Houston Congregation for Reform Judaism

June 21, 2017

by Leave a Comment

Dear Friends,

The American Jewish community has a long history of supporting causes that ensure the liberties of all human beings in the world, and during this past weekend in Philadelphia my sense of pride in our faith’s commitment to human rights was elevated. In the course of three full days, Beckye and I were able to visit three amazing museums: The Museum of the American Revolution, the Liberty Museum and the National Museum of American Jewish History. Each in its own way addressed the value and importance of liberty, and each was generously supported by Jewish families and foundations.

Our faith’s commitment to liberty is not new. It is rooted in a very long history of oppression and persecution which has brutally demonstrated the necessity to defend and uphold the rights and freedoms endowed to all people. On the heels of Juneteenth (commemorating the Emancipation Proclamation) and in the midst of a month in which LGBTQ communities throughout the country are marching in pride parades, each of us has an opportunity to reflect of the value and importance of promoting liberty and justice for all.

L’Shalom-Steve

June 14, 2017

by Leave a Comment

Dear Friends,

“Youth are not vessels to be filled, but rather fires to be lit.”

This axiom from the Roman philosopher Plutarch is the punchline of this 45 second video clip from a Ted Talk by Peter Benson.

Summer is the perfect time to help our youth find ways to light these fires. Theater, art, dance and sports are just a few of the things that can help our youth find their passions in life, and summer camps and programs enable them to explore things they really care about.

On Friday night June 23, we will welcome a group of children from a Theater company called SPARK. These children will augment our worship with songs from Fiddler on the Roof. Join us for an amazing evening inspired by the passions of these talented students followed by a special oneg in their honor.

Please save the date and bring friends. This will be a very special event.

L’Shalom-Steve

June 7, 2017

by Leave a Comment

Dear Friends,

On May 2-4, I was lucky enough to be part of a delegation of rabbis, evangelical ministers and imams that traveled to Abu Dhabi for a peace conference. The purpose of this conference was to forge religious partnerships, broaden the reaches of multi-faith interaction, and deepen the levels of trust between Christians, Jews and Muslims. For three very full days, we devoted ourselves to generating programs for our respective cities. The Houston delegation consisted of Imam Danny Hernandez from the Pearland Islamic Center, Pastor Steve Bezner of Houston Northwest Church and me.

This Friday night, I will share some of the details of this remarkable program and our adventures in Abu Dhabi. On Yom Kippur, Imam Hernandez and Pastor Bezner will be joining us for our afternoon discussion hour.

At the heart of this noble endeavor is a desire to restore civil discourse and deepen trust that is needed to build pathways to peace. It is our hope that our encounters will help to diminish the fear and angst that seem to permeate society today. We hope that honest conversations about our values and our lives will help us see and understand that our commonalities far exceed our differences. Finally, it is our hope that our time together will enable us to find ways to engage those with conflicting beliefs with a willingness to listen and a sense of mutual respect.

L’Shalom-Steve

Faith and the Restoration of Civil Discourse

by Leave a Comment

The earth is the home to over 7 billion people speaking over 6,500 languages. Yet, despite this diversity of culture and heritage, human behaviors are remarkably similar, as we are driven by a small number of universal concerns.  We concern ourselves with our health and the wellbeing of our families; we fear death; and we are in constant need of sustenance and human contact. Throughout history, our insecurities around each of these concerns have given rise to over 4,000 religions.

While every religion may be different, each strives to provide its followers with comfort in response to the uncertainty, fear and tribulation of the human condition. Unfortunately, history, culture and politics have blinded humanity to the fact that people are people regardless of their faith, and over the course of millennia, rigid ideologies have become significant barriers to seeing our universal commonalities.

Today, every faith and political system has followers (on the right and the left) whose rigidity obstructs civil discourse.  Rather than being forces for progress and innovation, fanatical religious convictions and inflexible political ideologies can become impediments to the cooperation and conciliation that is essential in the establishment of a peaceful and harmonious society. These voices represent a serious threat to the human capacity to engage others with curiosity and empathy. By infusing the public sector with fear and suspicion, they provoke a mindset resistant to compromise and change.

Yet, as loud as these rigid ideological voices may be, it is important to remember that the vast majority of the world’s population is not staunchly ideological.  Most people in the world simply wish for harmonious, peaceful cooperation with their neighbors and their kin.

Two components that are needed to re-establish healthy civil discourse are dialogue and shared sweat equity. We need to find ways to hear each other despite our differences. We need to find projects that demand our collective sweat and ingenuity as we strive to address the challenges that confront us. We need to see each other as people with similar hopes and needs, and we must find ways to build trust without compromising our values.

In May, I was invited to be a part of a peace conference in Abu Dhabi called, “Religions Promoting Peace Through Trust and Partnership.” The goal of this conference was to counter fanatical religious narratives by building bridges of understanding, respect and peace across and within the religious communities of the world. Under the vision and leadership of Sheik Abd’Allah Bin Bayyah, this conference sought to nurture seeds of peace through cooperation, mutual respect and open, honest dialogue. At the heart of the Sheik’s vision is the belief that all religions must look within their respective traditions to find resources that promote peace.

To that end, an imam, a rabbi and a minister (this is not joke) from 10 cities throughout the United States were invited to Abu Dhabi to work together on creating a partnership to expand efforts of cooperation, broaden the reaches of multi-faith interaction, and deepen the levels of trust among Christians, Jews and Muslims.  For three very full days, these delegations of clergy devoted themselves to generating programs for their respective cities.

Our Houston delegation for this American Caravan for Peace consisted of Imam Danny Hernandez from the Pearland Islamic Center, Reverend Steve Bezner of Houston Northwest Church and me.  The three of us returned from this remarkable conference with a collective mission which includes a threefold plan.

In the months to come, we are committed to getting to know each other and our families.  We have learned that building bridges of trust demands a level of intimacy that comes from the shared experiences of everyday life.  Our next level of engagement will involve bringing our communities together. This will take place in our houses of worship and in a number of shared “mitzvah” projects. Finally, we have committed ourselves to expanding the reach of this global initiative for peace by involving additional mosques, synagogues and churches throughout the City of Houston.

At the heart of this noble endeavor is a desire to restore civil discourse.  It is our hope that our encounters will help to diminish the fear and angst that seem to permeate society today. We hope that honest conversations about our values and our lives will help us see and understand that our commonalities far exceed our differences. Finally, it is our hope that our time together will enable us to find ways to engage those with conflicting beliefs with a willingness to listen and a sense of mutual respect.

 

May 31, 2017

by Leave a Comment

Dear Friends,

For Jews throughout history, the ability to impose a sense of order and control in the wilderness of life is rooted in Torah. Torah is our spiritual guide. It provides us with a vocabulary with which we can articulate ways of seeing and understanding the chaos around us. Torah provides us with means through which we may identify and express a body of shared values around which we structure our sacred community.

Today is Shavuot. This ancient festival marks the moment in our history when we become a people defined by the ways in which we choose to impose a unique, sacred structure around the chaos of the wilderness into which we had been freed.

Today, we have a special opportunity to recognize the centrality of Torah in our lives. Without Torah, the uniqueness of our people would not exist. Without Torah, we would not have a common vocabulary for our faith. Without Torah the wilderness of life would be that much more difficult to navigate.

Chag Sameach!

Steve

May 24, 2017

by

Dear Friends,

The ceremony of Confirmation as a Jewish life-cycle event has its roots in Reform Judaism. The ritual of Confirmation was introduced in 1810, when the Reform Movement in Germany adopted the concept as a means to broaden the scope of Jewish learning beyond the bar mitzvah (bat mitzvah did not exist at that time). Some congregations added this ritual as a post-bar mitzvah program, while others used it as a substitute. Either way, the ritual was introduced to provide deeper and more meaningful connections to the Jewish faith and heritage.

By the late 1800’s, Confirmation services were including girls as well as boys, which was a radical idea for its time. This egalitarian ritual not only reflected the value of gender equality within the Reform Movement, but it became ritual springboard for longer and stronger bonds for all teens within the Jewish community.

Today, Confirmation continues to provide our teens with opportunities to study and grow within their faith. In contrast to the bar / bat mitzvah ceremony, which is focused on an individual’s relationship with God and Torah, Confirmation offers students an opportunity to define and confirm their identities within the context of the broader Jewish community.

Join us this Friday night as HCRJ confirms its largest Confirmation Class in history. We are very proud of our students and pray they will continue to bless us in the years to come as teachers in our religious school.

L’Shalom-Steve

May 17, 2017

by

Dear Friends,

Last Sunday was Lag BaOmer, a holiday marking the 33rd day of the Counting of the Omer. This relatively obscure observance in Reform Jewish circles is a fun-filled day in the middle of a ritual period of counting called “The Counting of the Omer”. This ancient custom is based on the commandment:

“From the day after the Sabbath, the day that you bring the
sheaf of wave-offing, you shall count off 7 full weeks.” – Leviticus 23:15

This biblical mandate to “count the Omer” implores us to count our days for seven weeks from Passover to Shavuot . For generations, these days of counting have come to represent ways of counting our blessings.

This Friday night at HCRJ, we will be counting our blessings as a congregation with a Grand Finale Shabbat marking the end of our year-long 60th Anniversary celebration. This Sabbath celebration is designed to engage members of every age. It will be shaped by fabulous music, a hippie themed oneg, games and activities from the 1960s and the viewing of our 60th Anniversary video which documents the history of HCRJ and the amazing year we have shared to date. Bring the entire family. Babysitting will be available for our children.

Lag BaOmer may have come and gone, but there is plenty of time to count our days and enjoy them to their fullest.

L’Shalom-Steve

May 10, 2017

by

Dear Friends,

In our Torah portion this week, we are permitted an early glimpse of how the Bible attempts to shape the sacred nature of our lives by setting celebrations and events along the course of a calendar year. The portion presents a very rudimentary version of the Jewish calendar we use today. This simplified calendar includes: the weekly Sabbath, Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur, and the three Harvest Festivals (Passover, Shavuot, Sukkot).

It is interesting to note that each sacred observance involves some kind of sacrifice. On the Sabbath we sacrifice work, during the festivals we sacrifice the harvest and on Yom Kippur we sacrifice consumption of any kind. These sacrifices help make time sacred and holy. They bond us as a people and enable us to express our appreciation for all we have.

Sunday is Mother’s Day, and while it may not be in the Bible, the day is sacred to mothers, fathers and children alike. It is a day set aside to express our gratitude for the daily sacrifices of our mothers and a way for us to elevate the sacred nature of motherhood.

Happy Mother’s Day to all moms. May this be a day filled with the blessings of love, joy and gratitude.

L’Shalom-Steve

May 3, 2017

by

Dear Friends,

Yesterday was Yom HaAtzmauut (Israeli Independence Day) and in the spirit of solidarity with Jews all over the world, we honor and celebrate the centrality of the Jewish State in the life-blood of Jewish history, heritage, culture and spiritual sustenance. As a modern political entity, Israel is only 69 years old, but in this short period of time, Israel has become one of the most successful centers for technology, industry, medicine, agriculture and science in the entire world. It is also the only democracy and one of the only dependable allies of the US in the entire Middle East. Indeed, we can take great pride in the fact that Israel has established herself as one of the most democratic, forward thinking nations in the world. May our relationship with the land and the people of Israel continue to grow stronger as through the years.

Happy Yom HaAtzmauut!

Steve

Culminating the Celebration of Sixty Years of Community

by

This month we are completing the formal programming of our 60th Anniversary as a congregation.  While the first worship service actually took place on August 23, 1957 (which we will celebrate as well), our year-long celebration sought to honor the hard work of the original founding members who spent many months before that first service to conceptualize the philosophy and by-laws of Houston Congregation for Reform Judaism.

As it was for the original 37 families who set us on our way, so too it has been for us! This year-long celebration has brought our community together through work and cooperation. Our fifteen amazing events have helped us to generate a stronger sense of community, build leadership, expand congregational engagement and broaden our vision for the future. Fun-filled activities for members of all ages have enabled us to learn more about each other and even meet each other’s pets. These celebrations also enabled us to raise over $55,000. We are grateful for the support that everyone has brought to this incredible year.

As we look back on sixty years, we can take great pride in the fact that we have served the Jewish community well.  Central to our mission is an effort to embrace all who enter our doors, and for over half a century, we have remained steadfastly committed to this core value. In all that we do and in every program we plan, we strive to be intimate, inviting and inspirational.

This past year has come to remind us that Houston Congregation for Reform Judaism is a place to call your spiritual home.  We are a family of families with relationships rooted in shared experiences.  We are dedicated to the ongoing cultivation of new and dynamic ways of engagement through worship, study, social programming and acts of loving kindness.  From infants to seniors, we seek to engage individuals with opportunities to explore the values and customs of our heritage while building life-long relationships with each other, the synagogue and God.  Like a family, we seek to support each other in times of need and celebrate our blessings in times of joy.

This congregational family is central to nurturing our God-given capacity to have a positive impact on each other and the world.  This is our legacy.  It is rooted in the past, anchored in our membership today and is something worth preserving for the future.

Our year-long 60th Anniversary celebration has enabled us celebrate all that we share today, and in the spirit of honoring who we have become and what we still hope for the future, please consider leaving a legacy gift for the HCRJ of tomorrow.  Like those who stood here before us, it is now our turn to consider ways to ensure that our children and grandchildren will have the same firm commitment to Judaism and its ethical values as our ancestors did before us.