Dear Friends,

This week’s Torah portion contains a familiar, but disturbing tale. In it, Abraham is commanded to sacrifice his son, Isaac. With a deep sense of faith in God, Abraham brings Isaac to the designated site for the sacrifice, and at the very last minute, a lamb appears in the thicket.

As unsettling as this tale may be, it serves to remind us that faith can help in the challenges we face. In a world filed with countless trials and tribulations, a little faith can go a long way in helping us deal with uncertainty.

As I craft these words, our country is in the middle of early voting, and these elections seem to be a source of tremendous uncertainty for Republicans and Democrats alike. It is here that the story of the Binding of Isaac can serve to help us see that when we keep our eyes open with hope and faith, a ram in the thicket will eventually appear.

Regardless of who gets elected, it is important to remain faithful to an amazing system of democracy that has not failed us yet. Our hope for the future resides in maintaining a faith in our system of government, faith in our country, faith in our communities and faith in ourselves.

That said, the lessons of life and the history of humanity have also come to teach us that faith alone is not enough. We cannot merely be concerned about our future without taking action. We need to get out there and vote.

Engagement in our system is part of our civic duty. Our freedoms of speech and action are central to how we evolve and grow as individuals and as a nation. Therefore, while we must have faith in our system, we must also take action.

Everyone needs to vote!  

L’Shalom-Steve

Dear Melissa,

As I was sitting at my computer moments ago, I found myself in a state of brain freeze. I could not think of a single topic to write about. All I could think about was our Houston Astros. Then, it came to me. . .

In the first passage of this week’s Torah portion, God commands Abraham in the following way: “Lech Lecha – Go Forth”, and with faith and a vision for the future, Abraham paves a path that is beyond anything he could have imagined. Abraham’s bold and independent steps become central to an unfolding drama that remains a blessing to all humanity.

So too it is with our beloved Astros. Each step they in the unfolding drama of the American League Championship Series is a blessing to our city. Win or lose, we (the loyal followers of this talented team) feel blessed by how they have been able to galvanize Houston by providing us with a collective sense of pride and hope.

Whatever one’s religious affiliation may be, the entire City of Houston has the words of Torah on our lips this week. “Lech Lecha – Go Forth” Astros!!!!

L’Shalom-Steve

Dear Melissa,

This Friday night, October 12, we will be holding our Fourth Annual Pink Ribbon Shabbat. At this special service, we will honor survivors and remember those whose lives were taken by cancer.

If you have survived cancer of any kind, we hope you will be able to join us for a special blessing.

This year, our observance will also include a special presentation about World Homeless Weekend, as we seek to address and raise awareness of the homelessness crisis in Houston and beyond.

Please consider joining us for these two important observances followed by a Pink Ribbon Oneg complete with a pink ribbon challah.

L’Shalom-Steve

Dear Friends,

Turn it and turn it again, as everything is in it. Reflect on it and grow old and gray with it. Don’t turn from it, for nothing is better than it. (Pirkei Avot 5:22)

Simchat Torah was observed on Monday and Tuesday in most Jewish communities around the world. At HCRJ, however, we will be observing this special day honoring Torah in our lives on Friday night. Central to our worship experience, we will finish reading the last sentences in the Book of Deuteronomy and immediately begin a new scroll with the reading of the story of creation in the Book of Genesis. This practice represents the cyclical nature of the relationship between the Jewish people and the reading of the Torah.

In addition to reading from the sacred scrolls, we will celebrate their value and importance in our lives with two additional celebrations which focus on Torah. We will celebrate with Zachary Koenig and his family as he becomes bar mitzvah, and we will rejoice with the youngest members of our congregation as they receive their own mini scrolls for Consecration. Please join us for a full Sabbath celebration centered around the joy of Torah.

L’Shalom-Steve

Dear Friends,

In Leviticus 23: 42-43, we are commanded to dwell in a sukkah for seven days as a reminder of our wanderings in the wilderness after the Exodus from Egypt. While the biblical commandment serves as the reason for this ancient custom, the joys of celebrating in a sukkah have become one of Judaism’s greatest annual events.

It is impossible to sit in a sukkah and not feel at one with the world. The roof of the Sukkah opens to the sky, allowing us to gaze into the heavens as they shine down upon us. The open walls of the sukkah allow for the enjoyment of cooling breezes, the sweet sounds of birds chirping and the fragrant smells of wood, fruit and greenery.

Even the Houston sukkah experience, with its abundance of mosquitoes and its hot humid winds, invites celebration and joy. Sharing time in the sukkah with family and friends serves to remind us of the things that matter most in life.

While the origins of the sukkah may be rooted in the wilderness, our heritage has evolved over time to help us experience so much more. As we share time together in these unassuming little huts for this seven day festival, we are provided sacred time to glorify God’s world of creation, celebrate serendipity and focus on family, friends and fellowship.

Chag Sukkot Sameach — Happy Sukkot

Steve

Dear Friends,

During these Days of Awe, we are invited to turn inward. We occupy ourselves in prayer, fasting, spiritual growth and atonement. These ten days between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur are a time to focus on internal matters as we seek to change ourselves for the better.

The process of atonement also demands that we turn outward to the world around us. From this perspective, these holy days encourage us to open our eyes to oppression, to open our ears to the cries of others and extend our hearts and our hands to those who need us.

With a spirit of contrition and renewal, may our fasting and prayers for Yom Kippur lead us to find ways to generate change for the better within ourselves and the world around us.

Gamar Chatimah Tovah
May you be sealed for blessings in the Book of Life

L’Shalom-Steve

Dear Friends,

This Friday night is Shabbat Shuvah, the Sabbath between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The name is derived from the opening word of the haftarah reading that urges us: Shuvah Yisrael “Return, O Israel, to the Eternal your God.”

What does that mean for each of us? To whom or what might we be returning? Is it to a sense of goodness? Is it to a sense of being loved? Is it to a connection with those from whom we have strayed? Is it to God?

Join us on Friday Night, September 14, for a Sabbath experience that harkens us to this prophetic calling.

L’Shalom-Steve

With the blasting of the shofar, we launch our Season of Penitence. Like an annual alarm clock, the shofar calls us to wake up to see the world through the lens of spiritual renewal and personal growth.

This spiritual season is a time for honesty and vulnerability, a time for introspection and reflection, a time for rectification and healing. May our worship together in the days ahead and our celebrations with family and friends be a spiritual prelude for a process of renewal and blessings as we greet 5779 with a blast.

Shanah Tovah,

Steve

Dear Friends,

Judaism is a faith structured around relationships, and the synagogue is one of the most common places where those relationships are formed and nurtured. These relationships are established as we learn each other’s stories and meet each other’s families. With time, these ever expanding relationships develop into a warm and welcoming community.

For newcomers, however, entry ways into an already established community can be challenging and intimidating. This is something that HCRJ tries hard to overcome. We want everyone to feel welcome, connected and engaged from the moment they step foot into this building.

This Friday night before worship services, help us extend a warm welcome to our newest members and join us in reaching out to potential members at our annual Welcome Shabbat.

Our evening begins with wine and cheese at 6:15. Bring someone who is searching for a synagogue home or extend a personal invitation to someone who has recently joined our congregation. Your help is needed as we wish make HCRJ the friendliest synagogue in town.
L’Shalom-Steve

Dear Friends,

In this week’s Torah portion, we find one of the most important commandments in the entire bible. At the very end of the passage in Deuteronomy 22:3, we are commanded:

Lo  TooChal   L’hitalem

You shall not hide yourself – or – You shall not remain indifferent

These five words are embedded in a marvelous portion about ethical deeds. These five words implore us never to remain on the sidelines of those who are in need. These five words are at the heart of our spiritual preparation for the High Holy Days which are just a few weeks away.

On Rosh HaShanah – but even more so on Yom Kippur – we are reminded that we cannot hide from truth and righteousness. We cannot run from our responsibilities to each other. We cannot ignore the needs of the world in which we live.

Thus, this simple commandment stands as an eternal reminder of the moral imperative to remain steadfast in our efforts to make this world a better place by sticking our necks out for others in time of need. This commandment calls us to righteousness. This commandment calls us to hearken to the needs of the poor and the hungry. This commandment calls us to make a shift in the way that we see the world and our responsibilities to society at large. This commandment implores us to pen our eyes and our hearts and be moved from indifference to caring – from blindness to seeing – from complacency to action.

L’Shalom-Steve