Page 7-THE NEWS-August, 1988
Focus on Federation — Part IV
This series of articles is being written to better understand the importance and functions of
The Charlotte Jewish Federation.
By Rita C. Mond
Some of the constituent
agencies of the CJF were high
lighted in the last issue. Many
others, both large and smaU,
local and national are allocated
funds. Lubavitch of N.C. was
allocated $5,700 this year;
HiUel (in N.C.) $9,000; Hebrew
Cemetery, $5,000; BBYO in
Charlotte, $4,000; ADL in
N.C., $2,000. These sire the
organizations which will be
dealt with in this article.
Lubavitch of N.C.
Lubavitch of North Carolina
is a Jewish educational organi
zation committed to the fur
therance of Jewish knowledge
and experience through the
Chassidic philosophical ap
proach of warmth and enthu
siasm.
Since its inception nearly
eight yesirs ago, Lubavitch has
reached out to thousands of
Jews throughout the Caro-
linas, by offering special pro
grams to Jewish youth on col
lege campuses and at home by
providing essential services to
many hundreds of Jewish fam
ilies through educational pro
grams ranging from full pre
school and afterschool ceire to
adult educational groups.
Activities also include
Chabad House Shabbatones,
holiday programs and a sum
mer day camp. Some of the ex
isting programs are: Gan
Yelodim Preschool which gives
quality education both in
Judaica and secular subjects.
Staffed by qualified teachers,
the school provides the struc
ture and fr^ play necessary to
satisfy children’s needs in the
most formative years.
Talmud Torah is a full sup
plementary Jewish education
program for children ages
5-13, encompassing Judaica
and Hebrew lessons after their
secular day school hours. It in
cludes tutoring for Bar Mitz-
vah and private lessons in all
matters of Judaism.
Gan Israel Day Camp: This
summer camp provides a full
day of fun, excitement and a
red Jewish experience. Pro
grams include sports, educa
tional trips, Jewish calis
thenics, swimming, arts and
crafts, challah baking, etc. The
counselors are specially
trained.
Shabbatones: Traditional
services are held at the
Chabad House on a regular
basis, in addition to the week
ly Minyems held every Friday
Shabbat and Sunday morning.
Lubavitch teaches how to
allow prayer to be a personal
link with G-d. Kiddush foUows
with a fuU Shabbat meal,
which includes families and
singles joining in song and
story in the Chassidic tradi
tion.
Adult Education: Consists of
weekly Torah sessions.
Classes in Chassidic philoso
phy allow participants to
experience self revelation,
spiritual uplifting and inner
peace. There are also Bible
study groups.
“The Jewish Sound,” a
weekly Sunday morning radio
program at 9 a.m. on WSOC
AM 93, brings a variety of
Jewish music and thought to
listeners in the Carolinas. This
one hour show includes reflec
tions on the weekly Torah
reading, Jewish personalities,
mitzvah and story of the week.
Celebrations are held for the
major Jewish holidays which
are open to the public and
always well attended. Holiday
and educational material, in
cluding a Shabbat candle bro
chure with a local Carolina
calendar are sent to over 7,500
Jewish households. Holiday
kits are distributed to
thousands of school children
during the holiday season.
Hillel
Hillel in N.C. is affiliated
with the oldest and largest
Jewish c£mipus organization in
the world. All Jewish stu
dents, regardless of affiliation
or background, are welcome to
the programs and activities
that are offered. Hillel is
dedicated to providing a
forum for the exploration and
enjoyment of Jewish heritage
in all its dimensions. Folklore
and folk dancing, Jewish
music, history, philosophy,
ethics and religious study,
worship, community service,
sports, politics and poetry —
all have a place in its program.
There are opportunities to
become involved in action on
behalf of Israel and in support
of Jewish communities
throughout the world.
Through Hillel’s various offer
ings students are free to ques
tion, experience and create a
meaningful Jewish communi
ty on campus. Hillel seeks to
serve about 2,500 students on
the various campuses in North
Carolina.
Holidays are celebrated at
both the Duke and UNC-
Chapel Hill campuses. The
students from Duke and UNC
come together frequently
either for Shabbat dinner or a
social activity. A conununity
Seder was held this year for
175 students; a number of
students were assisted in con
ducting sedarim with friends
in the dorms or arranged for
home hospitality for those
who desired to have Seder
with a family.
Special lectures were held
with outstanding speakers
such as Elie Wiesel and Mr.
Muhamed Mussarwa. “Israel
at Forty” was also celebrated
by students from the exten
sion campuses at N.C. State
and Greensboro. A number of
students from South Carolina
and Virginia p£irticipated as
weU.
This spring a Reform Stu
dent Outreach program was
initiated. Discussion/Dinner
series were held; topics were
suggested by a group of stu
dents and the various congre
gations sponsored the dinners.
Rabbi Friedman of Durham/
Chapel Hill spoke on “Inter
dating;” Rabbi Task of Greens
boro led a discussion on “How
to Deal with Evangelical
Groups on Campus;” Rabbi
Seigel of Charlotte discussed
the topic “Jewish Sexual
Ethics.”
Students participated in the
Washington demonstration dur
ing Gorbachev’s visit in
December; Duke students
adopted a refusenik who was
granted an exit visa earlier in
the year.
HiUel also offers weekly
socials, study breaks, Shabbat
services and dinners and mon
thly bagel brunches. Most of
these programs revolve
around Duke and UNC-CH;
every effort is made to provide
some programs at the exten
sion campuses at N.C. State,
East Carolina U., UNC-G and
Guilford College. UNCC has
yet to have a program for Jew
ish students there.
BBYO
The B’nai B’rith Youth
Organization in Charlotte is
comprised of a B’nai B’rith
Girls (BBG) chapter and
Aleph Zadak Aleph (AZA)
chapter for the boys. These
youth range in age from 13-18.
There is also a younger group
which has been formed from
ages 11-13. They have regular
scheduled meetings locally
and are involved in a variety
of social, educational, recrea
tional and charitable activi
ties. It is a way of Jewish
youth to meet one another,
share ideas and learn, no mat
ter whether they are affiliated
with either temple or are unaf
filiated. They also have oppor
tunities of meeting other
Jewish young people involved
with BBYO throughout the
state at various conventions.
There are some conventions
where they meet others from
the entire S.E. seaboard, from
Maryland to Florida.
They leeim about Judaica,
leadership and people. Many
of the BBYOers go on to be ac
tive members in Hillel and
then later on in B’nai B’rith
Men and B’nai B’rith Women.
Many of the volunteers in the
conmiunity started as BBYO
members.
ADL
The Anti-Defamation
League of B’nai B’rith has its
regional office in Richmond,
VA and serves the states of
Virginia and North Carolina.
Its purpose is to combat anti-
Semitism, racial and religious
discrimination. It has worked
tirelessly for many years to
combat the very existence of
the KKK.
ADL helps with the school
systems in allowing Jewish
children to be excused from
classes on the Jewish holidays.
A calendar-memo date book is
produced by them which our
B’nai B’rith Women distri
butes to the Charlotte-
Mecklenburg School system
and to the private schools.
National ADL has a dolls
for democracy program which
Charlotte Chapter BBW has
done for many years — stories
and dolls promote a better
understanding of minority
groups.
Hebrew Cemetery
The Hebrew Cemetery
Association provides facilities
and care in time of grief. It
maintains the Hebrew Ceme
tery and provides those who
wish to become members a
special rate for grave sites.
Some Other Recipient Agencies
The Charlotte Jewish
Federation allocates money to
various other agencies in
volved with Jewish education,
the clergy, scholarships,
HIAS (working with UJA to
bring out Jews from Soviet,
Arab and other countries and
establish new lives in the
West), and local community
assistance organizations.
(Editor’s note: Thanks go to
Rabbi Yoseph Groner, Rabbi
Binyomin Weiss and Rabbi
Frank Fischer who con
tributed to this article.)
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