This year will be different

We want to change. We do. We each want to be a better version of ourselves today than we were yesterday, especially this time of the year. For some, change comes easily – others not so much. Why? What keeps us from fulfilling the promises we make on Rosh HaShannah, Yom Kippur and New Year’s Eve?

Join us for Torah on Tap this Sunday (4pm – 5:30) as we explore the opportunities and obstacles of change. Share your own story of growth, learn the most common impediments to change and how, with the help of our Jewish traditions, we can re-frame what it means to change – making it easier and more meaningful.

We’ll meet by the stream beside the CBI parking lot. Bring your beverage of choice, a lawn chair and a caring, open mind. Come as you are. Leave different.

Friday, September 17, 12-1

We began last week’s discussion of the second half of Chapter 4 of Hasia Diner’s, Julius Rosenwald: Repairing the World with a consideration of Rosenwald’s attitudes towards African-American leader W.E.B. Dubois and his notion of the “Talented Tenth.”  This concept called for a leadership class of African Americans (the one in ten Black men who have acquired a college education and who could become directly involved in social change).  Our group discussed the potential charges of elitism that might emerge from such a concept, and whether its implementation was mutually exclusive from Booker T. Washington’s promotion of industrial education, or the education provided for by the Rosenwald schools.

Other topics for discussion last week included

• Rosenwald’s support for African American enterprises beyond the Rosenwald schools (e.g. Howard University’s Law School, Medical schools at Howard and the University of Michigan, other Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and Rosenwald Fellowships)

• The burdens placed on Blacks to become exemplary representatives of their race (whites who failed didn’t stigmatize their group) and how these burdens went beyond those placed on other minorities

• Rosenwald’s acceptance of segregation/”separate but equal” policies (he financed Jim Crow institutions, didn’t engage in anti-lynching or voting rights campaigns, his philanthropy “skirted civil rights”).  Participants were quick to defend Rosenwald by pointing out the time period/law of the land during which Rosenwald lived; the fact that he devoted his money, time, and energy based on his knowledge and experience as a businessman rather than a philosopher or politician; and the fact that segregated learning/socializing has some advantages.

This Friday we’ll complete our discussion of our current subject by addressing loose ends from Chapter 4 (especially a continuation of the charges that Rosenwald’s philanthropy aided the establishment of a color line) and Diner’s “Conclusion: Forgetting Julius Rosenwald” (pp. 211-218).  We will also consider a counterpoint to Diner’s adulation of Rosenwald with a discussion of a 2017 article entitled “Julius Rosenwald Was Not A Hero,” in which Maribel Morey reflects on the distinction between an effective philanthropist and a heroic figure.  That article can be found at the following link: 

https://histphil.org/2017/06/30/julius-rosenwald-was-not-a-hero/. 

Our informal discussion group meets online via Zoom every Friday from 12 – 1.   All are welcome to join our discussions, regardless of their level of expertise.  If you have questions, please contact Jay Jacoby at jbjacoby@uncc.edu. 

Please Note that the Friday Noon Study Group will not meet on September 24th or October 1st.  

We will resume our discussions on October 8 when we begin an exploration of The Book of Genesis.  Stay tuned for details. 

Join us for Shabbat morning services in-person or via Zoom every Saturday morning at 9:30am.

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

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.

Friday, September 17, 12-1

We began last week’s discussion of the second half of Chapter 4 of Hasia Diner’s, Julius Rosenwald: Repairing the World with a consideration of Rosenwald’s attitudes towards African-American leader W.E.B. Dubois and his notion of the “Talented Tenth.”  This concept called for a leadership class of African Americans (the one in ten Black men who have acquired a college education and who could become directly involved in social change).  Our group discussed the potential charges of elitism that might emerge from such a concept, and whether its implementation was mutually exclusive from Booker T. Washington’s promotion of industrial education, or the education provided for by the Rosenwald schools.

Other topics for discussion last week included

• Rosenwald’s support for African American enterprises beyond the Rosenwald schools (e.g. Howard University’s Law School, Medical schools at Howard and the University of Michigan, other Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and Rosenwald Fellowships)

• The burdens placed on Blacks to become exemplary representatives of their race (whites who failed didn’t stigmatize their group) and how these burdens went beyond those placed on other minorities

• Rosenwald’s acceptance of segregation/”separate but equal” policies (he financed Jim Crow institutions, didn’t engage in anti-lynching or voting rights campaigns, his philanthropy “skirted civil rights”).  Participants were quick to defend Rosenwald by pointing out the time period/law of the land during which Rosenwald lived; the fact that he devoted his money, time, and energy based on his knowledge and experience as a businessman rather than a philosopher or politician; and the fact that segregated learning/socializing has some advantages.

This Friday we’ll complete our discussion of our current subject by addressing loose ends from Chapter 4 (especially a continuation of the charges that Rosenwald’s philanthropy aided the establishment of a color line) and Diner’s “Conclusion: Forgetting Julius Rosenwald” (pp. 211-218).  We will also consider a counterpoint to Diner’s adulation of Rosenwald with a discussion of a 2017 article entitled “Julius Rosenwald Was Not A Hero,” in which Maribel Morey reflects on the distinction between an effective philanthropist and a heroic figure.  That article can be found at the following link: 

https://histphil.org/2017/06/30/julius-rosenwald-was-not-a-hero/. 

Our informal discussion group meets online via Zoom every Friday from 12 – 1.   All are welcome to join our discussions, regardless of their level of expertise.  If you have questions, please contact Jay Jacoby at jbjacoby@uncc.edu. 

Please Note that the Friday Noon Study Group will not meet on September 24th or October 1st.  

We will resume our discussions on October 8 when we begin an exploration of The Book of Genesis.  Stay tuned for details.