The Charlotte Jewish News - October 2010 - Page 16
Levine-Sklut Judaic Library and Resource Center
Reel World: Jewish Experience Around The Globe
Join the Charlotte Jewish Film
Society as we journey through
Jewish communities around the
world, starting Thursday, October
28 at 7 PM in the Lemer Hall for
Cultural Art.
We will kick off our series with
the beautifully crafted movie,
“The Name My Mother Gave
Me,” a film about growth and self
discovery. In this film, we follow
Ethiopian and Russian Israelis
who meet at a leadership training
program in Israel. Their year of
learning culminates in a journey to
Ethiopia where the Ethiopian bom
participants return to their native
villages and confront their roots.
Though, back home in Israel, all
the participants would consider
themselves members of the fringes
of Israeli society, in the highlands
of the Ethiopian landscape they
discover the universality of their
experiences and their shared com
mitment to their new home in
Israel.
During this time of year,
Ethiopian Jews will flood
Jerusalem by the thousands to
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observe the holiday of Sigd.
“Sigd” is an Amharic word for
prostrating oneself, but it is also
associated with the word
“Mesjid,” or temple.
When the Ethiopian Jews were
living in Africa, Sigd was a day of
fasting. During the day, they
would form a procession and
climb to the high point of a moun
tain, carrying the Ethiopian Torah,
or the “Orit.” There they would
read portions from the Book of
Nehemia and recite Psalms and
prayers. This ceremony represent
ed an acceptance of the Torah—
the mountain represented Mount
Sinai, where the Torah is tradition
ally believed to have been given
by God to the Jewish people.
Upon descending the mountain,
they would then break their fast
amid music and dancing, with
solemnity giving way to joy.
Today, the Sigd holiday as it is
celebrated in Jerusalem has a dif
ferent identity from that which
was celebrated in Ethiopia. Now
thousands of Ethiopian Jews gath
er in Jerusalem, the Holy City of
Judaism. Ethiopian rabbis, who
are called Kessim, wear ritual
white garb as they lead the vast
procession to the Armon Hanetziv
Promenade which overlooks the
Old City and Temple Mount.
A ceremony which was once
dedicated to acceptance of the
Torah now has an added layer of
meaning: it is also a celebration of
the Holy City, and a prayer of
longing for the return of the Holy
Temple to Jerusalem.
This movie presentation is
sponsored by the Jewish
Federation of Greater Charlotte
and the Partnership 2000 program,
which builds living bridges
between Charlotte and Hadera.
It is a wonderful opportunity to
leam about the Ethiopian commu
nity in Israel and the diversity of
the Jewish people, enjoy discus
sion, good company and get a taste
of Ethiopian cuisine.
Passes for all four films in this
series are $10 each. Single tickets
can also be purchased for $4 and
are available at the Levine-Sklut
Judaic Library and Resource
Center.
Presented by the Charlotte
Jewish Film Festival and the
Levine-Sklut Judaic Library and
Resource Center ^
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Local, Global, Eternal
We acknowledge with gratitude
the following donations to the
Levine-Sklut Judaic Library
and Resource Center. These
donations allow us to expand the
collection of books, DVDs, CDs,
videos, maps, posters, games
and various teaching aids. The
entire community benefits from
these thoughtful gifts.
Friends of the Levine-Sklut
JLRC Fund
The Feldman family in honor of
Liz A. Wilson
Adrian and Andrea Mesoznik in
memory of Josef Sklut
The Becky Schulimson
Memorial Children’s Library
Fund
Michael and Robbie McGinley
in memory of Mel Binder, great
grandfather of Luke and Julia
Wolff and Vivian Kaplan
Michael and Robbie McGinley
in memory of Irene Bergman,
great-aunt of Luke and Julia Wolff
and Vivian Kaplan ^
DAVID SAID
VISIT OUR NEW LOCATION
The Village at South Park
Two Doors Down from Crate & Barrel
4310 Sharon Road I Suite T-09 I Charlotte, NC 28211 \ 704-364-6543
OFFICIAL NOLLX JE.WE.LER
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Check Out Our New Website and Additional
Domain Names
www.levine-sklutjudaiclibrary.org
www.charlottejewishlibrary.org
www.lsjl.org
Come and enjoy free Starbucks coffee and WiFi
We are looking for volunteers at the Library.
The hours are flexible, please call the library
for more details.
“I lift my eyes to the
mountains: Where does my
help come from? My help
comes from You, Near One,
Maker of sky and land. You
will not let my foot slip;
You will not doze while
watching over me.”
- Psalm 121:1-3