Archive

This benediction was written for the ribbon cutting at the New Charlotte U.S. Courthouse Annex and Charles R. Jonas Federal Building Renovation on May 19, 2023. It is an honor to be here and offer prayers and blessings for this courthouse. A vision for justice is...

After experiencing hundreds of years of slavery in Egypt, the moment of redemption is finally upon us. Miraculously, we, as Israelites, cross through parted seas and stand on solid ground of freedom. Our first act of freedom is to sing. Moses and the Israelites sing....

This interview was aired on Charlotte Talks with Mike Collins on November 10, 2022 (the anniversary of Kristallnacht, the night of Broken Glass more appropriately known as the November Pogrom). Link to Charlotte Talks Podcast Link to Charlotte Talks Facebook Live...

This editorial was published in the Charlotte Observer on October 19, 2022 The drumbeat of hate in our society is becoming louder and more prevalent. It is coming at us in surround sound and emitting from multiple instruments. This past weekend former President Trump...

Dr. Dick Blackwell, trained in both psychotherapy and ministry, and I reflected on Ecclesiastes and making marriage work. My words are in black font and Dr. Blackwell’s insights are in purple. Ecclesiastes tells us there is a time for everything – for...

Hate… Plans shattered. Dreams shattered. Lives shattered. Kristallnacht: Germany’s shattering. November 9th and 10th. The virus of antisemitism. Awakened, virulent, violent. Tree of Life Synagogue: Pittsburgh’s shattering. America’s shattering. October 27th. An...

Election Season Event: April 2022 Candidates of Color Forum with Aisha Dew & Rev. Vahisha Hasan and Queens Students Thursday, April 21, 2022 Time: 7:00 pm Location: Ketner Auditorium at Queens University of Charlotte Who will be running our city and county?...

We celebrate sacred intersections of time. Our own Kiddush cups filled celebrating promises of redemption – past, present, and future simultaneously awakening ancient memory and creating memory connecting age-old journeys to today “Egypts” of oppression still exist...

I once gave a Yom Kippur sermon at Temple Beth El, noting that there are some ultra-Orthodox communities where rabbi cards are traded like baseball counterparts, and that if I had such cards, I’d want those of my two favorite Rabbis – Reb Nachman of Breslov and my...

This was delivered as part of the 25th annual Comparative Religion Series at Temple Beth El. Robert Seltzer opens his tome on Jewish People Jewish Thought: The Jewish Experience in History with the following statement: “Thirty two centuries ago, the Jewish people...

[Reflection from the Conversation on Healing from Trauma: Colleyville, COVID, and Rising Hate on January 24, 2022 and in gratitude to Dr. Hadia Mubarak] We are sisters, scared because of hate aimed at our difference, feeling safety in our solidarity, and support as we...

This editorial was published in the Charlotte Observer on January 18, 2022. It was co-authored by Rabbi Judy Schindler and Rabbi Asher Knight. As Jews, we have had a long history of experiencing our religious “otherness” as a source of fear. Yesterday’s daylong horror...

We stand at the start of the new year of 2022. Milestones in time are ideal moments for reflection and for setting intentions that lead to change. The past two years have challenged every one of us and our world. With each passing wave of the pandemic, the tensions in...

As we wake to the dawn of a New Year, we pray for… Hearts of compassion to recognize the struggles of others. Minds of wisdom to heal our world – so that we can eradicate the pandemic in the long-term, and in the short-term, learn to live with it and not die...

The Jewish holiday of Passover begins on the evening of Saturday, March 27th.  The narrative of the Exodus has inspired countless communities in the past and today to fight for freedom.  Our Seder supplement is designed to enable you to bring contemporary...

These words were delivered by Rabbi Judy Schindler to the North Carolina House Education K-12 Standing Committee on March 23, 2021. In the five years since our inception, the Stan Greenspon Center for Peace and Social Justice at Queens University of Charlotte has...

We take this Shabbat to think about those globally who are seeking a place of refuge. Why did HIAS (the Jewish refugee resettlement agency) choose this day for Refugee Shabbat? Perhaps because Passover is quickly approaching and we need to think about the ways in...

From darkness to light; from violence to the peaceful transfer of power; from insurgency to democracy; from hate to hope; from white supremacy to equality; and from Confederate flags to American flags. From sexism, racism, and antisemitism to Vice President Harris and...

How is this Thanksgiving different from all other Thanksgivings? It has been a tough nine months. We have endured so much pain as a community, country, and globe. People are struggling so deeply with homelessness, unemployment, isolation, illness, death, not to...

Take time today to pray. Take time tomorrow to vote (if you haven’t already). And the day after, make time to be civically engaged. Our country and our future depend on all of us. Source of all life, we pray for our country, and its democracy; for peaceful and...

The Black-Jewish relationship of the 1960s had strength and created memories of which Jews today are proud. • Fifty percent of the young people who volunteered from all parts of the United States in the summer of 1964 to register voters in Mississippi were Jews....

The Torah is the ultimate spiral curriculum, we grow with each annual reading. The teachings on Torah and its commentaries are like a sea — they are endless and we grow endlessly by studying them. This weekend marks a global Jewish celebration of the Torah...

God of Hannah, who saw tears roll down her face and provided solace, God of Hagar, who opened her eyes to the see the wellspring before her, help us in our moments of despair to open our eyes to see the wellsprings before us, God of Miriam, who led our people in song...

Yom Kippur 5781/2020 [If you are reading this and would like to comment, please do not post your comments on social media but on this blog or through the google doc link below. Thank you.] It is great to be with you, my Temple Beth El Family for this healing service....

This is recommended pre-reading for those who are attending Temple Beth El’s Yom Kippur Afternoon Healing Service. “What if?” I asked myself as the pandemic began to impact all of our lives on a profound level.  “What if I or the people I know and love get...

These words were shared as part of a panel with Dr. Buffie Longmire-Avital and Laurel Grauer, with Amy Rogers as moderator, on the topic of “Black Lives Matter from Jewish Perspectives” on August 5, 2020. Questioning is part of human nature. Questioning is...

Shared at a Public Forum on July 27, 2020. Thank you for removing the Judah Benjamin memorial from Tryon Street. I and the Jewish community deeply appreciate your work. I speak tonight on the Charlotte Black Upward Mobility & Restorative Justice Resolution that we...

Today is called the Sabbath of comfort. With hundreds of thousands dead and millions sick from COVID-19, where and how are we supposed to find comfort? As Jews, we are experts in facing shattered worlds. In 586 BCE, we witnessed the destruction of our First Temple in...

In my mind, Selma is a place of holy ground – a place where a bloody civil rights battle was fought. The bridge serves as the perfect metaphor for the work we are called to today. We need to move forward to transform our country from a place of empty promises of...

“I always thought 2020 was going to be a hopeful year… Then I was dreadfully wrong… Then, perhaps, I was right.” For the past 18 years I had high hopes for the year 2020. Since the day my youngest child entered kindergarten, I would daydream about his graduating high...