The Charlotte Jewish News - September 2009 - Page 13
Ohr HaTorah to Host Global Web Lecture
in Honor of the High Holidays
Ohr HaTorah is pleased to
announce that it will be the
Charlotte host for an upcoming
global satellite broadcast in honor
of the High Holidays.
The esteemed Rabbi Dr.
Abraham J. Twerski will address
this Unity Lecture entitled,
“Together We Can Fill the World
with Light.”
The lecture is scheduled for
Sunday, 24 Elul, September 13, at
3 PM EDT. Rabbi Twerski will
speak on the meaning of the High
Holidays and Unity.
The broadcast will be seen at
Congregation Ohr HaTorah on
Sardis Road. The lecture is free
and is open to the entire Jewish
community. Rabbi Twerski is a
well known American rabbi and
psychiatrist. He is the founder
and Medical Director Emeritus of
the Gateway Rehabilitation Center
in Pittsburgh, which has been cited
as one of the top substance abuse
rehabilitation clinics in the coun
try. He also founded the Sha’ar
Tikvah Rehabilitation Center in
Jerusalem and is the recipient of
many awards for his service in the
field. He is the author of more than
60 books on Torah and self-help
topics.
Dr. Twerski, an ordained rabbi,
held a pulpit until 1959 when he
graduated from Marquette
University Medical School and
went on to complete his psychi
atric residency at the University of
Pittsburgh Western Psychiatric
Institute. For 20 years, he served
as Clinical Director of the
Department of Psychiatry at St.
Francis Hospital, Pittsburgh, and
was an associate professor of psy
chiatry at the University of
Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
Dr. Twerski is recognized as an
international authority in the
chemical dependency field. He
began the first Pennsylvania pro
gram for nurses with alcohol or
drug problems, “Nurses Off
Chemicals”; served on the
Governor’s Council on Drug and
Alcohol Abuse, and was Chairman
of the Pennsylvania Medical
Society Committee on the
Impaired Physician. He also
appears frequently as a radio and
television guest, speaking to audi
ences worldwide. Scientific con
tributions and community efforts
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aprojtcl aj Lubavitch of North Carolina
have earned him honorary degrees
from St. Vincent’s College,
Duquesne University, and Indiana
University of Pennsylvania. Dr.
Twerski has received numerous
awards during his career including
the Nelson J. Bradley Life Time
Achievement Award from the
National Association of Addiction
Treatment Providers (NAATP)
and the Pennsylvania Medical
Society’s greatest honor, the
Distinguished Service Award.
Rabbi Twerski has also pub
lished numerous books on Torah
and spirituality including com
mentary on the Chumash, Prayer,
the Pesach Haggadah, and Pirkei
Avot, as well as profiles of
Chassidic Masters including his
own grandfather. For more infor
mation, please visit www.unitylec-
ture.com or call our office at 704-
366-3984. ^
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LEADING THE WAY TO YOUR SUCCESS
OHT to Usher in High Holidays in a
Meaningful Way
The Jewish New Year begins
with the Days of Awe and culmi
nates with the Days of Joy. These
special days are filled with mean
ing and substance that speak to the
core of our soul. If observed in the
right way, they can have an ever
lasting impact on our lives and our
Jewish destiny.
The High Holidays at Ohr
HaTorah have come to represent
to its many congregants a time for
connection with God and with
community. The wonderful
melodies which are expressive of
the traditional liturgy led by Rabbi
Binyomin Weiss and his melodi
ous voice have inspired both syna
gogue members and visitors alike.
This amazing period will be
ushered in with the midnight
Selichot service on Saturday,
September 12, when the feeling of
the Days of Awe envelop the com
munity with a sincere call to God.
A pre-Selichot presentation will
begin at 11 PM. This event is open
to everyone in the community.
The High Holiday service at
Ohr HaTorah is a voyage of the
soul to the inner elements of the
Jewish experience. Rosh
Hashanah and Yom Kippur encap
sulate the entire year, and they
present an extraordinary opportu
nity to bond with God and with
community in a momentous and
spiritual way.
Those who are searching to
explore the deeper meaning of the
High Holidays and seek to touch
the Divine will find the Ohr
HaTorah experience truly reward
ing. The High Holiday service is
in a sense a learning activity, as
Rabbi Yossi Groner provides short
and succinct commentaries on the
liturgy and expounds on the mysti
cal significance of many of the rit
uals observed on Rosh Hashanah.
The atmosphere in the synagogue
reflects the spirituality of the Holy
Days and helps shape the total
experience.
Ohr HaTorah is a welcoming
synagogue which helps congre
gants form friendships and excels
with its joyous and uplifting serv
ice. One of the distinctive advan
tages at Ohr HaTorah is that it
allows for worshippers to engage
in their prayers at their own pace
and to truly connect to God in a
meaningful way.
Rosh Hashanah begins on the
evening of September 18 and ends
on September 20. The service
schedule at Congregation Ohr
HaTorah is as follows: Evening
services at 7 PM and morning
services at 9 AM. Yom Kippur
begins on September 27 and ends
September 28 at nightfall. Kol
Nidrei service begins at 6:30 PM
and morning service is at 9 AM.
Neilah service begins at 5 PM.
Tickets are not required to attend
services. For more information,
please call our office at 704-366-
3984 or visit our website
www.ohrhatorahnc.org. ^
Temple Israel Book Club
The Septembers of Shiraz by Dalia Sofer
Wednesday, September 9, 7:30 PM at Temple Israel
Sofer’s much acclaimed histori
cal novel The Septembers of Shiraz
takes place in Iran after the Iranian
revolution, follows a prosperous
Jewish family, including Isaac - a
rare-gem dealer - wrongly accused
of being a spy, his terrified wife,
daughter - who is trying to stop the
wave of baseless arrests, and son,
who had been sent to live in an
orthodox Jewish community in
New York before the rise of the
Ayatollahs.
You may recall that this discus
sion originally was scheduled for
January, but was postponed due to
snow.
So many different voices are
heard in The Septembers of Shiraz:
the life left behind that the various
segments of the population had
experienced during the Shah’s
reign; what the Communists had
hoped for; the claims of the ser
vants, the son who emigrates to the
US, and sees what a religious
Jewish life entails; the hopes of the
revolutionaries compared to what
post monarchy life had become
under the corrupt government.
With critics noting that “Dalia
Sofer documents the forced con
version of an entire vibrant civi
lization to the strictures of a black-
and-white totalitarianism,” our dis
cussion of this powerful, engaging
book is sure to be stimulating.
Copies of the book are available
at the Levine-Sklut Judaic Library,
the public library and at local book
stores or on-line for under $15.
Temple Israel Book Club meet
ings are open to the entire commu
nity, even those who haven’t read
the book. Drop-ins are welcome.
For additional information contact
Linda Levy at 704-366-6362/
levyollie@aol.com or Sandra
Hirschman at 704-867-7051. ^
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