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The Charlotte Jewish News - November 2018 - Page 13 gommuaitvMBHfs Cemetery President’s Annual Message By Mike Littauer, president, Hebrew Cemetery Association If the old adage that “hell have no fury like a woman” is trae, then Florence did not disappoint. Fortunately and due to good plan ning, we did not incur any dam age to the Cemetery. It was a diffi cult decision to cancel the Aimual Memorial Service, however the safety of our family and friends always takes precedence over an event, even one as important and meaningful as our Aimual Memo rial Service. Due to scheduling difficulties we will not be able to conduct that service this year and look forward to seeing you all in 2019. What follows is the President’s message I was to give at that service edited to comply with the space requirements of the CJN: 2018 has been a busy and productive year for the Hebrew Cemetery Association. With your support we have been able to be gin to position ourselves for the future by bringing our back office operations into the 21st century. We continually look for ways to make our Cemetery more effi cient and to take advantage of the talent and passion of those I am proud to serve with on the Cem etery Board of Directors. To that end we reorganized our Board of Directors in to four working com mittees that are focused on four key areas of om Cemetery busi ness, each with their own chair - Building and Grounds, Robert Valenstein; Finance and Technol ogy, Barry Blau; Outreach and Events, Brian Yesowitch; and Executive Committee and Ritual, Mike Littauer. This has given us both the focus and productivity we needed to manage the Ceme tery and stay productive 365 days a year. In January, we contracted to move om manual systems to a cloud based system that will make our operations more effi cient and provide our commu nity with an electronic interface that will access to plot locations, family histories, community history, personal accounts, and other essential information. On the business side it will give us better control over many aspects of our grounds management, our membership lists, management reporting, and accounting. We have been working closely with our partner CIMS since January and will begin moving to this system in the 4th quarter of this year. This is and continues to be a monumental effort and task and I want to take a moment to thank Barry Blau and our entire Finance and Technology committee for their extraordinary work on this project. We have initiated a “redo” of the HCA website. Long overdue, we are in the process of finalizing our wish list and working with a new website design company to make our site user friendly, rel evant, and a “go to” for current Cemetery information and events. Again, many thanks to our Fi nance and Technology committee for their hard work on this much needed project. Since the completion of our memorial building many in our community have preferred to have their funeral service at the Cemetery. The Mindy Ellen Levine Chapel was designed to seat 50 people comfortably and The Ruach Keeps Spreading the Joy of Judaism The Ruach, Charlotte’s only band playing modem Jewish music, continues its mission of spreading the joy of Judaism through new Jewish musical ex periences that are meant to create and maintain personal connec tions and inspire and engage peo ple to embrace the religion and all that it has to offer. After hosting The Rosh Hashanah Experience on September 10, the Ruach travelled to Raleigh on Friday, September 28 to provide Temple Beth Shalom with The Ruach Shabbat Experience. The congre gation sang, clapped, and let the spirit move them. Lisa Turkel of Raleigh had this to say about The Experience, “If Fleetwood Mac were to lead a Shabbat service, this is what it would be like; it was amazing and uplifting.” Her friend, Linda Green Bradley from Durham, chimed in, “It made my heart sing.” Temple Beth Shalom’s Direc tor of Religious School, Lynn Calnek, beamed, “Fm over the moon about having had The Ru ach here at our Temple tonight for Shabbat. Everyone was saying that they didn’t want The Expe rience to end. The energy of the evening was phenomenal. We will definitely have The Ruach back soon.” On October 21, The Ruach was the headliner at the Greensboro Jewish Festival at Temple Emanu el. The band played two half-hour sets, each set containing music from both their first CD - The Ru ach: Real. Jewish. Rock, as well as from their untitled, upcom ing CD. One of the new songs, “Adonai S’fatai” (“Open Up My Mouth”) really got the crowd up and out of their seats. Here’s how Dan Ruda, The Ruach’s bassist Joe Buchanan and backup vocalist describes the song, “It t^es the Hebrew words of the original liturgy, adds in some English translation and in terpretation, and puts all of that to music that is a cross between funk, rap, and classic rock. It re ally is a great groove with a lot of spirituality! If it doesn’t get you going, nothing will.” Back again in Charlotte, on October 26 the band took The Ru ach Shabbat Experience to a new venue: Heist Brewery in NoDa. Franklin Kaunitz, the band’s reg ular violin player was unavailable to play for The Experience so the band invited professional fiddler, Tom Eure, to sit in. His bluegrass style added an country flavor to The Ruach’s music. Tom plays guitar, as well, and during the time of personal reflection played the very moving song “How Did We Use Om Time,” from his al bum, With Grateful Heart. we have had situations where the congregation has exceeded the capacity of the room. In Septem ber, we completed the installation of a closed circuit TV and sound system in the adjoining Gorelick Gathering room so up to 125 congregants may be seated and participate in the service comfort ably. I want to take a moment to thank our Legacy Members. Your gift and commitment to om Cem etery is greatly appreciated and helps ensme we will be there for our community in perpetuity. I also want to thank our Board of Directors and volunteers whose dedication and passion inspire me every day. And thank you to San dra Goldman, our Director, Rob ert Taylor our Groundskeeper, and Arlene Lott our Administra- Hebrew Cemetery of Greater Charlotte * £ i\'.L>r- five Assistant for their dedication and commitment to our Jewish Community 24/7,365 days ayem. Mark Twain once said that “the secret of getting ahead is getting started.” I think that sums up 2018 for our Cemetery team pret ty well. May the new yem bring you, your families, and your friends good health, happiness, and peace. *5* In addition to playing for The Ruach Shabbat Experience itself, the band has a goal of bring ing other Jewish artists to Chm- lotte a few times a yem. Said Peter Levinson, lead guitarist and spokesperson for The Ru ach, “There is a lot of new Jew ish music out there and we want people here in Charlotte to have an opportunity to experience it.” With this in mind, on November 9, The Ruach will be hosting Joe Buchanan at The Rabbit Hole in Plaza Midwood in what will be an unforgettable evening. Joe is one of the biggest names in new Jewish music today and calls his music, “Jewish Ameri cana.” He is a Jew by choice and weaves the story of his spiritual journey to Judaism into his mu sic. He will be leading a Shabbat Experience that he designed and with music he wrote. Through his music he will shme his very mov ing and compelling story. Admission to The Shabbat Ex perience featuring Joe Buchanan is free but due to the size of The Rabbit Hole only 150 tickets will be available. To keep up with The Ruach, like them on Facebook /thera- achband, and follow the band on Instagram @the.raach.new.jew- ish.music and Twitter @TheRu- achSpirit. And, if you’d like to get on their email distribution list, send an email to the.ruach.band@ gmail.com. *5* WORK WITH THE LEADERS IN CHARLOTTE REAL ESTATE SARAH ROSE STEVE LEPOW SarahRose@remax.net SteveLepow@remax.net 704 619-0422 704 975-8500 mtm: Executive PART-TIME JEWISH AND ISRAEL EDUCATION COORDINATOR POSITION AVAILABLE Responsibilities include: • Expertise of trends and model practices in Jewish and Israel education • Planning and implementation of CJE educational and engagement initiatives • Development of CJE’s adult learning opportunities • Coordinate and implement activity for P2G Teen Leadership Israel Experience • Develop unique Israel Education programming Job requirements: • Knowledge and understanding of Jewish practices, customs, and culture • Experience in Jewish education program design, development and implementation • Travel experience in Israel • Excellent interpersonal and organizational skills For more information and a job description, visit www.jewishcharlotte.org. Send cover letter and resume to tair.giudice@jewishcharlotte.org. Jewish Federation OF GREATER CHARLOTTE
The Charlotte Jewish News (Charlotte, N.C.)
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