The Charlotte Jewish News- August 2026- Page 28
Where Jewish Community Begins
By Sherman Fabes
This fall, the Charlotte Jewish Preschool( CJP) will break ground on something far greater
than a new physical space. The Outdoor Learning Village represents a bold investment in the future of Jewish life in Charlotte, with construction starting this fall, continuing through the winter, and a grand opening planned before the end of 2027.
The renderings offer a glimpse of what’ s to come: a beautiful, dynamic, nature-based environment where children can explore, build, grow and connect.
But the true value goes beyond what you can see in a drawing. This isn’ t just an outdoor classroom. It’ s an entry point into Jewish life. It’ s where identity, belonging and community begin to take shape at the earliest age.
At its core, the Outdoor Learning Village will change how our
children experience learning. It will foster curiosity, independence, and hands-on discovery in a way that traditional classrooms just can’ t. In a natural environment, children build confidence, creativity, and resilience.
For CJP, the Outdoor Learning Village isn’ t just an add-on. It reflects how we believe early childhood education should work: immersive, values-driven, and rooted in exploration. It’ s where learning feels alive and where the first connections to Jewish identity can really take hold.
For me, this isn’ t abstract. It’ s personal. My wife, Naomi, and I moved to Charlotte because of its thriving Jewish community. We saw something special here: vibrant synagogues, the energy of the Sandra and Leon Levine Jewish Community Center( JCC), Charlotte Jewish Day School’ s( CJDS) deep commitment to Jewish education, and the work of Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte( JFGC) through programs like Shalom Green, Jewish Family Services( JFS), and Unpacking Israel. It felt like a community that shows up for itself.
Now we’ re raising our family here. Both of our two daughters attend CJP. Like so many families, CJP was our first Jewish address in Charlotte. It’ s where our girls are beginning to understand who they are, develop a love of Judaism, and build lasting connections as a family.
For a long time, CJP has been one of the quiet engines of Jewish life here. A large percentage of leaders across our community, whether at the JCC, JFGC or our synagogues, have spent time on the CJP board. That’ s not an accident. CJP doesn’ t just shape early childhood experiences. It also lays the foundation for the next generation of leadership across our Jewish community.
The Outdoor Learning Village will expand that impact even further. It won’ t just serve CJP students. It will also be used by JCC summer camps and students from Temple Beth El, bringing children from across the community together from an early age. That kind of overlap is invaluable. It cultivates relationships early and builds a more connected community over time.
This moment requires more than appreciation. It requires focus. Every organization in our community matters, and each one deserves our time and support. But we also need to be honest about where it starts. Without a real investment in early childhood education and all it encompasses, everything else becomes more difficult to sustain. If families don’ t feel supported in building Jewish lives early on, our synagogues, our schools, the JCC, and the broader Jewish community will all feel the impact in the years ahead.
The Outdoor Learning Village is more than a project. It’ s a signal about what we value. It says that our kids deserve meaningful spaces to grow, that families deserve a real entry point into
community, and that we’ re serious about building something lasting.
If we want a Jewish Charlotte that is growing and thriving both on and off Shalom Park, we must
prioritize institutions like CJP. Without young families, there is no next generation. And without a strong, welcoming place to begin, it’ s far more challenging to find their ways within it all. The Outdoor Learning Village reflects what we value: meaningful spaces where children can grow, a true entry point into Jewish community for families, and a commitment to building something lasting. A Shared Responsibility If you care about Jewish life in Charlotte, please support CJP. Invest in the Outdoor Learning Village. Show up, give, and help us to move forward. This isn’ t someone else’ s responsibility. It belongs to all of us.
There’ s a well-known teaching in Pirkei Avot where Rabbi Tarfon says,“ It is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you at liberty to neglect it.” His words feel especially relevant today. None of us will build the future alone, but each of us has a role in shaping it.
What Jewish Charlotte looks like ten or twenty years from now will come down to the choices we make today and how we support the young families actively choosing to be involved in the Jewish community.