Dear Friends,

In our Torah portion this week, we read the Shema, the quintessential expression of the Jewish faith in God. This year, this portion has an added level of meaning as it falls on the heels of Tisha B’Av (the 9^th day of the Hebrew month of Av), which was observed this past Sunday. According to our tradition – it was on the 9^th of Av that both the First and Second Temples were destroyed, and in remembrance of these catastrophes, many Jews fast and mourn for twenty-four hours.

It is traditional to read from the book of Lamentations, a scroll bewails the destruction of the First Temple and the exile of the Jews from Jerusalem. Embedded in the words of this scroll are sentiments of abandonment and fear, as our ancestors believed that the destruction of the Temple was an indication that God had turned away and left Israel to suffer the perils of history.

The themes of Tisha B’Av and the pain-filled cries found throughout the Scroll of Lamentations speak to us today. Certainly, all of us have been through our share of emotional pain and loss. Certainly, we have experienced moments when our hearts seem to cry out:  “God where are you when I really need you.”

At such moments, our connection with God can feel very distant. At such moments, it can feel as though our God has turned away. At such moments, it can be comforting to pray a familiar prayer of reminder – and that prayer is the Shema.

At times of pain and loss, the hallowed words of the Shema would seem to be more important than any single phrase one could utter. If in good times, we can faithfully declare that God’s relationship with us is eternal, would it not be logical to conclude that, when God feels far away, our hearts need reminding?

When we recite the Shema (in good times and in bad), we open our minds and our hearts to feel a connection to attributes we pray are there for us to behold. When we recite the Shema, we express an age-old hope that our relationship with God is, indeed, everlasting.

L’Shalom,

Steve

Dear Friends,

This past weekend, I had the privilege of joining an amazing group of teens from the Holy Land (the preferred term used by the participants of Peace Camp). These remarkable campers work on building bridges toward peace, and at the core of their work together is a mutual recognition and respect that the Land of Israel is holy to Jews, Christians and Muslims alike.

During my brief time at this camp, which is run by Jerusalem Peacebuilders, I was inspired, encouraged and humbled as these brave souls commit themselves to learning from each other and refuse to allow hatred and violence squelch their hopes for peace. The image above of the three faiths working together was a collective project created by these gifted teens. This image speaks to the work that they do and the hopes that they share in their hearts.

These campers will be joining us this Friday night for Shabbat Services. They will share their experiences and maybe even sing a song for us. Bring friends to services to spread a message of hope and learn about this groundbreaking camp and how it strives to build bridges of peace by planting seeds of trust and understanding in the next generation of leadership.

L’Shalom,
Steve

Dear Friends,

Since the earliest of times, Judaism has considered the cycles of the moon as a sacred indicator of time. For our ancestors, the lunar cycle was the primary instrument for the calculation of the seasons. They watched the heavens with great care to find guidance for their lives, identify the months of the year and determined the set times for festivals and ritual observances.

With the dawn of each New Moon, indicated by the first sliver of light witnessed after the waning of the moon’s prior cycle, our ancestors would declare the beginning of a new month. The first day of each month was called Rosh Chodesh.

This Friday night happens to be Rosh Chodesh Av (the first day of the Hebrew month of Av). It also happens to be National Ice Cream Sandwich Day!

Join us for a very special Family Shabbat as we welcome Av with ice cream sandwiches at the oneg following services. There may be no sweeter way to celebrate Shabbat and the new moon!

L’Shalom,
Steve

Dear Friends,

We live in a world where dreadful actions are constantly being perpetrated and justified in the name of religion. This global phenomenon has no boundaries and is not relegated to any single faith. Zealots are zealots, and their destructive and narrow-minded, hate-filled actions have been in existence throughout human history.

In this week’s Torah portion, we read about such an incident. In our narrative found in the Book of Numbers, we read the story of Pinchas, whose murderous actions frame the way our faith treats religious fanaticism.

The narrative of this story begins with God’s wrath. God is angry with the People of Israel for worshiping false idols, which results in the outbreak of a plague. In an attempt to placate the situation, Pinchas impales a couple while they are in bed together. This zealous act quiets God’s rage, and the plague is lifted. This act of violence is then followed by the most puzzling aspect of the entire story, God offers Pinchas a brit shalom – a covenant of peace.

It is here, woven into the actual calligraphy of the Torah, that we find the earliest cautionary lessons against religious fanaticism. For in the world shalom (in this covenant of peace following Pinchas’ murderous actions), we find the only letter in the entire Torah which is intentionally written in a broken and incomplete way.

The custom the Broken Vav dates back to the original Masoretic text, and throughout our history the phenomenon of the Broken Vav has served to teach us that any peace that is attained through acts of religiously based violence is considered incomplete and broken.

Join us this Friday night to take an up-close look at the Broken Vav and other textual anomalies found in the Torah.

L’Shalom,
Steve

Dear Melissa,

Over the course of the past decades, our national conversations around politics have become toxic. We cannot discuss anything of significance without becoming crippled by hostility and frustration. In our hyper-polarized society, we need to find a way to be civil and respectful with those who may not share our opinions.

In our Torah portion this week, we have a model for such restraint.

In this week’s portion, a non-Jewish prophet named Balaam is hired by the King of the Moabites to curse the Israelites. In his heart, Balaam knows that placing a curse on the Israelites is wrong. So Balaam challenges King Balak with the following question, “How can I curse those whom God has not cursed?”

Perhaps this should be a mantra for all Americans in the coming months. As we gear up for another election cycle, it is inevitable that we will find ourselves in conversations which will turn political without notice, and more often than not our political arguments are driven by emotions rather than reason.

Whatever the case may be, we need to find ways to remain civil. We need to remind ourselves that everyone is entitled to an opinion. We need to take our cue from Balaam in our Torah portion by watching what we say and reminding ourselves that God is the ultimate judge of truth.

L’Shalom,
Steve

Dear Friends,

In this week’s Torah portion, we read a passage which is often referred to as “The Song at the Well.” This song was sung by the Israelites upon the completion of their forty-years of wandering in the wilderness before entering the Land of Israel.

Through this brief song [see Numbers 21:17-20], the Israelites expressed their gratitude to God for providing them with a constant source of water through this well in the middle of the desert. In many ways, the “Song at the Well,” might be considered as the flip side of “The Song of the Sea,” where the Israelites celebrated their freedom and marked the beginning of their wanderings after their exodus from Egypt.

These ancestral songs reflect a truth that is as ancient as our existence. Sometimes, the events of life inspire us to express ourselves in song. Sometime, the beauty of the world inspires the soul to sing out in praise and gratitude.

As it was for our ancestors, so too it was for Katherine Lee Bates who was inspired to compose America the Beautiful in 1893 as she gazed upon the glorious views from the top of Pikes Peak in Colorado. These glorious vistas continue to inspire countless visitors today, and as my family enjoyed our time a Pikes Peak this past week, we too felt a desire to sing out songs of praise and joy.

Whether it is from the top of a mountain or in the middle of the wilderness of Houston, we are constantly surrounded by moments of inspiration. It does not take a poet to be able to see God’s handiwork around us. We need only open our eyes to God’s glory and open our mouths to sing God’s praises.

L’Shalom,
Steve

Dear Friends,

Tomorrow is July Fourth, and the following words from our prayer book remind us of the hopes and dreams we share as a nation as we celebrate our independence:

God, who has made us one nation out of many peoples, amid our diversities of race and tradition, unite us in a common love of freedom and in a high ambition for our national life. Continue in us the pioneering spirit which led our ancestors across the estranging sea and upheld them in the wilderness. Deepen in the people of this land a devotion to the common good, so that we may open new doors of hope to the neglected and the oppressed. . .(Union Prayer Book p. 121).

These words remind us that we live in a country where diversity is celebrated and ingenuity of thought and belief are part of the fabric of our national identity.

Indeed, each year we have a great deal to celebrate, and through our fireworks and picnics, we certainly do our share of rejoicing. However, if we fail to remember what the fireworks are all about; if we fail to appreciate the liberties we have been afforded and fail to defend the liberties of others, the Fourth of July will be just another day.

May the words of this prayer and the joys we plan to share with family and friends help us remember that we must constantly stand up for the core values of our nation so that in every generation, liberty and freedom, diversity and independence will be guaranteed to all.

L’Shalom,
Steve

Dear Friends,

Today is Juneteenth, and while it is not a Jewish holiday, it is a celebration of freedom that deserves recognition in our community. Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration honoring the end of slavery in the United States, and its origins are directly linked to Texas.

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865 when Union General Gordon Granger led thousands of federal troops to Galveston to announce that both the Civil War and slavery had come to an end. In 1980, Texas became the first state to declare Juneteenth a holiday. Other states have followed, as the recognition of freedom and equal rights for all citizens is a cornerstone value of the United States.

In recognition of Juneteenth, I spent the day working on a house in the Fifth Ward with a wonderful, multi-faith coalition of leaders from throughout the City of Houston. Our group has been working together for nearly a year as we prepare to do Hurricane relief work in Puerto Rico in October.

Our group is comprised of three Evangelical Christian pastors, two rabbis, a Lutheran pastor, an imam, an Afro-Latina veteran and a Jewish community organizer whose family escaped the Holocaust and migrated through Venezuela to the United States. It’s a dynamic group to say the least, and our work together on a number of houses around town has established a strong bond that we pray will have a lasting impact on the future of our communities.

Our work together in the Fifth Ward of Houston was both intentional and symbolic. We chose the Fifth Ward on this day of freedom to demonstrate that we are committed to the work that still needs to be done in terms of social and economic justice for all. We also recognize that by building bridges of cooperation between faith communities, we can generate waves of goodness in a toxically polarized society.

May this Juneteenth be a celebration for all of us as we remind ourselves of the value and importance of freedom in the world.

L’Shalom,
Steve

Dear Friends,

Our Torah portion this week contains a very famous blessing which has been used throughout history to bless our people at times of joy and celebration. This blessing is used at weddings, baby namings, brises and b’nai mitzvah ceremonies. Parents use this blessing every Friday night to bless their children on Shabbat, and throughout the Jewish calendar year, this blessing is used to invite God’s grace and love on the entire community of Israel.

The blessing is often referred to as the Priestly Benediction, as it was extended over the Israelites by the priests according to the explicit laws of the Torah. As it is written:

May God bless you and protect you!
May God’s countenanced shine upon you and be gracious to you!
May God bestow favor upon you and grant you peace!
Thus, shall they invoke My name on behalf of the Israelites and I will bless them.

This is one of the few blessings that is used liturgically by Jews and Christians alike, and whenever I bless a bride and groom in a mixed faith ceremony, it represents a very special way to extend a blessing that evokes a shared connection to God through sacred text.

As we read this blessing from the Torah scroll this week, we might consider the many ways that we can extend blessings to the world around us. May our hands reach out to bless those who need us and our hearts extend blessings of love and kindness to the brokenness that surrounds us.

L’Shalom,
Steve

Dear Friends,

This week, the Supreme Court is poised to make an important decision regarding the 2020 census, which makes this week’s Torah portion extremely pertinent. The portion of the Torah we read this week happens to begin with a census. This census, however, is a bit puzzling, as it is the fourth census to take place in just over a year.

The Israelites are counted when they go forth from the land of Egypt. They are counted again after the sin of the Golden Calf. They are counted, again, in order to protect them from the spread of a plague. And now, as Israelites are about to receive God’s revelation at Sinai, Moses is commanded – yet again – to count the Israelites.

Torah scholars throughout history have called attention to the frequency of census taking throughout the Torah. “Why?” the sages ask, “Does God command Moses to count the people so many times?”

Many of the early Sages suggest that God’s frequent counting serves to demonstrate God’s love for the people of Israel. From a psychological perspective, counting with a gesture of love might be considered very comforting. It is only human to desire a sense of belonging, and each of us like to know that we are more than just a number.

As the Supreme Court deliberates on the issues at hand, this lesson from our tradition can go a long way. Our national desire to get an accurate head count is extremely important, but it also important that the act of counting itself is designed in a way that every individual feels that he/she does, indeed, count.

L’Shalom,
Steve