CBI Blogs

What a year it has been for refugees finding a new home in Austin.  What a year it has been for the Jewish community assisting these refugee families!    And, what a year it has been for interfaith and community partnerships.

When a group of us from the Jewish Community learned that thousands of Afghan refugees were being airlifted to the United States as the Afghan government fell to the Taliban, we knew we had...Read more...

Dear Ones,

This past Sunday, I asked our Confirmation (10th grade) students a rather unusual question. "Is there a righteous cause that is so important to you that you would consider engaging in an act of nonviolent civil disobedience to further that cause? Is there any principal or civil right so important to you that you could imagine peacefully protesting, even if it got you briefly arrested, let's say, for...Read more...

Happy 2023! We are nearly one week into the new year, and I can feel a buzz of excitement in the air. People are ready for something different, something fresh, something new. Of course, many have made resolutions and commitments for the year to come or turned over a new leaf for a fresh start. But, just as we begin something new, we recognize that something else had to end.

As we begin another lap around the sun, I can’t help but...Read more...

Unlike many other Jewish holidays, Hanukkah doesn't have its own section in the Talmud, as does, for example, the festival of Pesach. Instead, it is touched upon in the section on Shabbat. The rabbis are talking about what kinds of wicks and what kinds of oils make good candles for Shabbat. And the conversation eventually meanders into talking about Hanukkah lights.

When the passage gets around to...Read more...

Shalom Chaverim,

One of the absolute privileges of my work here at CBI is the opportunity to teach a Dalet (6th grade) Hebrew class on Wednesday afternoons. Some of you might remember your own Hebrew school experiences as young children. Some of you might be experiencing this phenomenon through your children, for the first time and some of you might have all of this behind you as...Read more...

This week marks the annual Organ Donor Shabbat, a time to honor those who have given the gift of life to others with their own body. To celebrate those who have given this gift, Adam Sadovsky, CBI past president shares his experience with donating stem cells. Please consider participating in the Jewish value of P’kuach Nefesh, “preserving a life” by joining an organ donor or living donor registry.

So, this journey begins in...Read more...

“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

In just four days it will be Monday, October 31st. The one-year anniversary of the evening when an arsonist, full of hate for us, attempted to burn down our synagogue. I will forever feel gratitude towards...Read more...

Moadim L’Simchah! It’s hard to believe that we’re halfway through the wonderful celebration of Sukkot and just days away from Simchat Torah. Time has flown by these past few weeks. They’ve been a whirlwind of prayer, joy, community, and gratitude. As we continue to experience the wonder of Sukkot, I’m reminded of the lovely tradition of inviting ushpizin into our midst.

What, or rather who are ushpizin? This Aramaic word for “guests” refers to the people we welcome into our Sukkah in order to provide them with hospitality, a meal, shelter, a place to celebrate the joy of the holiday. In some traditions, ushpizin are spiritual guests, such as our matriarchs, patriarchs, and other ancestors we wish to bring into our Sukkah. Read more...

Last week, I looked up at the full moon and realized that we are halfway through the month of Elul. After a brief moment of panic, I remembered that this month is more than a time of frantic preparations for the High Holy Days; it’s an opportunity for personal introspection and reflection.

It might sound a bit funny, but as a rabbi, it feels harder to find moments to...Read more...

This past Shabbat we welcomed in the new Hebrew month of Elul with psalms of praise and special Torah and haftarah readings. In the special verses that made up the maftir (end of our Torah reading for the week) we were instructed regarding the sacrifices to be made:

“On your new moons you shall present a burnt offering to Adonai: two bulls of the herd, one ram, and seven...Read more...

While on vacation this summer we dedicated 48 hours to “let’s see where the road takes us.” We left my parents home on the shore of Lake Huron, stopped in London, ON (my birthplace) to pick up my mother-in-law and then ventured onward.

Jonathan found a new Craft Gin Trail that took us first to Stratford, home of the Stratford Festival, Ken’s Chip Wagon, and Justin Bieber....Read more...

“By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion” (Psalm 137:1). Like many of you, when I read this well-known verse from Psalm 137, I immediately think of this version by Boney M. from 1978. The upbeat tempo and catchy melody are beautiful, but don’t really express the devastation behind the words.

In just a few days, we will commemorate Tisha...Read more...

Hello CBI Community. 

Please allow me to introduce myself, my name is Sera Bonds. 

I am a: mother, southerner, Jew, activist, public health devotee, surfer, sci-fi geek, founder, wanderer, community organizer, lover of naps and swimming holes, rainmaker (i.e. fundraiser), daughter, sister, friend, and wife. Not always in that order, of course. 

And I am currently serving as the Interim Executive Director...Read more...

Many of you know that I grew up just down the road in San Antonio. That also means I had the privilege of attending Greene Family Camp each summer as a kid and later, as an adult. This Saturday, I will head back up I-35 to my home away from home for my 17th summer at GFC.

Camp has always been a huge part of my life. It helped shape my Jewish identity, it gave me the confidence to...Read more...

In the anthology of midrash called Koheleth Rabbah ("The Great Midrash on Ecclesiastes") we find a well-known rabbinic proverb about names:

“A person has three names:
one that they are called by their father and mother;
one that people know them by,
and one that they acquire for themselves.
The best of these names is the one we acquire for ourselves.”

The significance of the first two...Read more...