The Charlotte Jewish News - October 2010 - Page 11
What are Kippot? Who Wears a Kippah and Why?
While kippot are recogniz
able outward signs of our
Jewishness, our wearing them
is more about custom (min-
hag) than law (halakhah).
There are no guidelines for
kippot, no specifications of
dimension, fabric, style, or
color There is a Talmudic
idea that we really shouldn’t
wander far without head cov
ering, but other than that, the
references are pretty scarce.
Nevertheless, kippot have become
an expression of who we are, both
as individuals and as members of a
community. They are as varied,
artistic, beautiful, bold, and sweet
as the people who make and wear
them. But regardless of their
uniqueness and specificity, it can
not be denied that wearing kippot
facilitates mindfulness during
prayer and worship.
This year Temple Or Olam’s
students are making their own kip
pot. In crafting kippot, the chil
dren leam to appreciate the prac
tices that surround their
Jewishness, and they also leam
about having a relationship to
God. Kippot do both of these
things simultaneously. When a
child puts on a kippah she
has made, she is reminded
that God is above and around
her. She has hand-made a
physical reminder of the
presence of God in her life.
How many of us could bene
fit from the creation of such
a space in our lives? How
much differently might we
approach prayer and worship
if we were encased in a
unique and personal space
that we had ourselves created?
Children wear their kippot to
services and we are able to guess
at facets of their forming personal
ities by taking note of the designs
on their head coverings. He likes
baseball. She likes butterflies. If
you could make your own kippah,
what would it look like? More
importantly, what would the space
Temple Emanuel Religious School
Receives the Lenora Stein Fund for
Community Creative Learning
By Donna deGroot, Temple
Emanuel Religious School
Director
Sometimes when I tell folks
that I am the Religious School
Director for Temple Emanuel in
Gastonia, I am asked, “Are there
Jews in Gastonia?” My usual
response is “Yes, actually, there
are and besides that. Temple
Emanuel serves the Jewish
community in Gastonia and
beyond.” We have families
who come to us from Lake
Norman, Rock Hill, and
Lancaster. We even have a
few families who live as far
away as Shelby, NC.
Our school is small; most
of our classes have four to
ten students. Considering
that many of our students are
the only Jews in their class at
school during the week, their
two hours at Sunday school
can be pretty important to
them. Looking at the small
class sizes and our outdated audio
visual equipment over the past
seven years, I have longed for a
way to help connect these children
to other Jewish children in similar
circumstances. When I saw that
the Lenora Stein Fund for
Community Creative Learning
was offering a grant for a creative
The kids of Emanuel
"Thanks for the grant! ”
Religious School say
project, I began to dream of what
we might be able to accomplish
for the students in Gastonia if we
had the opportunity.
I dreamed of being able to bring
Israel to life in the classroom with
internet access, of being able to
video chat with students in other
isolated communities. In short, I
dreamed of having the
chance to help Temple
Emanuel students “make
connections.” Having inter
net access and a projector can
make a huge difference in all
of the Sunday school class
rooms and will enhance the
adult study classes as well.
The Lenora Stein Fund
Board voted unanimously to
give us this chance. Temple
Emanuel and I are thrilled
with this opportunity and are
excited to make these dreams
come true. ^
it created mean to you? What
would you imagine going on
above and below it when you were
wearing it? Do you suppose you
would behave differently? Give it
some thought.
For more information about
Temple Or Olam’s religious
school or services, you can email
us at info@or-olam.org or call at
704-720-7577. Temple Or 01am
holds services twice a month at
McGill Baptist Church in
Concord. Information is available
on our website, www.or-olam.org,
where you can also subscribe via
email. ^
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8985 (06/09)
Wine Dinner Benefit for Jewish Family
Services
Do you love delicious food
with their perfect wine pairings?
Would you enjoy a rewarding
evening together with fellow con
gregants and community mem
bers? Do you like the excitement
of raffle prizes? Then you must
join us for the 2010 Lake Norman
Jewish Congregation Social
Action Wine Dinner Fundraiser
benefiting Jewish Family Services
of Charlotte.
Jewish Family Services
strengthens and empowers indi
viduals and families through pro
fessional counseling, programs
and services, including crisis help,
a food bank, domestic violence
assistance, and senior outreach; all
inspired by Jewish values.
The event will take place at
Dressler’s Restaurant in Birkdale
Village, Huntersville, NC on the
evenings of November 2 and 3, at
6 PM. Dressler’s will prepare four
scrumptious courses served with a
wine that complements the flavors
of each. Many fabulous prizes will
be raffled and your favorite wines
will be available for sale.
Tickets for the event are $65
each. Please contact David Koster
at davidkoster@mi-connection.
com for reservations. Each
evening will host only 36 guests,
so reserve your seats before
October 15.
We are also seeking individual,
family, and business sponsorships.
To find out more about sponsor
ships, please contact Ken Spatz at
KSpatz@aol.com.
Please join us for a wonderful
evening supporting a very worthy
cause.
The Lake Norman Jewish
Congregation Social Action
Committee was formed in 2009
with the mission of supporting and
benefiting the congregation and
providing charitable support to
meet the constant needs of the
Lake Norman community. ^
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