understand the
keva (fixed or routine)/kavannah (spontaneous or deeply – felt)
dialectic in Jewish worship.
In a two–part, pre–High Holiday program, “Jewish Prayer: What
About the Pray – er?,” we will delve further into this issue with Rabbi
Neil Sandler. In the first session on Tuesday, August 25, 7:00 – 8:00pm,
we will study primary Jewish sources on the issue of keva and kavannah
in prayer. What is the role and relative importance of each
characteristic? The Zoom link for this class is here.
In the second session on Thursday, September 3, 7:00 – 8:00pm, we will
pursue the worship direction that Walter has urged. Rabbi Sandler will
guide us through a process of creating our own prayers. The last
number of months provides us with one significant source for our
prayers as we look forward to the beginning of the new year. Perhaps
your prayer will be a heartfelt one to engage your family. Perhaps your
prayer, along with those of other Beth Israel congregants, can find its
way into an upcoming communal worship service. The Zoom link for
this class is here.
If you have read this far, you are probably asking, “So, who is this rabbi
and why should I study with him?” Rabbi Neil Sandler served as Senior
Rabbi of Ahavath Achim Synagogue in Atlanta for fifteen years. After a
thirty seven-year pulpit career, Neil now serves as a part–time
member of the congregation’s rabbinic team. He loves his interaction
with people and, most especially, the pastoral moments he has shared
with his congregants. Rabbi Sandler is married to Susan Hart Sandler, a
hospice social worker. Their adult children are married/engaged, and
the Sandlers look forward to the birth of their first grandchild in
October. Neil is a sports fan and especially enjoys his Atlanta Braves
(and Minnesota Twins from his youth)!
These programs are sponsored by Carol and Bob Deutsch.
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 me beginning this Friday, March 27, at 6:00pm, when we will begin holding Kabbalat Shabbat services via Zoom. A rotation of folks will lead the service, including Josefa, who will lead Family Shabbat on the second Friday of each month. 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.
A link to the online service is below. Zoom is easy to use and will let us see and hear each other as we welcome Shabbat. If you haven’t already downloaded Zoom to your computer or phone, you must do so before joining the meeting on Friday at 6:00pm. You only need to download Zoom once, after that you simply log in, always using the same Meeting ID: 406 391 4937. Easy instructions are below this message.
We recognize that this is a big departure from traditional practice, and the Ritual Committee did not make this decision without serious discussion. This is a temporary measure to keep us all connected while we can’t be together physically.
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.
Eva Blinder
CBI Ritual Chair
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 services on CBI’s Zoom Account 1:
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: 406 391 4937 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 CBI’s service leader to start the meeting
Volunteers needed to help set up CBI’s Labor Day Weekend Rummage Sale.
Please contact the CBI office: (828) 252-8660 with your availability. Thank you!
