Charlotte Jewish News Oct 2026 | Page 31

You Don’ t Have to Know Before You Go

By Madeline White
One of the occupational hazards of working at a synagogue is discovering just how much there is to learn. After five years at Temple Beth El, I still regularly stop a member of our clergy with what I call a“ quick question.” Sometimes it is brief. Other times, the answer begins with“ Well, it depends,” and suddenly we are discussing a disagreement that has continued for a few thousand years.
I’ ve also asked plenty of questions that begin with,“ This may be a dumb question, but …”
No one has ever treated them that way. Usually, I walk away knowing something I didn’ t know before and with one or two new questions added to the pile. My inquiries tend to happen in a clergy office or between meetings. And this fall, Temple Beth El is making room for all of us to ask our own.
Adult Beginning Hebrew: Aleph Bet and Reading starts in person Oct. 4. If you read the transliteration during services but want to feel more comfortable with the Hebrew itself, this course is for you. An online section begins Oct. 14. Content focuses on sounding out Hebrew and building familiarity with words often found in the siddur.
Adult learners gather at Temple Beth El for Torah Study. This fall’ s Lifelong Jewish Learning opportunities offer many places to begin.
No previous Hebrew experience is required.
Adult Advanced Beginning Hebrew: Prayer Hebrew and Conversational Hebrew is the next step as participants will work with prayers from the Shabbat service while also learning basic conversational Hebrew.
Modern Conversational Hebrew returns Oct. 5 and is intended for those adults with some basic Hebrew knowledge.
Anshei Mitzvah( Adult B’ nei Mitzvah) is our newest course designed for learners who want to put their Hebrew skills toward becoming Anshei Mitzvah. This course began meeting in late
September. Over five months, participants will learn with our clergy and prepare them to help lead a Shabbat morning service in January 2027. It is a good reminder that being called to the Torah is not an opportunity that disappears after age 13.
If Hebrew is not the question you are carrying, there are plenty of other ways to enter the conversation.
SAGE: Who Wrote the Bible? Searching for Its Origins, Authors, and Editors is being led by Rabbi Asher Knight and kicks off Oct. 14. This seven-part series will look at how the Hebrew Bible took shape across centuries and why it contains so many
The Charlotte Jewish News- October 2026- Page 31
different voices.
Lunchtime Learning: Together and Apart: The Future of Jewish Peoplehood is being guided by Rabbi Lexi Erdheim and begins Oct. 16 on Zoom. Using a curriculum from the Shalom Hartman Institute, the monthly series will explore the relationship between Jews in Israel and North America. Participants will have the opportunity to consider what connects these communities and the issues that can create distance between them.
Trouble with Transliteration? will be headed by Rabbi Beth Nichols beginning on Nov. 7 and again Nov. 17. If you have ever looked down at the transliteration during services and wondered why it does not quite match what everyone around you is saying, this class is a must. You will learn how Hebrew sounds are represented and where the accent belongs in a word. The class may finally explain how you can read every syllable on the page and still arrive at the end a few beats late.
Not everyone is looking for a multisession course. Torah Study meets every Shabbat morning, and one-time classes will continue throughout the year.
There is no one specific way to be an adult learner at Temple Beth El. You might be ready to master Hebrew, or perhaps one particular conversation has caught your attention. Curiosity is enough to get you through the door. Several fall classes begin soon and require advance registration. What do you want to learn this year?
Explore a variety of upcoming learning opportunities at templebethel. org / learning.

A Fragile Roof, an Open Door: What Sukkot Asks of Us

By Mara Cobe
Just five days after Yom Kippur, Judaism asks us to do something that seems almost startling. Following weeks of introspection, repentance, prayer, and solemnity, we pick up hammers and branches and head outside to build a hut.
For seven days, Jews are invited to leave the security of our homes and spend time in a
sukkah, a temporary shelter with walls that are hardly permanent and a roof open enough that we remain aware of the sky above us. The holiday recalls both the autumn harvest and the temporary dwellings of the Israelites during their journey through the wilderness.
Temple Solel congregants gather beneath the sukkah to share food and fellowship during last year’ s Sukkot celebration.
It is one of Judaism’ s most joyful holidays, and perhaps one of its most challenging. Sukkot is
called z’ man simchateinu,“ the season of our rejoicing.” Its joy does not come from pretending that life is permanent or predictable. Instead, we celebrate while knowing that it is not.
At Temple Solel, where so much of our Jewish life is built around creating community together, Sukkot offers a particularly meaningful question: What really makes us feel secure and who among us is still searching for that security?
The sukkah is intentionally fragile. We sit beneath its branches knowing that wind can blow through, rain may enter, and the stars might be visible overhead. For one week, we are reminded the walls we depend upon are not as permanent as we sometimes imagine.
That lesson feels especially relevant today.“ Home” can mean many things: a physical shelter, a community where we belong, people who welcome us, or simply the assurance that there is somewhere we are expected and wanted. Sukkot reminds us not to take any of those things for granted.
But Judaism rarely allows gratitude to stop with ourselves. The holiday also carries a powerful tradition of hospitality. The Jewish value of hachnasat orchim, welcoming guests, is
considered so important that, according to the Babylonian Talmud, hospitality to wayfarers is greater than welcoming the Divine Presence.
During Sukkot, that idea becomes tangible. The sukkah is not designed as a private retreat. Its very nature invites us to open the door, add another chair, share a meal, and make room.
There is even a Sukkot tradition called ushpizin, Aramaic for“ guests,” in which we symbolically invite our ancestors into the sukkah. Over time, many communities have expanded that tradition to recognize women of Jewish history and other voices whose stories deserve a place at our tables. Perhaps we can expand the invitation still further. Who would feel welcome at our sukkah? More importantly, who might assume that the invitation was not meant for them?
The person who has never entered a synagogue. The interfaith family wondering whether they belong. Someone new to Charlotte or Fort Mill who has not yet found community. A neighbor who is lonely. Someone who cannot afford a home of their own. Someone whose Jewish practice looks different from ours or who is still figuring out what Jewish practice means to them.
A sukkah cannot protect us from every storm. Maybe that is precisely the point. It reminds us that none of us is entirely self-sufficient and that security is strengthened when it is shared. This Sukkot, we can do more than admire a beautifully decorated sukkah or shake the lulav and etrog. We can invite someone new to sit beside us. Share food with someone who needs it. Support organizations that help families find shelter and stability. Reach out to someone who may be standing just outside the circle of community.
And we can ask ourselves one simple question: Who still needs an invitation? Under a roof made of branches, perhaps we can remember that the strongest shelter we build is not made of wood at all. It is made of belonging.
Temple Solel is a small, inclusive Reform congregation in Fort Mill, SC. For more information, visit our website, templesolelsc. org, email info @ templesolelsc. org, or call( 803) 610-1707.