The Charlotte Jewish News- February 2026- Page 2 Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte
From the Editor’ s Desk: What Grows When We Care for It
Tu B’ Shvat invites us to think about what grows, not only in our gardens, but in our lives.
Some of my earliest memories of growth come from family trips to South Africa each December. My aunt kept a magnificent garden with sweeping views of Table Mountain, filled with indigenous wildflowers, all different and stubbornly beautiful. As a child, I wandered those paths and felt as if I had stepped into something ancient, a gentle reminder that land holds stories. Perhaps that is why, years later, my wedding bouquet was created with South African protea pincushions, and why we used the very same flowers on Lucy’ s smash cake to celebrate her first birthday. Certain plants follow us through life and bloom again in new chapters.
Another memory lives closer to home. I can still see my cousins and me laughing in my Opa Ed’ s Cape Town backyard, his dachshunds nipping at our heels close behind, picking tomatoes from the vines in the late afternoon sun. His garden was simple yet elegant, and it felt abundant. He taught me that caring for something small can be an act of love.
During the pandemic, I returned to those lessons. My father, an engineer with an acumen for drawing schematic plans, helped me design the English garden I had always imagined. We had rich soil brought in and planted more than sixty-five varieties of flowers. Black-eyed Susans. Coreopsis. Coneflowers. Nepeta. Peonies. Lavender. Lupines. Foxgloves. And a couple
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Published by Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte
Editor Elizabeth Johnson
Sr. Communications Specalist Jessica Goldfarb
Social Media Manager Shelby Robinson
Director of Marketing Dylan Vander Velde
5007 Providence Road, Suite 101 Charlotte, NC 28226( 704) 944-6765 www. charlottejewishnews. org charlottejewishnews @ shalomcharlotte. org
The Charlotte Jewish News strives to be the leading source for news and features of special interest to the local Jewish community, to highlight the voices and stories that reflect the diversity of Jewish life in Charlotte, and to communicate the mission, activities, and accomplishments of Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte and its partners.
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Published monthly except July
NEWS of Japanese maples to anchor it all. Slowly over the years, a tapestry of color has taken shape. Season by season, my garden has become a sanctuary. Tu B’ Shvat teaches the same quiet truth: roots take hold long before we see anything bloom.
Planting has always marked important moments in our family. When my Opa Ed died, we planted a Bradford pear tree outside my sister’ s window in Dallas. We left Texas in 1996, but my mother still wonders how that tree is doing, as if thoughtfully checking in on an old friend.
When we learned in October 2018 that I was pregnant with a little girl, I had a pink dogwood planted in my front yard. I imagined it bursting with blossoms each spring. It has not bloomed the way I envisioned, but watching it move faithfully through its seasons brings me great comfort. It buds. It provides ample shade. It lets go. Growth rarely looks the way we imagine, but it still counts.
The New Year also brings another tradition to the Queen City: The Charlotte Jewish Film Festival. And stories grow, too.
The first movie I remember seeing as a child was“ Star Wars.” My father has always loved films.“ Taras Bulba,”“ Exodus,”“ James Bond”( Roger Moore was his favorite until Daniel Craig replaced him),“ The Godfather” trilogy,“ The Good Year” – the list goes on. Today, he and my brother, Keith, still close most evenings they are together with a movie, whether it is something sci-fi or action-packed, while the classics remain part of our family ritual. Each year at Passover, we watch“ The Ten Commandments,” a tradition we are passing on to the next generation that now feels as familiar as the Seder plate. And then there is his trademark: volume. In their Boca Raton apartment, neighbors sometimes knock to ask him to turn it down. Movies, to him, are meant to be felt.
That is what the Charlotte Jewish Film Festival brings each year. Films that invite us not just to watch, but to experience. Stories filled with humor and resilience, memory, and hope. Stories that remind us of who we are and who we may become.
Like gardens, stories require tending. They need to be preserved, discussed, and shared. When we gather in a theater, we participate in something deeply Jewish. We listen. We argue. We laugh. Sometimes we cry. Yet always, we leave carrying something new.
Tu B’ Shvat honors the trees that sustain life. The Film Festival honors the stories that sustain identity. Both ask us to notice what is growing, around us and within us.
As February unfolds, I find myself thinking about roots. The memories that ground me. The community that steadies me. The traditions that continue to blossom here in Charlotte. My hope is that, like wildflowers and tomato vines, our community keeps growing in ways that are vibrant, resilient, and deeply connected to our heritage. May this season plant something meaningful in all of us.
My very best,
Elizabeth Johnson, Editor, Charlotte Jewish News
The Power of Words: Toda
By Jessica Goldfarb
There are some words that feel simple on the surface yet carry greater weight than their translation suggests. Toda is one of them. Most often translated as“ thank you,” it is among the first Hebrew words many people learn. It is short, familiar, and used countless times a day. Still, its meaning runs deeper than polite acknowledgment. At its core, toda reflects a posture of gratitude that recognizes connection, dependence, and shared responsibility. Toda comes from the root of ידה, the same as the Hebrew word as hodah, which means acknowledgment or recognition. To say toda is not only to express thanks for something received, but to openly recognize the role another person played. It carries an element of awareness. Someone showed up. Someone gave. Someone helped carry something that could not be carried alone. Gratitude, in this sense, is not passive. It is an act of seeing.
In Jewish tradition, gratitude is not reserved for extraordinary moments. It is woven into daily life. We begin the day with Modeh Ani, offering thanks simply for waking up. We pause before meals, after meals, at milestones, and during moments of relief or joy. These practices remind us that gratitude is not dependent on perfection or ease. It exists alongside uncertainty and challenge, grounding us in what is present but also sustaining.
At Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte( JFGC), gratitude is not an abstract value. It is lived every day through the relationships that hold our community together. From supporting families and seniors, to strengthening Jewish education, to responding in moments of crisis, this work is only possible because people choose to care for one another. Toda is the word that recognizes this truth.
Within a community like Jewish Charlotte, toda becomes even more powerful. It acknowledges that Jewish life does not happen by accident. It is built through countless acts of generosity, leadership, and care, many of them unseen. It honors volunteers who give their time, donors who give their resources, teachers who guide our children, professionals who give their expertise, and community members who show up for one another, repeatedly. Saying toda affirms these efforts matter, and they are part of something larger than any one individual.
In a world that often moves too quickly, toda invites us to slow down and take notice. More than“ thank you,” toda is a reminder we are not alone and this gratitude, when spoken and lived, has the power to strengthen the bonds between us all.
In Hebrew, there are several common words and phrases that carry profound meaning for Judaism, for JFGC and for our community, encapsulating the values that shape the essence of Jewish life. Whether you are familiar with these words and phrases or have never heard them, their significance within the context of our community is worth exploring further.