The
Charlotte
Jewish
NEWS
N«)n-lV**ru Ori'ani/ution
lU'I.K KATK
i:.S. l»oslaKo I'AII)
('harlutto, N. (
IVrniit N.i.
Vol. 3 No. 1
Charlotte, North Carolina
January 1981
Major Gifts Dinner Marks Successful Start
Approximately 50 people
attending the 1981 Campaign
Major Gifts Dinner heard co
chairperson Alvin Levine an
nounce a pledge total of $384,-
000 for an increase of $42,000
over the same gifts in 1980.
Held for the 3rd year at Cafe
Eugene, the event, brings
together those donors to the
Men’s Campaign whose gifts
are $3000 or more.
“Shelton Gorelick, my co-
chairman, and I are extremely
proud and pleased with the
response to the new campaign,”
said Mr. Levine. “We are a for
tunate community with a bright
future, but that does not mean
we can forget those Jews who
are less fortunate. Those many
needs and causes for which we
raise these dollars are even more
pressing this year, and we can
not look away. I hope and I pray
that each member of our com
munity will come to realize how
much the Federation does for us
in Charlotte as well as for world
Jewry, and, that in response to
that knowledge, they will give
and give generously.”
Mr. l^evine went on to describe
exactly how the Federation
benefits the Jews of Charlotte.
i'Vimost $200,000 of the 1980
(’ampai^;n of $625,(M)0 remained
•n Charlotiu aucl in .^’orth
Carolu»a. Major allocations in
cluded the Blumenthal Home,
Hillel, the JCC, BBYO and the
Hebrew Academy.
“In effect,” Nh". Levine con
tinued, “the Federation’s alloca
tion of $50,0(M) to the JCC
amounted to almost $100 per
membership. The same kind of
figuring is true for Jewish
Charlotteans who participate in
any of the other supported in
stitutions or programs.
Keynote speaker for the even-
Cultural Sampler:
Texas Fever Band
On Sunday, January 18 at 3
p.m. at the Jewish Community
Center, the Cultural Sampler
features Carlton Moody and the
Texas Fever Band. His brothers,
David, 17; Trent, 12; and his
father Dwight will also be there.
An entertaining afternoon of
Country and Blue Grass Folk
Music will take our cultural
programming in a new direc
tion. This promises to be an en
joyable afternoon for all ages.
Carlton Moody has been
around music his entire life.
Elarly in his childhood he began
singing with his parents,
Dwight and Cathy Moody, and
began his TV. career at the age
of 12, performing with his fami
ly on WCTU, Channel 36 in
Charlotte. Later he became a
(Continued on Page 11)
Rabbi Raymond A. Zwerin
(photo/Ellie Luski)
ing was Kabbi Raymond Zwerin
of Denver. Rabbi Zwerin used
the classic Jewish technique of
the “midrash” or parable to con
trast the relationship between
the Rabbis, other Jewish
professionals, community
leaders and the general Jewish
community. He discussed the
duties and obligations of each
and emphasized how important
it was for everyone to focus on
their portion of the necessary
tasks as well as to work
together.
For liabhi Zwerin this was the
third of four' speaking
enj^a^ements during the day
UiiJ c\\.:;int;.
At noon he met with the first
of a series of groups which will
he convened over the coming
months to discuss the future
directions of the Charlotte
Jewish community. He urged
them to be willing to dream
great dreams, but, even more im-
portiint, he urged them to share
those dreams with everyone. He
illustrated the need for this by
discussing the qualities of
Moses as a leader. He reminded
those present that Moses never
shared the vision and the dream
which Grod had shown him. In
stead, Moses invoked Gd’s help
and did what was necessary
whenever a crisis arose. He
parted the Red Sea, provided
manna and water, etc. Rabbi
Zwerin pointed out that even at
Mount Sinai Moses in effect told
the people to stay and wait while
he went to get the laws which
they would be expected to
follow. “This kind of
leadership,” said Rabbi Zwerin,
“led to the wandering in the
desert. However, when Joshua
took over, his first act was to
assign each tribe and individual
specific responsibilities in the
process of obtaining the land G-
d had promised. With that sense
of involvement they ac
complished in just months what
they had been unable to do for 40
years.”
During the mid-afternoon
Rabbi Zwerin met with teachers
from the Hebrew School, Sun
day School, pre-school of Tem
ple Israel, the Temple Beth El
Sunday School and the Hebrew
Academy. He examined with
them new approaches to
curriculum and reviewed newly.
l-tabbi Zwerin ended his day
with a major address to more
than 70 people at the Jewish
Community Center. His talk en
titled, “Clay Feet and the Kiss of
(}-d” focused on the unique
qualities of Jewish family life
and how those qualities can
enhance the individual family
members as well as the total
community.
Lubavitch Family
Arrives in Charlotte
A new couple moved to
Charlotte to achieve a goal that
will bring them in touch with
many Jews in North Carolina.
ITiey are representatives of the
world renowned Jewish leader.
Rabbi Menachem M. Schneer-
son Shlita, the Lubavitcher
Rebbe and power force of the
famous Lubavitch movement.
They are here to raise the level
of Jewish awareness, through
education, teaching about
various precepts through the
mitzvah compaign, visiting
communities around the state,
forming Jewish youth groups,
relating to young children
through story and song, and
teaching insights of CJhassidic
philosophy.
Rabbi Yoseph Groner» his
wife Mariashi and daughter
Rochel came from Brooklyn to
start Lubavitch of N.C., hoping
to reach out to every community
in the state.
Rabbi Groner, bom and rais
ed in Brooklyn, attended
Lubavitch Yeshiva there. After
graduation, he studied at the
Rabbinical CJollege of America,
N.J., continued on in the
lAibavitcher Yeshivot in Paris
and Israel. Upon his return to
New York, he received his or
dination as Rabbi and con
tinued his studies in Rabbinics
and Cbassidic philosophy.
Mariashi was bom in Detroit,
Michigan. Her father, Rabbi
Berel Shemtov, is regional direc
tor of Lubavitch in Michigan.
She graduated from Beth
Rivkah Sdiools in New York,
where she went on to the
Teachers Seminary. She was
president of Bnos (Jhabad (the
girls branch of the Lubavitch
Youth Org.) and directed the
festival mitzvah campaign.
They live at 65(X) Newhall Rd.,
366-3984.
Academy News
. p. 6
Bar/Bat Mitzvahs
. p. 9
Books in Review
. p. 9
Bulletin Board
. p. 8
Candlelighting
. p. 11
Community Calendar.
. p. 9
Dry Bones
. p. 9
In
The
News
JCC SPRING CLASS SCHEDULE, Supplement
Editorials
... p. 2
For the Record
...p. 4
MARATHON
... p. 10
Random thoughts...
...p. 3
This *n that
...p. 6
World Beat
...p. 4
Community Project
Boxscore
The I^oject Box Score is
published to bring you up to date
on the latest progress toward
the Community Project.
In November the C!5iarlotte
Jewish Foundation was official
ly consti^^uted. It consists of two
representatives each from Tem
ple Israel, Temple Beth El, llie
Hebrew Academy, the JCC and
the Federation. In addition, ten
members were elected from the
community at large.
In one of its first acts, the
Foundation appointed a com
mittee to screen and recommend
an architect for the Project.
High priorities are how to in
volve the entire community in
determining what the needs and
concerns are in all areas of
Jewish life and the planning
process for addressing those
needs. A second committee has
been assigned and is at work on
this.
The Council of Presidents of
the institutions involved is con
tinuing to meet and to set the
guidelines around positive co
existence in the Project,
In the next few months each
interested member of the Jewish
community can look forward to
both major progress and a per
sonal opportunity for participa
tion in the Project.
The Roof Fell In!
t
photo/Ellie Luski
In 1978 the JCC conducted a
successful Building Fund cam
paign . The brochure for the cam
paign read, “The JCC Has
Some Good News and Some
Bad News. First the Bad
News — The Roof Is Falling
In.”
On Sunday morning,
Dec-ember 1,1980 at 11:03 — the
roof over the front porch did fall
in! Thanks to those generous
contributors to the Building
Fund, the (Center was back in
full operation within days.
In the past three years the
JCC has grown by leaps and
bounds to a membership of 526
families or over 2,(XX) in
dividuals. The classes, facilities
and programs serve a thousand
or more each week during the
school year and thousands per
week during the summer.
Thanks to the Building Fund,
the Center has been able to
maintain and enhance the
facilities in order to keep up with
membership demands. Building
Fund dollars have resurfaced
the tennis courts, purchased
pool furniture (more lounges are
coming for summer, 1981),
redecorated the building, built
new program space and offices,
renovated lights and air con
ditioning, and turned the little
house into a usable craft center
and meeting area. In addition,
through sound financial
management the JCC is ac
cumulating much needed funds
in anticipation of the JCC
facilities in the Community Pro
ject.
In times of stress and times of
simcha the membership of the
JCC has had reason to
remember with thanks the
generosity of those who have
and still continue to contribute
to the Building Fund.