Dear Friends,

Judaism is a faith structured around relationships, and the synagogue is one of the most common places where those relationships are formed and nurtured. These relationships are established as we learn each other’s stories and meet each other’s families. With time, these ever expanding relationships develop into a warm and welcoming community.

For newcomers, however, entry ways into an already established community can be challenging and intimidating. This is something that HCRJ tries hard to overcome. We want everyone to feel welcome, connected and engaged from the moment they step foot into this building.

This Friday night before worship services, help us extend a warm welcome to our newest members and join us in reaching out to potential members at our annual Welcome Shabbat.

Our evening begins with wine and cheese at 6:15. Bring someone who is searching for a synagogue home or extend a personal invitation to someone who has recently joined our congregation. Your help is needed as we wish make HCRJ the friendliest synagogue in town.
L’Shalom-Steve

Dear Friends,

In this week’s Torah portion, we find one of the most important commandments in the entire bible. At the very end of the passage in Deuteronomy 22:3, we are commanded:

Lo  TooChal   L’hitalem

You shall not hide yourself – or – You shall not remain indifferent

These five words are embedded in a marvelous portion about ethical deeds. These five words implore us never to remain on the sidelines of those who are in need. These five words are at the heart of our spiritual preparation for the High Holy Days which are just a few weeks away.

On Rosh HaShanah – but even more so on Yom Kippur – we are reminded that we cannot hide from truth and righteousness. We cannot run from our responsibilities to each other. We cannot ignore the needs of the world in which we live.

Thus, this simple commandment stands as an eternal reminder of the moral imperative to remain steadfast in our efforts to make this world a better place by sticking our necks out for others in time of need. This commandment calls us to righteousness. This commandment calls us to hearken to the needs of the poor and the hungry. This commandment calls us to make a shift in the way that we see the world and our responsibilities to society at large. This commandment implores us to pen our eyes and our hearts and be moved from indifference to caring – from blindness to seeing – from complacency to action.

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. 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.

This Friday night, we will also be installing our new board of trustees. Join us for an inspiring night celebrating leadership, vision, hope and change. A special oneg will follow.

L’Shalom-Steve

Dear Friends,

Tu B’Av, the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Av, has long been associated with love and romance. The origins of this “Jewish Valentine’s Day” are found in the Talmud where it is mentioned as a day for romantic encounters between men and women. It seems to have served as a matchmaking day for unmarried women during the time of the Second Temple (before the fall of Jerusalem in 70 C.E.).

Tu B’Av was almost unnoticed in the Jewish calendar for many centuries, but it has been rejuvenated in recent decades, especially in the modern state of Israel. In its modern incarnation, Tu B’Av is gradually becoming a Hebrew-Jewish Day of Love, and in a world filled with so much hate, this is a very nice holiday to have!

We will mark Tu B’Av with special musical selections and readings on Friday night during our Shabbat services. Wishing you a week filled with love and kindness.

L’Shalom-Steve

Dear Friends,

Today is the Fourth of July, and tonight – as fireworks fill the skies and we stare into the heavens – our eyes focus on our unity as a nation regardless of creed or heritage. This sense of American pride is beautifully captured in the following words from our Sabbath prayer book:

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. . .

Help us establish this land in righteousness. . . (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,

When Michael Green brought twenty members of his nationally acclaimed gospel choir to HCRJ for our Gospel Shabbat this year, their voices of praise and joy lifted our spirits in new and exciting ways. After a powerful Sabbath experience, Michael said, “If you thought that was good, you should experience the choir in its entirety!” That night we made a promise to keep this new relationship alive by building bridges of cooperation and trust through worship, music, shared experiences and fellowship.

Please consider joining us this Sunday, July 1 at 12:00 as we take our first steps in fulfilling this promise. Our goal is to bring twenty members from HCRJ to worship with their community and converse with their Kerygma Team (clergy) who will take us on a tour of the facilities, address any questions we have and share in fellowship and a light meal with their members.

The Church Without Walls Queenston Campus is located at 5725 Queenston Boulevard, Houston, TX 77084. Meet us at 11:45am in the main lobby of the church so we all can walk in and sit together. There is no need to RSVP, but advance notice to Justin at 713-782-4162 or admin@hcrj.org will help us coordinate our efforts.

For a little taste of the powerful sound of this gospel choir, click here.

L’Shalom-Steve

Dear Friends,

Sunday was Father’s Day, and I hope that everyone had a wonderful day celebrating fatherhood and the joys that come with it. I know I did. As a father, few things are more satisfying than knowing that your children are growing up, and as my children range in age from 10 to 22 years, I feel blessed to be able to join my children as they journey the path from childhood to maturity.

Father’s Day (as well as Mother’s Day) serves to remind us of the fact that this lifelong journey is one of the greatest joys a parent can behold. These special days help us appreciate the sacred nature of this relationship we have with our children.

So to all our fathers (and all of us who are children), may Sunday’s celebration of fatherhood remain with us as more than a single day for a great meal with the family and an opportunity to share thoughts on cards. Rather, let Father’s Day compel us to embrace the journey and remind us to weave enduring memories associated with parenting into the fabric of our lives.

L’Shalom-Steve