CBI Blogs

A Passover Seder with family can feel like Thanksgiving dinner with higher stakes. The seder is full of themes of freedom and standing up for the oppressed. It invites us to respond in ways that others at the table might vehemently disagree. Many of us feel very strongly about the issues that are in the news today, and we tend to assume that others will agree with us, but that is largely due to the echo chambers of social media through which...Read more...

We’ve reached the moment in our regular Torah reading cycle that many people dread. This week, we begin reading from the Book of Leviticus. The majority of Leviticus focuses on the rules and details involved in offering sacrifices. While we thankfully no longer offer sacrifices, we still read this book each year and find new ways to connect with it. In Hebrew, Leviticus is referred to as Vayikra, which translates to...Read more...

Some of you may recall that my Yom Kippur sermon focused on Zionism. I described my interpretation of Zionism and my vision for the future of Israel. I talked at length about understanding what it means to truly support Israel, to understand what it means to connect with the land, the people, and our history. At the end of my sermon, I explained how we could also have a say in what happens in Israel and how we can partner...Read more...

Shalom Chaverim,

Over and over in Torah we are commanded to care for the stranger, the orphan, and the widow.

In Deuteronomy as the rules for the celebration of Sukkot are spelled out: “You shall rejoice in your festival, with your son and daughter, your male and female slave, the [family of the] Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the...Read more...

In this week's parashah, just after Moses’ visit with his father-in-law Jethro, the Israelites make their way toward Mount Sinai, where they will receive the commandments. The verse says:

They journeyed from Rephidim, and entered the wilderness of Sinai and encamped in the wilderness. Israel encamped there in front of the mountain….(Exodus 19:2)

At first read this feels like an interlude kind of sentence. Just getting the...Read more...

2 years ago, I was blessed to sign my second contract with Congregation Beth Israel. This new contract included a 3 month sabbatical, a real gift that not everyone receives during their rabbinate. We agreed that my sabbatical would take place during the year 5785 and could include whatever I deemed important to me. So, many of you are probably wondering, what did I do with my time off?

Well, I tried to pack in as...Read more...

Shalom Chaverim.

Several weeks ago, in the final days of November, while standing in line to make a purchase at HEB, I was struck by a thought: “what if I am not ready for October 8th” and was immediately brought to tears. Just a week before the parents of Tamir Nimrodi had spoken in Tel Aviv’s hostages square as their son marked his second birthday in Hamas captivity since...Read more...

Shalom Chaverim!

As I write this, Chanukah is just 5 big sleeps away! However, this year, because of the way our secular and lunar calendars align, it seems as though we have already been celebrating. Our community Chanukah party took place this past Sunday, I have been singing songs with our little to big kiddos at religious school for a couple of weeks already, and today...Read more...

Shalom Chaverim,

This week I had the privilege of leading members of The Music Club that meets at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin in the singing of some Chanukah songs. Sue Bilich, a member of our greater temple community and The Music Club kindly invited me to participate. It was an honor to stand next to Sue as she took a few minutes to explain and teach what...Read more...

As a Jewish person informed by what our sacred texts teach, I have always clung to the concept of free will. In Deuteronomy 30 when the Israelites are told, “I have put before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life—and you and your offspring will thrive…” I read it as a declaration of the balance of power between people and God. God might be all powerful, but by sharing that power with us, giving us the power of choice,...Read more...

Shalom Chaverim,

Two years ago, in September of 2022, I became an American Citizen. The first thing I did with my new status, with the assistance of a wonderful volunteer, was get myself registered to vote. My registration card arrived in time for me to vote in my first US election cycle that same November. When the polling station workers learned it was my first time voting...Read more...

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the High Holy Days are not over! It’s true; many people think that once Yom Kippur is finished, our time of introspection and reflection is over. While it would be nice (at least from a clergy perspective) to be “done” once we hit the break fast, the holidays continue on as we gather to celebrate Sukkot and Simchat Torah. 

Funny enough, most people I speak to absolutely...Read more...

I recently started watching Time Bandits on Apple+, a reimagining of the zany 1981 film. In the opening episode we are introduced to Kevin, a intelligent and thoughtful 12-year-old boy, and his neglectful parents, who spend most of their time sitting on the couch using their smartphones while the tv plays in the background. This is an all too familiar scene in households across...Read more...

The Japanese have an artistic style called kintsugi in which a broken piece of pottery is repaired by mending the areas of breakage with a lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered precious metal…like gold. Why do this? One answer: to embrace the flawed or the imperfect. Healing human brokenness is not as easy as gold dusted glue. However, if I greet the broken hearted with...Read more...

On Fridays, we email two Elul Thoughts, out of respect for those of us who choose not to look at email on Shabbat. We wish you a blessed and restful Shabbat and hope you continue finding inspiration in our Elul Thoughts.

If you've ever been in a beit midrash (a traditional Jewish study hall), you know it's anything but quiet. Unlike a typical Western...Read more...