CJN April 2026 Final_online | Seite 4

The Charlotte Jewish News- April 2026- Page 4 Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte

Sue’ s Book Club

By Sue Littauer
I admit, I’ ve never read an entire book by Allegra Goodman, although I have started a couple of them.
But the piece of apple cake on the cover of“ This Is Not About Us” looked so good I started reading – salivating for a taste of the cake. This picture and the countless times the book recently popped up on my social media feed influenced me to give this book a try. It’ s a brand-new book by the author – just published in February 2026.
Allegra Goodman states,“ I was born in Brooklyn but grew up in Honolulu. I lived in Hawaii until I flew east for college. Now I have snow boots because I live in Cambridge, Mass. I write novels and short stories – and I love my job. My most recent book,“ This Is Not About Us,” is about three generations of a complicated, funny, highly charged family.”
The book opens as the Rubenstein family is gathered around the deathbed of Jeanne, who, at the age of 74, is the youngest of the Rubenstein sisters but will be the first to die if she ever releases her iron grip on life. The gathering of the entire family, including Jeanne’ s sisters Sylvia and Helen, would appear to be a time for sentimentality and reflection. But in Goodman’ s hands, a squabble over an apple cake blows up the relationship between Sylvia and Helen, and they vow never to speak to each other again.
The complicated story of the Rubenstein family continues as it chronicles years of births, deaths, marriages, bar mitzvahs, dance recitals, holiday celebrations, religious observances, sibling conflicts, grudges, grievances, and attempts at reconciliation as well as connection. Essentially, the novel provides a mirror through which each of us can see our own families.
Family dynamics are never more pronounced than during preparations for the holiday of Passover. Which family doesn’ t identify with the differences in observances paired with the stress levels of an extended family planning and executing this holiday? The Rubenstein family is no exception, and the chapter dealing with Passover is my favorite. In addition to the usual differences in religious upbringing, food becomes the central source of stress as one of the nieces and her husband are vegan. How do you make a vegan seder plate? What side dishes and desserts do guests bring?
Kirkus Reviews writes,“ Like an exquisitely baked apple cake, Goodman’ s delicious and deeply perceptive novel is something to savor.” I wholeheartedly agree and have already put her last

Center for Jewish Education Book Club Schedule book,“ Isola,” on reserve. Allegra Goodman’ s other novels and short stories are available at the Levine Sklut Judaic Library and Resource Center at Shalom Park.

The Center for Jewish Education Book Club will not be meeting in April. Our next meeting is Monday, May 13, when we will be discussing“ One Good Thing” by Georgia Hunter. For more information, please contact sueb. littauer @ jewishcharlotte. org.
The Center for Jewish Education( CJE) Book Club provides an opportunity for members of the community to come together and discuss selected books. Meetings are held on the second Wednesday of every month at 10:30 AM in Room A110 at Shalom Park.
All featured books can be found at the Levine-Sklut Judaic Library and Resource Center, located within the Center for Jewish Education. Participation is open to everyone; to become a member, simply register as a USER at the library desk. For questions or additional information, please call 704-944-6783, or contact Sue Littauer at sueb. littauer @ jewishcharlotte. org
May 13 One Good Thing Georgia Hunter
June 10 One of Them: A Novel Kitty Zeldis
July 8 We Would Never Tova Mirvis
August 12 Counting Backwards Jacqueline Friedland
September 9
Not About Us Allegra Goodman
October 14
Kissing Girls on Shabbat
Sara Glass
November 11
Enormous Wings Laurie Frankel
December 9 Goyhood
Reuven Fenton

Teaching The Holocaust Beyond the Textbook

By Elizabeth Johnson
Teaching the Holocaust has always required care. Today, it also requires urgency.
As the number of living survivors declines and misinformation circulates widely online, educators face a growing challenge: how to ensure that students understand one of history’ s darkest chapters not as distant history, but as a human story with enduring consequences.
Recently, 40 middle and high school educators gathered at Temple Beth El for a workshop designed to help them meet that challenge.
The program, titled“ Curators in the Classroom,” was organized by the North Carolina Council on the Holocaust and centered on a teaching tool that has quietly become one of the organization’ s most effective resources
: traveling exhibits that public schools across the state can borrow at no cost.
It consists of educational panels that invite students to move through Holocaust history visually as part of a classroom lesson.
Mitch Rifkin, Chair of the North Carolina Holocaust Foundation shared:“ Today’ s middle and high school students are very visual. When they can see the panels and move through the material, it helps them follow the teacher’ s program and better understand the history.”
The Council maintains roughly 10 exhibits covering different dimensions of Holocaust history. Schools across North Carolina can request the materials, with the Council coordinating delivery and pickup, making the program accessible even for districts
with limited resources.
For educators, these exhibits offer something textbooks alone often cannot. Photography, historical timelines, and personal narratives ask students to move through the material physically, encountering the history panel by panel. It encourages questions and discussion, helping students connect historical events to individual human experiences.
Throughout the day, teachers discussed ways they could incorporate exhibits into their own curricula. The goal is not only to convey historical facts but also to give educators practical approaches for guiding students through complex and often emotionally difficult material.
The day also included an opportunity to learn more about Jewish religious life and tradition. Rabbi Asher Knight of
Temple Beth El welcomed the group into the sanctuary, where he introduced elements of Jewish worship and explained the significance of ritual objects, including the Torah.
For many teachers, it was their first close look at Jewish religious practice. The conversation offered cultural context that can help educators address common misconceptions and frame classroom discussions about Jewish history and identity more thoughtfully.
Ultimately, the Council hopes programs like this will help students understand not only the history of the Holocaust but also the responsibility that comes with remembering it.
“ Education and facts can displace hatred,” Rifkin said.“ It is imperative the students of today understand the importance and
impact of standing up to hate, prejudice, and discrimination.”
At a moment when fewer survivors remain to share their stories firsthand, this powerful initiative aims to ensure that Holocaust education does not fade into abstraction. Instead, it continues to be taught as human history. And one that asks each generation not only to remember but also to recognize its responsibility to confront hatred when it appears again.
To learn more about the North Carolina Holocaust Foundation, contact chairman, Mitch Rifkin, at rif121 @ carolina. rr. com.