The Charlotte Jewish News - February 2016 - Page 3
A Conversation with Ambassador Judith Varnai Shorer, Consul
Generai of Israel to the Southeastern United States
The Jewish Community Rela
tions Couneil of the Jewish Feder
ation of Greater Charlotte
weleomes: Ambassador Judith
Varnai Shorer, Consul General
of Israel to the Southeastern
United States on Tuesday,
February 23 at 7 PM in Sam
Lerner Center for Cultural
Arts.
Ambassador Varnai Shorer will
address the Charlotte Jewish eom-
munity for the first time in her
new role, sinee she was appointed
this past summer. Please join us as
we hear her provide an update
about eurrent events in the Middle
East from the perspeetive of the
Israeli government as well as dis-
euss her experienees as Consul
General.
Ambassador Varnai Shorer is a
nearly 40-year veteran of the Is
raeli diplomatie eorps. She is a
former ambassador to both Hun
gary and Bosnia-Herzegovina as
well as a former minister of eon-
gressional affairs at the Israeli
Embassy in Washington, DC. Her
most reeent post was desk direetor
at the Center for Poliey Researeh.
Ambassador Varnai Shorer has
substantial experienee in the U.S.
Tu B’Shevat
By Inbal Ozeri, Community
Shlicha
First, in Hebrew it is: tet/vav
whieh is tet=9 + vav=6 so it’s the
15th of Shevat, whieh this year
happened on Monday, January 25.
Let’s talk about the real meaning
behind this holiday.
Tu B’Shevat is a post-Biblieal
holiday. The first referenee to it
appears in the Mishnah whieh lists
four new years:
On the first of Nisan, the new
year for the aneient reign of the
Jewish kings and for the festivals;
On the first of EM, the new
year for the tithing of the animals;
On the first of Tishrei, the new
year for the Sabbatieal years and
for the Jubilee years and for the
planting of the vegetables;
On Tu B’Shevat, the new year
for the trees.
(Mishnah, Tractate Rosh
Hashanah, Chapter 1)
It is also ealled “Rosh
HaShanah La’Ilanot” whieh
means: new years for the trees.
Inbal Ozeri
And here is how it was observed:
In 1890, on Tu B’Shevat, Rabbi
Ze’ev Yavetz took his students to
plant trees in the agrieultural
eolony of Ziehron Yaakov. In
1908, the Jewish Teaehers Union
adopted this eustom. Later on, in
the early 20th eentiuy, the Jewish
National Fund (JNF) devoted the
day to planting euealyptus trees.
Today JNF sehedules major tree
planting events in large forests
every Tu B Shevat.
Every year over a million Is
Partnership2Gether: Educators
Delegation
This past Chanukah,
the Jewish Federation
of Greater Charlotte
proudly hosted host
three edueators from our
Partnership 2Gether Sis
ter City, Hadera Eiron.
The teaeher exehange
is part of an ongoing ed-
ueational bridge that
eonneets Israeli and
Ameriean eities through
joint edueation projeets
and programs forging
eooperative relationships between
teaehers and students and
strengthening Ameriean and Is
raeli ties. Edueators had the op
portunity to speak to students
about Israel and enhanee eross-
eultural edueational experienees.
They all had a ehanee to enjoy
the Chanukah lighting at South
Park Mall as well as visit Temple
The delegation visited Temple Beth El Religious
School.
Michael Wizman visits Providence High School
Beth El Religious Sehool, Consol
idated Hebrew High and Charlotte
Jewish Day Sehool while also
visiting seeular sehools sueh as
Charlotte Country Day Sehool,
Charlotte Latin Sehool, and Prov-
idenee Day Sehool as well as
Providenee High Sehool.
This year, we weleomed
Miehael Wizman, 7th grade sei-
enee teaeher, Merav Ben-Amos,
4th grade math teaeher,
and Yaffa Mamon, an
other 4th grade teaeher.
We thank Tammy Seigel,
Corine Boekenek, and
our loeal P2G Chair,
Sheila Spitz for home
hosting our guests and
helping with all aspeets
of their visit, showing
them real “Southern”
hospitality. As Sheila ex
plains, hosting Miehael
had speeial meaning.
“For me,” she says, “it
and the Middle East. She speaks
Hebrew, Freneh, English and
Hungarian and was bom in Beer
Sheva, Israel.
Spaee is limited. To RSVP
please eall or email Tal Stein, Di
reetor of Community Relations
and Israel Affairs at tal.stein@
iewisheharlotte.org or 704-944-
6751.^
raelis take part in the JNF’s Tu Bi-
Shevat free-planting aetivities.
I hope you learned a little bit
more about this wonderful green
Jewish holiday.
As a reminder our monthly
Cafe Ivrit takes plaee every
month. You’re more than wel-
eome to look it up on Faeebook
under the name “Cafe Ivrit - He
brew Coffee.”
Also I am still looking for peo
ple to help me plan our annual
eommunity Yom Hazikaron and
Yom Ha’atzmaut event. I’m look
ing for a few volunteers that may
want to help me plan the most in
teresting, ereative and entertaining
eommunity event that Charlotte
has ever seen. Please feel free to
eontaetme Shaliaeh@jewishehar-
lotte.org 704-944-6784 if you are
interested.
I would love to get know all of
you better, so feel free to email me
at Shaliaeh@jewisheharlotte.org
and I would be happy to meet up,
grab eoffee and ehat (no Hebrew
neeessary).
I look forward to hearing from
you. ^
was a reunion and a way to pay
baek the hospitality that Miehael
and his wife and daughter showed
me when I was a guest in their
home on the Charlotte edueator
delegation in Israel last winter.
The eultural exehange and the
bonds we ereate with our Israeli
‘family’ is indeseribable in words,
it has to be felt in ‘person.’ My
daughter reeently visited Israel on
Taglit Birthright Israel and
Miehael and his wife made a point
of visiting her while she was in
(Continued on page 4)
Judith Varnai Shorer
Kgreenspon
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Jewish Federation
OFCStATMCHABUSnS
WOMEN'S
PHILANTHROPY
SAVE THE DATE
18'*’ Annual
Spring Lecture
APRIL 7, 2016
www.jewishcharlotte.org
for rnofo information, please contact Tair Giudicc.
Director of Outreach arwl Engagement. 70J 944.6759
tair.giudicc- u iewishcharlotte.org
A
Guest
Speaker
JENNIFER
TEEGE
Author of the internationally
bestselling memoir ’‘My Grandfather
Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman
Discovers Her Family’s Nazi Past"