Dear Friends,

At HCRJ, we celebrated Purim last Friday night. However, the actual date of Purim was on Tuesday.

Throughout the years, I have discovered that Purim is one of the most overlook holidays in the Jewish calendar year. Most non-observant Jews associate Purim with hamantaschen and carnivals, and because of its focus of fun and festivities, Purim is all too often dismissed as a children’s holiday.

The truth is that Purim is a holiday with many faces.  One face is rather serious.  This face is the face that helps us recall and retell our people’s struggle to overcome the forces in history which have sought to destroy us.  On this level, we celebrate the lofty ideals of bravery, sacrifice, luck and fortitude.

Another face of Purim is spiritual.  While God is never mentioned in the Scroll of Esther, Purim is a holiday with a powerful theological message.  It teaches us that God works through us in our daily lives, and that each of us, through the choices we make, can become an instrument of God and make a true difference in the world.

Finally, Purim is playful and mischievous.  It is a time to joke and be jolly, and it is in the spirit of this face that our sages suggested that we bring joy and gladness into our lives throughout the entire month of Adar.

With each of these faces, Purim serves as a timeless reminder of the fact that Jewish survival depends faith: faith in God, faith our capacities to stand up for ourselves, and faith in the idea that no matter how dark and disparaging the world can become, there is always room for laughter.

L’Shalom,
Steve

Dear Friends,

Join us for a very special Shabbat this Friday night, March 3rd. It’s Shabbat B’yachad (Shabbat Together), Purim and Rodeo all in one!

The night starts with our Shabbat Dinner at 6:15pm. The menu includes beef chili, vegetarian chili, all the fix-ins, corn dogs, chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese and salad. Dinner is $8 per person. Please make your dinner reservation here. The deadline is today.

Services start at 7:15pm. Hear the story of Purim during the Megillah reading. The HCRJ choir will sing and a violinist and bass player will perform. See the song sheet for services here. Delicious hamantaschen, fried Oreos and cotton candy will highlight the oneg after services.

Happy Purim!
Steve

Dear Friends,

L’Shalom,
Steve

Dear Friends,

Yesterday was Valentine’s Day, a day dedicated to the celebration of love. While it may not be a religious holiday, it can be argued that the primary focus of Valentine’s Day is religious to the core, for expressions of love is central to every religion and hardwired into the human soul.

Love is the seat of goodness, kindness, compassion and understanding.  It forms the foundations for human intimacy, drives empathy and generates caring. Love keeps us grounded and helps establish a sense of the sacred in our daily interactions.  Love opens the heart to possibilities of healing, growing and learning.  Indeed, every faith seeks to nurture this divinely given attribute, and yet, despite our boundless efforts to cultivate love, our world continues to be plagued by hatred, mistrust, anger and violence.

Valentine’s Day reminds us that there is value in celebrating love in a world that is so fractured.  There is value in dedicating one day every year to honor an emotion that transcends the tumult of society.

In the spirit of love and a desire to spread its power beyond the conflicts that divide us, join us tonight for a free concert of classical music performed by Arab and Jewish musicians who seek to generate peace through love.  Details for this concert may be found in the information below.

Happy Belated Valentine’s Day!

L’Shalom,
Steve

Dear Friends,

Monday was Tu B’Shevat (or the 15^th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat). Often referred to as the Birthday of the Trees, Tu B’Shevat is an annual observance celebrating the beginning of a “New Year for Trees.” This day has ancient roots, and has long marked the season in which the earliest-blooming trees in the Land of Israel emerge from their winter sleep and begin a new fruit-bearing cycle.

In modern times, Tu B’Shevat serves as a kind of Jewish Earth Day.  Through recognizing the importance of trees, we take time to appreciate the delicate ecological balance of the earth and dedicate ourselves to preserving it for generations to come.

In the spirit of Tu B’Shevat, consider taking a brisk walk through the oak filled topography of Houston and enjoy the glories of God’s world of creation.

L’Shalom,
Steve

Dear Friends,

In our Torah portion on this Sabbath, we read about the miracle at the Sea of Reeds.  Standing at the shores of the sea, the Israelites are terrified.  They recognize that their journey into the wilderness is a journey into the unknown, and the sea before them is impassable.

As Pharaoh’s army is on their tail, the Israelites feel trapped, hopeless, and defeated.  They have nowhere to go.  Nothing short of a miracle can save them – and a miracle is what they receive.

Yet, as powerful as the miracle of the splitting of the sea may have been, the truth is that Judaism is not (nor has it ever been) a faith where we passively hope for miracles to happen.  We are not a passive faith. We are not a people that stands around waiting for miracles to happen.

Indeed, the real miracle in every generation is to live in ways which maximize the God given gifts that each of us has been afforded.  We are blessed with the capacity to think and feel and see and most of all to act.

When we act in response to the needs of others – to feed the hungry, heal the sick and clothe the naked, to root out hatred and prejudice in society, to use our talents to make this world a better place– then we can begin to fully bear witness to the greatest miracles of our day.

We may not be able to split the Sea, but we can certainly pave the way for all people to walk from the tyranny of injustice, poverty, hunger, and despair to a much brighter place in the future.  So let us continue to pray for miracles, but as we do, we should never stop allowing those prayers to motivate us to do the work that leads to the day when all shall be one and at peace.

L’Shalom,
Steve

Dear Friends,

In this week’s Torah portion, we read the final plagues that fell upon Egypt. Among them is the plague of darkness, and compared to the rest of the plagues, it is reasonable to ask: “What’s so bad about darkness?” Darkness may be scary, but is it bad enough to be considered a plague?

The truth is that darkness need not simply be the absence of light. It can also be an absence of reason, love, understanding and consideration for others.

From this perspective, there is darkness when. . .

. . . we close our eyes to that which is going on around us;
. . . we turn away from those who need us;
. . . we close our ears to the cries of injustice;
. . . we close our hearts to pleas which confront us;
. . . we close our minds to the ideas of others;
. . . we dig in our heals and insist that we are always right.

How often do we find ourselves generating a sense of darkness in our lives?

The truth is – we do it a lot, and if we hope to remain enlightened, we need be aware of the pitfalls of the plague of darkness every day.  To do so we need to keep open minds and an open hearts. We need to be honest with ourselves and those around us.  We need to be aware of our personal shortcomings and willing pull our EGOs back — just enough — to allow for broader, better solutions to the challenges we face.

If we can strive to do this, we can begin to minimize the darkness in our lives and maximize a light for a brighter tomorrow.

L’Shalom,
Steve

Dear Friends,

The Hebrew word mezuzah means “doorpost.” According to tradition, the mezuzah is to be affixed to the doorpost at the entrance to a Jewish home. This tradition is based on the commandment, “. . . inscribe them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” Deuteronomy 6:9. This custom was also extended to include the entrance to each of the interior rooms of the home except for bathrooms.

The mezuzah itself consists of a small scroll of parchment (k’laf) on which is written the Shema and V’ahavtah. The scroll is inserted into a casing, which is often a beautiful work of art. The mezuzah reminds us that our homes are holy places. It also helps distinguish a Jewish home with visible sign to all who enter.

While it is not commanded, it has become a custom to place a mezuzah on the doorpost of places of Jewish worship, learning, and business. In this way, the symbolism of the mezuzah serves to mark these places as dedicated to the values and precepts of our faith.

Join us on Friday night as we affix a very special mezuzah to the doorpost of our sanctuary. This mezuzah was commissioned by Dr. Ed Hurwitz in memory of his wife Patti z”l. Services begin at 6:30pm and will be followed by a special oneg.

L’Shalom,
Steve

Dear Friends,

Every year on Martin Luther King Day, our nation sets aside time to remember and celebrate the legacy of a man whose life was dedicated to fighting for equality. From voting rights to criminal justice reform and beyond, King’s work had in imprint on how our country has evolved in regards to fair, equitable treatment of all individuals under the law.

Since the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, this commitment has been tested repeatedly. Historically, Jews have remained steadfast in the pursuit of justice for all people, and it is our responsibility to continue this important work.

MLK Day remains an annual national reminder of the enduring value of King’s legacy and our responsibility to keep it alive. It reminds us that each of us has a role never-ending pursuit of justice in the world.

Please join us this Friday night at Shabbat services, as we seek to honor the legacy of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through our Fifth Annual Gospel Shabbat. This special musical Sabbath seeks to ignite our passion for justice as the HCRJ lay choir joins with the voices of the The Church Without Walls for a service to be remembered.

L’Shalom,
Steve

Dear Friends,

We all possess time, talent, and treasure; we all have something to give; and we all have the capacity to love.  Philanthropy (love of humanity) is a mindset that encourages us to consider how to respond to the needs of the world, and Mitzvah Day is a perfect opportunity for us to translate this mindset into action.

Mitzvah Day represents an annual opportunity to volunteer and do good works. It is also an opportunity to build a “culture of philanthropy through service” in the congregation. Through Mitzvah Day, we strive to build a community around doing good in the world, while exposing our membership to the various needs around the City of Houston.  In other words, we are not just offering an annual day of charity work. We are also trying to create a shift in communal awareness.

Join us this Sunday, January 8 for our Sixteenth Annual Mitzvah Day.
Join us from 9:00 – 12:30 as we strive to build community through service.
Join us and make a difference in the lives of many.
Join us as we strive to transform the world around us, one mitzvah at a time.

L’Shalom,
Steve