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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dear Friends,

In this week’s Torah portion, Tazria-Metzorah, the Torah addresses a wide variety of skin diseases, providing us with a lens into an ancient world where sickness seemed incurable by human beings. These passages in Leviticus are some of the most difficult to read, especially in light of the fact that modern medicine can treat these ailments today with creams and pills. As we read these ancient treatments of the human body, it is truly amazing how far we have come in our abilities to treat many diseases and afflictions that once were considered life-threatening.

This month is National Donate Life Month (NDLM). NDLM features an entire month of local, regional and national activities to help encourage Americans to register as organ, eye and tissue donors and to celebrate those that have saved lives through the gift of donation. April may be drawing to a close, but our need to maintain awareness of medical advances is ongoing. As our Torah portion this week serves to remind us, treating ailments and diseases is sacred work that involves everyone in the community.

L’Shalom-Steve

Dear Friends,

Jewish mourning practices are both private and public. Private mourning observances include rituals such as lighting a yahrzeit (memorial) candle or visiting the grave of a loved one on the anniversary of his or her death. Jewish mourning rituals also include public observances which broaden the memorial experiences to include a community for those who are grieving.

Most of us are familiar with the memorial service which takes place on Yom Kippur afternoon, but few are familiar with the fact that this kind communal observance takes place throughout the year as well. The memorial services which take place year round are called Yizkor services. They are observed in congregations around the world on the final days of Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot. Yizkor means “may (God) remember,” and through this special service we strive to weave the memory of those who are no longer with us into the fabric of our lives and the rhythm of our years.

This coming Friday night we will be observing a third kind of Yizkor service. This service is for Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Memorial Day). Through special prayers and music, this observance helps us to memorialize those who perished in the Holocaust. Our observance this year will be led by Rabbi Steve Gross, Rabbi Laura Sheinkopf, David Wizig and the members of our 6th grade class who studied the Holocaust this year.

Through each of these Yizkor observances, we pray that the memories of those we loved and whose presence once blessed this world will continue to bless us throughout our days.

L’Shalom-Steve