CBI Blogs

Shalom Chaverim,

In Israel, when we say so long to friends at the end of a visit we say “l’hitraot”. This Hebrew word means “see you later” as opposed to goodbye.

As I write to you this afternoon, we in the temple offices are preparing to say l’hitraot to our Executive...Read more...

Shalom Chaverim,

Rabbis Levy, Young, and I get asked to participate in a lot of meaningful moments – whether they be joyful or sad – in the lives of our greater temple family. Sometimes we are naming babies, bringing two lives together underneath the chupah, or calling a young adult to the Torah. We also get to be there when a scary test...Read more...

As I looked back at some of the blogs from the past few summers, I noticed that this is the time of year I often write about camp. It makes sense, since this is when I’m usually preparing to pack my kids and me for Greene Family Camp, my home away from home. I’ve had the honor of serving on faculty for 4 summers, with this summer making year number 5. Amazingly, this...Read more...

Shalom Chaverim,

Tomorrow evening will mark the beginning of a new era for CBI. After 18 months of anticipation, conversation, tears shed, hugs shared, and celebrations had, we will be moving forward, continuing to write the history of our beloved community.

As I write to you this afternoon, I find myself...Read more...

Dear ones,

Rabbis tend to be book lovers, which I suppose is no great surprise. Judaism is a learned tradition, and as the biblical book of Ecclesiastes (12:12) quips, "of the making of books there is no end." And over the...Read more...

Growing up Jewish in San Antonio meant I was well aware of how I differed from the other kids. I knew that I couldn’t stay late for Brownies or Girl Scouts on Wednesday afternoons because I had to get to Hebrew school. It meant feeling like an outcast on the playground when I wanted to sing a song, specifically “Oseh Shalom,” or something else I learned while in...Read more...

“Matzah, charoset, and singing with Sarah,

Seder and laughing till tears ruin mascara,

Coconut macaroons from a big can,

These Pesach goodies are better than lamb.

Blood on the doorframe

Frogs in the...Read more...

Shalom Chaverim,

In June of 1998 a very green, sure she knew everything, pre-frontal lobe still forming, just one year married, 25-year-old Sarah Avner and her husband Jonathan moved to Austin, Texas. As high school sweethearts whose story was ready for an adventure the opportunity for Jonathan to take a job far from home and in a new country was just what this couple thought they...Read more...

So, what does a Director of Community Engagement do? It's no joke when I say "a little bit of everything." The most recent version of my job description includes duties revolving around member onboarding and engagement, communications through our calendar, email lists, website, and social media, program development, and logistical support for events. I truly love what I do and feel so lucky I get to give back to the community I grew up in by...Read more...

Shalom Chaveirim,

Today my husband and I are just three weeks returned from our most recent trip to Israel. I find myself reflecting more on our time there than any of our previous visits. This makes sense, given the current state of both the country post-October 7th and our own hearts. In the following paragraphs I hope to share a few of my reflections.

This was the first...Read more...

Dear Ones,

Two weekends ago, I received an email from a member of our community who attends the Weekday Meditation Service each Wednesday afternoon. “Can you stop by the Temple sometime on Sunday? Some of us have something for you.”

When I arrived at the Temple, I was greeted by a group of 15 or so members of our community. It was a warm afternoon, and some of them were...Read more...

In a Jewish community, we constantly read the Torah to remember the history of our ancestors so that it may never be forgotten. This is very important because if one were to forget the struggles and strife that their ancestors went through, then they will not know who they are or where they are going in the future. Additionally, those that oppress the minority population are working twice as hard to make sure that the minorities forget their...Read more...

Last year, Cathy Campbell wrote a guest blog in this bulletin about the growth of Austin Jews and Partners for Refugees from a grassroot effort originating in the Jewish Community into a thriving non-profit with hundreds of volunteers of all faiths and dozens of faith-based community organizations that assisted almost a thousand Afghan refugees to begin their new lives in...Read more...

Since fall of 2017, when we dropped Jacob off at O’Hare airport in Chicago and handed his immediate care over to the State of Israel, many people have asked me “how do you do it?” “Don’t you miss him?” “Will he go to college here, in America, when he comes home?”

And then, after a family visit to Israel in December of 2018, Rebekah, our youngest, made the same choice - attend high school in Israel through Naale at the...Read more...

Dear Ones,

There is a lovely, old Yiddish expression that translates into English as, "You cannot dance at two weddings at the same time." This is a colorful way of saying, "You can't be in two places at once.”

But Dr. Leonard Kravitz, a seminary professor of mine, used the expression in a more metaphorical vein. "All of Jewish life in the diaspora," he would...Read more...