The Charlotte Jewish News- October 2026- Page 30
Chabad Fall Programs Explore Jewish Identity, Continuity and Connection
By Rabbi Shlomo Cohen
What allows Jewish identity and tradition to endure across generations, particularly when outside forces threaten to weaken or erase them?
That question runs through a series of programs at Chabad of Charlotte this fall, from an examination of Jewish survival under Soviet oppression to a celebration of a centuries-old Jewish ritual and a six-week exploration of Kabbalah. Together, the programs consider how history, practice and learning continue to shape Jewish life today.
The conversation begins Friday, Oct. 23, at Chabad of Charlotte’ s annual Fall Shabbaton Dinner, featuring scholar, entrepreneur and author Dr. Emil Pitkin. His keynote address,“ The Future Survival of Judaism and the Jewish People: Lessons from the Past,” will draw on history to examine questions of Jewish continuity and their relevance to American Jewish life today.
At the center of Pitkin’ s presentation is a manuscript with a deeply personal history.“ The Penny Is Gone: A Soviet Jew’ s Meditations on the Jewish Question,” which Pitkin translated, was written by his maternal grandfather, Dr. Emil Bezverkhny, in Leningrad in 1982. Bezverkhny wrote it in secret during the Brezhnev era, when candid reflections on Soviet antisemitism and Jewish identity could invite state retribution.
A physicist, atmospheric researcher, inventor and mountaineer, Bezverkhny saw his career derailed because he was Jewish. He lost his laboratory, was barred from publishing scientific work and was blacklisted by dozens of research institutes, experiences that reflected the discrimination faced by Soviet Jews.
Born in the Soviet Union in
Dr. Emil Pitkin
1987, Pitkin arrived in the United States as a young child. He graduated from Harvard University with a degree in mathematics and earned a doctorate in statistics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he became the youngest lecturer in the school’ s history.
Today, alongside his work in data science and technology entrepreneurship, his life reflects the distance between the restrictions his grandfather endured and the opportunities available to subsequent generations of American Jews.
Pitkin will consider what today’ s Jewish community can learn from those who risked so much to preserve their identity and how those experiences might inform the way Jewish heritage is passed to the next generation.
The focus shifts from history to ritual on Sunday, Nov. 1, when the Jewish Women’ s Club marks the 10th anniversary of Mikvah Mei Leah.
Since opening in 2015, the mikvah at Chabad of Charlotte has hosted thousands of visits, offering Jewish women in Charlotte a place to participate in a tradition that stretches back generations.
“ Mikvah: A 10-Year Celebration” will feature Miriam Lipskier, co-director of the Chabad Student Center at Emory University. Her program,“ The Beauty of Mikvah: A Journey of Renewal,” will explore the significance of mikvah as a practice of renewal and spiritual connection. Lipskier will also discuss intimacy in Jewish marriage and the role mikvah can play in sustaining connection between spouses.
The evening will honor the women who have used Mikvah Mei Leah during its first decade while looking toward its future. Guests may contribute to the fa-
Miriam Lipskier, co-director of the Chabad Student Center at Emory University.
cility’ s renovation or purchase ish life and relationships, and an item from the mikvah’ s wish how Jewish learning can illuminate questions that remain deep- list.
Jewish tradition will also be ly human. examined through a different Across history, ritual and lens this fall with“ Kabbalah study, each asks in its own way and the Hidden Architecture of You,” a six-week course offered through the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute( RJLI).
The series explores 40 kabbalistic ideas, including reincarnation, soulmates, dreams, music and the nature of the soul. It also considers the spiritual dimension of human psychology and questions rooted in everyday experience, from why certain qualities in other people bother us to why we marry the people we do and why music can affect us so powerfully.
“ These are ideas that have fascinated people for generations, and Kabbalah offers a unique Jewish perspective on them,” Rabbi Yossi Groner said.
Rather than approaching Kabbalah as something distant or mysterious, the course presents Jewish mysticism as a way of looking more deeply at ordinary life.
“ It’ s like tearing the facade off the world’ s surface and seeing the spiritual forces at work behind the scenes,” Rabbi Shlomo what we inherit, what we make Cohen said. our own and what we choose to
Designed for participants regardless of previous Jewish Together, thse dynamic pro-
pass forward. learning or experience with Kabbalah, each session combines to engage with Jewish tradition,
grams offer three different ways
classical Jewish sources with through the lessons of the past, contemporary insights. the practices that continue to
The course will be offered shape Jewish life and the ideas in two sessions. Rabbi Yossi that invite each generation to Groner’ s evening session begins Tuesday, Oct. 27, and meets look at its heritage anew.
from 7:30 to 9 p. m., in person Mark Your Calendar and via Zoom. Rabbi Shlomo
Taken together, the programs Fall Shabbaton Dinner and approach Jewish continuity from Keynote Presentation featuring Dr. Emil Pitkin. Friday, different directions: what earlier generations endured to preserve Oct. 23, at Chabad of Charlotte, 6619 Sardis Road. The
Jewish identity, how ancient practices continue to shape Jew- evening will include a traditional
Shabbat meal. Space is limited. To RSVP, visit chabadnc. org or call 704-366- 3984.
Mikvah: A 10-Year Celebration Sunday, Nov. 1, at 7 p. m. at Chabad of Charlotte. Admission is $ 36, with sponsorship opportunities available. Light refreshments will be served. For tickets and registration, visit chabadnc. org or call 704- 366-3984.
Kabbalah and the Hidden Architecture of You Evening sessions led by Rabbi Yossi Groner begin Tuesday, Oct. 27, from 7:30 to 9 p. m., in person and via Zoom. Daytime sessions led by Rabbi Sclomo Cohen begin Wednesday, Oct. 28, from 11 a. m. to 12:30 p. m. in person. Tuition is $ 100 per person or $ 180 per couple. To register, visit myjli. com or call 704-366-3984.
Chabad of Charlotte’ s six-week course,“ Kabbalah and the Hidden Architecture of You,” explores Jewish mysticism and its connection to everyday life.