Category Archives: Tikkun Olam
VIOLINS OF HOPE
Meriam Nagel brought this to my attention.
In 1996, Israeli master violinmaker Amnon Weinstein began to collect and carefully restore violins that had extraordinary histories of suffering, courage, and resiliency. These violins are precious artifacts from one of the greatest human tragedies. Some were played by Jewish prisoners in Nazi concentration camps; others belonged to the Klezmer musical culture, which was all but destroyed in the Holocaust.
Today, Amnon receives visitors bearing priceless instruments in shambles. The restoration process is complex, sometimes taking years to revive a single instrument. But when a violinist moves his bow across one of these instruments, the message resounds.
A project of national significance comes to Charlotte in April 2012
The Violins of Hope have never before been exhibited or played together in North or South America. With the support of the Charlotte community and our partners in the arts and education, the College of Arts + Architecture at UNC Charlotte presents a project that promises to inspire, illuminate, and educate.
In April 2012, UNC Charlotte’s College of Arts + Architecture will bring Violins of Hope to Charlotte for a series of exhibitions and performances focused on 18 instruments recovered from the Holocaust. Acclaimed musicians from across the country and around the world will play alongside Charlotte musicians, giving voice to the violins’ former owners and expressing the hope that comes with restoring to these instruments the power to play again.
For more information, please visit these web sites:
http://www.violinsofhopecharlotte.com
http://www.violinsofhope.org
http://www.shlomo-mintz.com/violinsofhope
Also search for violins of hope on YouTube.
Please Help those in Joplin, Missouri
As we all learned today, the town of Joplin, MO has been devastated by terrible tornado. We have just heard news of the synagogue from Joplin through the URJ Small Congregations mailing list.
Per emails to that list, we now know that the synagogue is intact, and the synagogue’s president and much of the congregation is now homeless.
The URJ requests that interested donors provide aid through the URJ Disaster Relief fund. Information on how to donate and how the funds will be used is available after the link.
MOTHER’S DAY WAS ALSO DIAPER SUNDAY
By Helen Cherry
Each year several churches collect diapers on Mother’s Day, diaper Sunday, to distribute to St. Vincent de Paul. For many years, Aitz Chaim has supported this most worthwhile endeavor. Please bring contributions of diapers or funds to purchase diapers to either services Friday May 20 or the Lag B’Omer celebration at the Weissman’s Saturday May 21. Either Helen Cherry or Meriam Nagel will make sure the funds or diapers are collected and distributed to the intended recipients. Your donations will be much appreciated, even if they are 2 weeks late.
The Aitz Chaim Ram's Horn 