HCRJ Bulletin Article - Houston Congregation for Reform Judaism

December 20, 2017

Dear Friends,

During these winter holidays, the temple office will be closed from Monday, December 25 through Tuesday, January 2. The office will reopen on Wednesday, January 3 at 9AM.

L’Shalom,
Steve

Tonight, we will light a second candle on our Chanukah menorah as we celebrate our winter festival with family and friends. Historically, Chanukah commemorates the importance of the military victory of the Maccabees in 165 BCE. In remembering this aspect of our holiday, we consider the value in fighting for religious freedom in every age for all peoples.

Spiritually, our observance is a celebration of miracles. In lighting our festival lights and eating foods fried in oil, we recall the miraculous events that graced the Maccabees in their day with the hope that God will bless us with such miracles in our own day.

This year, in particular, as violence has once again erupted in and around Israel, the historical and spiritual messages of Chanukah can help us consider ways to bring light and miracles to a darkened world. As we light the candles for the remaining nights of this Festival of Lights may these redemptive themes bring us a sense of hope that all forces of darkness will be defeated and human freedoms will reign triumphant.

L’Shalom,
Steve

* Read more about Chanukah, including its history, songs, blessings, recipes and family activities here.

December 6, 2017

Dear Melissa,

When the Astros won the World Series, the entire city of Houston rejoiced, and we are still rejoicing! The truth is that few things can unite a community more than a victorious sports team, and in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, the Astros gave the city of Houston something to cheer about.

In a very similar way, the entire State of Israel was united in 1977 when the frequently defeated Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv was victorious over the heavily favored Moscow team for the European Cup basketball title. This victory (which took place during height of the Cold War and in the lingering aftermath of the 1972 Munich Olympics, when eleven Israeli athletes were killed by Palestinian terrorists) literally put Israel on the map. It showed Europe and the rest of the world that Israel was a contender, and it would not be pushed around by superpowers or terrorist organizations.

This underdog story is the topic of a powerful documentary called, On the Map. The film is filled with suspense, momentum, and an emotional twist that pulls the audience in from the start.

If you enjoyed rooting for the Astros this year, you will really enjoy this movie! A video preview of On The Map can be found here.

Join us this Sunday at HCRJ at 2:00 for the screening of On The Map. There is no cost to attend, donations are appreciated.

L’Shalom,
Steve

Sandbox Play as a Model for a Moral Society

For young children, one of the favorite shared spaces to play has always been the sandbox. In the sandbox as boys and girls play together, all are equal in the process of digging holes and making piles. There is no judgment, no competition and no gender bias whatsoever. Additionally, the only rules to sandbox play are to stay within the boundaries of the box, play nicely and share the limited
tools available to all.

In sandbox play, the best drivers of human interaction are on display: cooperation, respect, kindness and acceptance. Even when something goes wrong (sand gets into someone’s eyes) empathy and courtesy usually find their way into the social mix.

In the past few months, as reports of sexual harassment cases have surfaced in every industry and hate speech continues to be the topic of headline news, I have come to long for the innocence and civility of the sandbox. As the year 2018 begins to unfold, we have a moral obligation to speak out. On Rosh HaShanah, which marked the New Year on the Jewish calendar, I addressed what I called, the sin of silence. With the beginning of this secular calendar year, it has become clear that society needs to hear our voices.

Silence is a sin when we keep our mouths shut as people suffer injustice before our eyes. Silence is a sin when we stand on the sidelines when we have knowledge of sexual harassment. Silence is a sin when we choose not to speak out to defend the victims of violence or domestic abuse. Silence is a sin when we fail to report exploitation. Silence is a sin when our lips are sealed in the presence of hatred, bigotry or the assault of another person with words or deeds.

Each of these transgressions regarding silence can be rectified, and it is up to each of us to find the courage to speak out and stand up for what is right. As it is in the sandbox, the rules regarding proper civil interaction are very simple: play nicely, be kind, share your resources and strive to be respectful to everyone. These rules do not change as we become adults. Therefore, it should not be difficult to recognize when someone has crossed the line, nor should it be difficult to know when to speak out.

When it comes to hate and bigotry, there is no nuance. When it comes to issues of sexual harassment and abuse, there is no nuance. Yet, for far too long those who witness these behaviors often sit on the sidelines in silence. As victims of harassment and hatred are finally finding their voices in the public domain, we need to be listening in order to respond appropriately. We need to be part of the dialogue and part of the broader solution. With regards to sexual harassment, a recent poll from ABC News and the Washington Post found that 54 percent of American women report having received unwanted and inappropriate sexual advances. With regards to hatred and bigotry, anti-Semitic attacks are up over 86% since January of 2017.

These statistics should concern and disturb all of us. They reflect a huge national problem which must be addressed by society at large. We need to remember that Civil Rights were not just a “black problem,” the Holocaust was not just a “Jewish problem” and sexual harassment and discrimination are not just a “woman’s problem.”

Each of these morally reprehensible issues compromises our civility and exposes the worst aspects of our humanity. They are concerns we must address with a sense of urgency, and none should remain silent. Please know my office is a safe place to discuss these matters. There are also many resources throughout the City of Houston that can help victims cope in healthy ways.

We are commanded by our faith to love our neighbors, be kind to strangers and stand up for the dispossessed. It is, therefore, incumbent on us to raise our voices in unity in the face of injustice and immorality. In the face of the collapse of general rules of respect in the workplace, in the home and in society at large, we may just need to find our way back to the simple rules of sandbox play

November 29, 2017

Dear Friends,

Yesterday was a national day of giving called, #GivingTuesday, and if your inbox was like mine, most of the emails were from charitable organizations seeking to find support. This wonderful new forum for charitable contributions serves to remind us that as a community, we can do more together than we can ever do alone.

Yesterday’s internet based giving platform provided us with an opportunity to focus our philanthropic efforts toward the causes that inspire us toward a more just and compassionate world. It also served to remind us that together we can generate positive changes at home and across the world.

In a way, #GivingTuesday, also serves as a kick-off for the HCRJ Mitzvah Day, which is taking place this Sunday. As #GivingTuesday has ignited desire to help make a difference, we are primed to invest time and energy into the process of tikkun olam (repairing the world).

Join us on Sunday morning, December 3 for Mitzvah Day. Together we can make a difference.

L’Shalom,
Steve

November 22, 2017

As Thanksgiving approaches, I want to take a moment to publicly express my gratitude for a few things that bless my life every day.

As a rabbi:

I am thankful that HCRJ is blessed with such an amazing staff in the office, in our worship settings and in our religious school. Across every aspect of our institution, our staff holds a love of HCRJ at the core of all they do.

I am thankful for the boundless dedication of our membership and leadership. It is because of what each of you bring to this place that makes it so special.

I am grateful for the ability to serve a community that dreams with me. Together we have envisioned many creative ways to meet our growing demands.

As a father:

I am thankful that for the joys that come with raising four wonderful children, and I feel truly blessed to have all them all together this year for Thanksgiving and Chanukah. I know that this will become increasingly difficult as the years unfold.

As a husband:

I am blessed with a partner in life who shares my dreams and my values. Beckye’s boundless support is sometimes taken for granted, but I am thankful to my core for everything she does.

We all have so much for which to be thankful. As we prepare for this wonderful American Holiday, it is my hope that an abundance of good things in our lives will bless us all.

L’Shalom,

Steve

November 15, 2017

Dear Friends,

In our Torah portion this week, we read about the birth of Jacob and Esau. The Torah and the commentaries which follow tend to focus on the fact that these twins and their descendants evolve into two completely separate peoples. However, in a world which has become so polarized, it may also be helpful to focus on the fact that Jacob and Esau are twins. They share the same genetic make-up. They were once the very same embryonic cell. In essence, both Jacob and Esau could be understood as representing two separate aspects of the Jewish people.

In recent years, the battle in both the political and religious aspects of our people has become so intense that it often appears as if we (like Jacob and Esau) will split into two separate entities. Nowhere is this split more apparent than in the State of Israel, where the Orthodox hold a monopoly over all religious activities including marriage and burial rites, and where all non-Orthodox branches of Judaism are shunned. Religious pluralism does not exist in Israel, and as the need for non-Orthodox alternatives continues to increase, the tensions within our people continue to rise.

These splits in identity also fall along political lines as the political left and right struggle for power over the future of the Jewish State. In these polarized times, it is challenging to find a middle ground, yet in order for our people to survive, a middle ground with a moderate voice is exactly what we need.

Here, we can find hope in our twins as well. For after many years of estrangement, Jacob and Esau eventually find their way back together and embrace in brotherly love. As it is with all families, it is ok to fight as long as our fighting does not divide us.

L’Shalom–Steve

November 8, 2017

Dear Friends,

Every year, Veterans Day represents a way to honor our veterans who boldly put their lives on the line to protect the values of our nation. Their service to our country weaves us together in a way that is central to our identities as Americans. The hard work and dedication to our military is something we should never take for granted.

This Friday night, we will honor the veterans of our nation with a sacred service. If you are a veteran, please join us for an evening that will recognize your service in song, meditation and message.

May the dedication and valiance demonstrated by the men and women who serve us in this capacity inspire us to uphold the virtues of our nation as we work collectively to be a beacon of liberty and harmony for all the world to see.

L’Shalom–Steve

Seeking the Wisdom of Our Faith from the Non-Jewish World

I recently had a conversation with a grandmother who was terrified that her ten-year old grandson was going to fall from Judaism and embrace Christianity. The boy’s parents were recently divorced, and he had asked his mother if he could go to church with her. The grandmother was consumed with grief, and called me for counsel. Much to her dismay, my response was not what she was expecting to hear.

After listening to the details of the situation, it was clear to me that the boy was starving for a sense of faith and hope in the aftermath of a painful divorce. It was also clear that while the parents had once agreed to raise him Jewish, ten years had passed without ever giving him any kind of Jewish education whatsoever. To complicate matters, the father (who was the Jewish partner in this interfaith marriage) had rejected his faith long ago, and the mother (who was Catholic) knew nothing about Judaism. In short, the boy was seeking spiritual healing from the faith of his mother.

For this concerned grandmother, this scenario represented the end of her grandson’s Jewish life. I, however, saw this situation as the beginning.

Finding God and seeking hope through faith is a quest as ancient as the human species. Every religious endeavor begins with this quest as we seek a sense of meaning in response to the challenges life throws our way, and since no faith has all the answers, all faiths provide insights.

As Jews, we have a very long history of gaining insights about God through our interactions with other faiths. This tradition dates back to Moses, whose interactions with his father-in-law Jethro (a Midianite priest), radically expands his ideas about God and religious responsibility.

Such has been our history as a people. Jews have always learned and usurped ideas from our non-Jewish neighbors. Without Aristotle, we would not have the philosophy of Maimonides. Without the cultural exchanges which took place in medieval Spain with Arab poets, Jewish literature would look very different today. Without our theological exchanges with those who follow the teachings of Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha and many other non-Jewish theologians, our abilities to articulate matters of the spirit would be greatly diminished. In every age, Jews have not only contributed to the realm of spiritual matters, but we have consistently sought knowledge and understanding from outside of our heritage as well.

This was the purpose of the trip I took to Abu Dhabi in May and its follow up program in Morocco in October. As imams, ministers and rabbis gathered in each of these predominantly Muslim countries, we did so in the spirit of expanding our capacity to serve the world in positive ways. Rather than reject each other’s faith and practices, we seek to build bridges of cooperation, respect and shared learning.

The truth is that, in religious life, sometimes finding God and the value of faith in our lives takes a circuitous route. For this little boy, I strongly believe that the faith of his mother was the beginning of his spiritual journey. It was certainly not the end, and how it would unfold from there was yet to be determined.

November 1, 2017

Dear Friends,

In what way are baseball and the creation of the world similar? They both start “In the big inning.”

This silly joke still makes me smile, but there is a profound truth in this childhood riddle. The similarities between baseball and religion are very tangible. Think about it. The ballpark is a kind of cathedral where good battles evil (at least in the eyes of the fans on each side), and over the course of the Astros run for the pennant, more prayers have been expressed in the course of the playoffs and World Series, than ever take place in the sanctuary on Shabbat.

Indeed, there is a fundamental connection between baseball and religion. This similarity reflects the capacity of baseball to cause human beings, in a context they don’t think of as religious, to experience something which is purely ordinary and perceive it as extraordinary and maybe even sacred.

Tonight, whether you are an Astros fan or a Dodgers fan, the battle of good versus evil will have a victor. Pray as hard as you can, and let the baseball gods make the final call.

L’Shalom–Steve

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