Clergy and community leaders from across North Carolina will join together on Tuesday, April 12 at 2 p.m. online to launch the North Carolina Jewish Clergy Association (NCJCA). This new organization of rabbis and cantors of various streams serving congregations, organizations, and the broader Jewish community of North Carolina will promote the interests of Judaism and the Jewish people in North Carolina and throughout the world, serve as a collective voice of the North Carolina Jewish clergy community with due regard for the autonomy of the individual clergy person, and support members in professional and personal growth. Congresswoman Kathy Manning and other North Carolina leaders will share words of congratulations.
“Standing on the shoulders of the North Carolina Association of Rabbis (NCAR) that thrived from April 1950 to 1969, we are establishing the NCJCA so that the more than 80 Jewish clergy in North Carolina today can join together to support the Jewish community statewide and globally and to support each other in learning and life,” co-chair, Rabbi Judy Schindler remarked. “The North Carolina rabbis of the 1950s and 1960s not only cared for their flock inside their synagogues, but fulfilled the Torah’s prophetic call to ensure Jewish continuity, on one hand, and pursue justice on the other.”
The steering committee of seven clergy represents a wellspring of vision and a powerhouse of leadership with more than 125 years of service in our state. The guiding voices include Rabbi Judy Schindler of Charlotte (co-chair), Rabbi Eric Solomon of Raleigh (co-chair), Rabbi Mark Cohn of Winston-Salem, Rabbi Lucy Dinner of Raleigh, Rabbi Andy Koren of Greensboro, Cantor Shira Lissek of Charlotte, and Rabbi Batsheva Meiri of Asheville.
As the Jewish community prepares to celebrate their Jewish holiday of Passover on Friday evening, the clergy have created an original North Carolina 2022 Passover seder supplement for the North Carolina Jewish community to use at the holiday tables reflecting on themes of liberation, past and present from Ukraine to racial justice.
“This is a foundational moment for the growing North Carolina Jewish community.” Rabbi Eric Solomon noted. “By bringing NC Jewish clergy from across denominations closer together, we will be able to more effectively support and unify our people from Wilmington to Asheville.”
To join the virtual press conference, contact Rabbi Judy Schindler or Rabbi Eric Solomon.
Rabbi Judy Schindler
704-975-3101
Rabbi Eric Solomon
919-848-1420