The Charlotte Jewish News - September 2011 - Page 20
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Hebrew Cemetery Association
By Lorrie Klemons, publicity
Annual Memorial Service
October 2 -10:30 AM
1801 Statesville Avenue
Rain or Shine
At the closing of the Yom
Kippur Ne’ilah service each year,
the Book of Life is sealed for yet
another year. How many of us will
be inscribed for another year of
life? On what does God base that
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C H A R-L O T T E
1 - ATTN
S C H ,0 O L
"Vou are invited to our
ADMISSIONS OPEN HOUSE
TK and Kindergarten
Wednesday, October y, 2011 - jp.m.
TK and K through Grade 12
Tuesday, November I, 2011 - c):}0 a.m.
RSVP to the Admissions Office: 704.846.7207
...where teaching is valued and learning is celebrated
Charlotte Latin School I 9502 Providence Road I Charlotte, North Carolina 28277 I 704.846.1100 I www.charIotteIatin.org
Financiah assistance is available. Please inquire about the Malone Scholarship for gifted students in jth - 12th grades.
inscription?
We Jews believe that our God is
a merciful and forgiving God. We
also know - many of us through
first-hand experience - that being
a good person and having a good
neshamah (soul) does not neces
sarily guarantee another
year of life. In fact, we
know that bad things hap
pen to good people. If
being a good person and
following in the image of
God by praying, perform
ing mitzvot, and studying
Torah does not guarantee
us life year after year, then
why the need for such prayer and
supplication and self-deprivation
(fasting) on Yom Kippur?
The most learned rabbis cannot
answer the question: Why bad
things happen to good people? We
can ask the rabbis and God,
Himself, all the questions we want
- and in Judaism we are required
to ask those questions; however,
for some questions there are just
no sufficient answers. Judaism
teaches us that prayer, the per
formance of mitzvot, and the
study of Torah are the most impor
tant things a Jew can do. In per
forming mitzvot, we become
almost God-like. The mystics tell
us that when God created the uni
verse, He had a huge container to
put all of the holiness into. But
there was so much holiness that
the container broke into a thou
sand pieces. It became our task as
newly created men and women of
the world to go around and
retrieve God’s holiness.
During the High Holidays,
when we gather in prayer as one
universal Jewish community, God
smiles down on us for the holiness
we portray. We gather in prayer.
We gather in song. We gather in
ritual. We gather in love. We gath
er as one loud chaotic crowd and
yet periodically we hush quietly to
hear God’s small voice. That small
voice... which looms in the
Hebrew
Cemetery
Association
chasms of our consciousness and
subconsciousness. That small
voice... which gives direction and
meaningfulness to our lives. That
small voice.. .which creates the
faith that guides us to do God’s
work here on earth.
So yes, while bad
things do happen to good
people, holiness remains
the essence of life. And
though living a holy life
may not guarantee your
being inscribed in the
Book of Life from one
year to another, it sure
does make you a great
and righteous person... and a per
son who will be memorialized by
others for the holiness and good
ness that made you so special.
We are living in times of
unprecedented economic volatili
ty. Unemployment rates soar. Jobs
are hard to keep. Homes are being
foreclosed. Money is tight. For
many of our friends and neigh
bors, the present is gloomy and
dark and their prospect for the
future is scary and uncertain. Now
more than ever, the Hebrew
Cemetery Association needs your
support. Your tax deductible annu
al dues of $72 will help maintain a
dignified and sanctified resting
place for all those who precede
you in eternal life and will guaran
tee the same for you and your
loved ones when that unthinkable
event occurs.
If you would like to make a
donation to memorialize a loved
one at this time of the year, send
your check payable to the Hebrew
Cemetery to 5007 Providence Rd.,
Charlotte, NC 28226. For more
information about membership
benefits, graves, prepaid funeral
costs, endowments, and/or includ
ing the cemetery in your estate
planning, contact cemetery
Director, Sandra Goldman at 704-
576-1859 or 704-944-6854 or
director@hebrewcemetery.org.
(Continued on following page)
Teaching a Lesson in
Bullying at the Freedom
School
By Jenna Comisar
John Halligan came
to my school to talk
about his son’s suicide tir
because he was con
stantly bullied. His
speech really inspired jenna Comisar
me. One thing he said
was that at a young age
(around 4th and 5th grade), kids
begin to struggle with identity and
that is when self-confidence is
really necessary. He said that in
5th grade, kids started being very
disrespectful to his son, who
at that time had a very low
self-esteem, and I thought
about how I can change this
“bullying” and “disrespect
ing” that goes on in a child’s
life. I came to the conclusion
that learning about respect,
and how important it is to
respect others and yourself,
should be taught at a young
age, so I started to talk to the
4th and 5 th graders at my
school about respect. I want
ed to make it known to the
kids that respect is extremely
important, and it is important
that they not only respect
one another, but also them
selves. I revisited the stu
dents for a follow up at the
end of the year, and then
came to speak to the
Freedom School [during
their morning Harambee]. I really
hope they got a lot out of the pres
entation because respect is such an
important virtue they will need for
the rest of their lives. ^
The students of Freedom School at their daily
Harambee.