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Hineini, here I am

01/29/2025 02:57:20 PM

Jan29

Rabbi Kelly Levy

 

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...

Gender and Judaism

01/21/2025 04:57:56 PM

Jan21

RDY

Anyone who wishes to come to CBI and worship with us in peace will always be welcomed with great love, and protected with great fervor.

Part of being a holy, welcoming community is respecting how people wish to be identified. As many of you likely know, a recent and troubling Executive Order claims that there are two genders, male and female. Specifically, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological...Read more...

A Ceasefire Amidst Wildfires

01/15/2025 03:02:08 PM

Jan15

Sarah Avner, Cantorial

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...

Welcome 2025!

01/02/2025 04:42:36 PM

Jan2

Sarah Avner, Cantorial Soloist

Shalom Chaverim,

Here we are. The last day of Chanukah and the second day of 2025. As a person who so distinctly remembers struggling to remember 1980 as a 6-year-old student dating my school papers upon our return after winter break, it is incredible for me that we are here. Of course, some will describe me as a baby regarding years and new humans will call this their birth year....Read more...

Happy Chanukah!

12/19/2024 12:48:31 PM

Dec19

Sarah Avner, Cantorial Soloist

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...

Dinah Goes Forth

12/12/2024 02:26:14 PM

Dec12

RDY

This week we are reading parashat Vayishlach, which continues the story of Jacob. Last week in Parashat Vayeitze Jacob meets Rachel and Leah and has twelve children with the two of them and with Bilhah and Zilpah. Then he makes himself exceedingly wealthy through his work as a shepherd over his father-in-law Laban’s flocks. Knowing his wealth came at the expense of Laban, he starts to create distance between the two families, but Laban...Read more...

Kedushah by Elana Arian for Shabbat Morning

12/05/2024 08:54:17 PM

Dec5

Sarah Avner, Cantorial Soloist

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...

Happy Thanksgiving!

11/26/2024 03:50:19 PM

Nov26

Sarah Avner, Cantorial Soloist

Happy Thanksgiving!

Last Tuesday evening I had the privilege of attending an interfaith Thanksgiving dinner at the Dialogue Institute Austin, on Gattis School Road in Round Rock, whose mission is ” To promote mutual understanding, respect and cooperation among people of diverse faiths and cultures by creating opportunities for direct communication and meaningful shared...Read more...

Take Action Now!

11/20/2024 11:44:45 AM

Nov20

RDY

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...

Parashat Vayera 5785

11/12/2024 01:17:10 PM

Nov12

RDY

Four major plot lines dominate this week’s Torah portion (Vayera, Genesis 18-24).

First, three angels visit Abraham and Sarah. Abraham looks up and sees three men approaching, who turn out to be angels who tell them they will have a child together and name him Isaac.

Then, the angels look down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and go to destroy...Read more...

First time voter!  Right here.

11/07/2024 04:41:53 PM

Nov7

Sarah Avner

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...

Sabbata-what-now?

10/23/2024 04:18:27 PM

Oct23

Rabbi Young

Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of your God יהוה: you shall not do any work—you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, or your cattle, or the stranger who is within your settlements (Exod. 20:9-10).

Six years you may sow your field and six years you may prune your vineyard and gather in the yield. But in the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath of complete rest, a...Read more...

A Harvest of Joy 

10/16/2024 09:40:55 AM

Oct16

Rabbi Kelly Levy


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...

Elul Thoughts - 1 Tishrei / October 3

10/04/2024 12:12:42 PM

Oct4

October 3, 2024/1 Tishrei 5785
Rosh Hashanah!

As a Rosh Hashanah gift from us to you, here is one last thought to start your year:

Rabbi Eleanor Steinman

As we prepare ourselves for the dawn of a new year, many of us reflect upon the two broad categories of sin; sins between people and sins between a person and the Holy One (Mishna Yoma 8:9). This mishna teaches us that the liturgical atonement of Yom Kippur...Read more...

Elul Thoughts - 29 Elul / October 2

10/04/2024 12:10:41 PM

Oct4

October 2, 2024/29 Elul 5784
Rabbi Michael Churgel

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...

Elul Thoughts - 28 Elul   / October 1

10/01/2024 03:01:17 PM

Oct1

October 1, 2024/28 Elul 5784
Rabbi Eric Linder

After settling in the land of Canaan, Abraham and his nephew Lot found great success. In fact, they amassed so much wealth that even their animals began to compete over land and resources

The Torah tells us that Abraham approached his nephew. Please let there be no strife between me and you, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brethren (Genesis...Read more...

Elul Thoughts - 27 Elul / September 30

09/30/2024 06:52:02 PM

Sep30

September 30, 2024/27 Elul 5784
Cantor Laurie Weinstein

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...

Elul Thoughts - 26 Elul / September 29

09/29/2024 10:32:48 AM

Sep29

September 29, 2024/26 Elul 5784
Cantor Joanna Alexander

Dear God,

Why can they not see how wrong they are? Can you not simply bring a miracle to show them your will, to change their ways and help them find the true path?

Dear God, I know I am not perfect, but do they not see the harm they cause to others, the damage to your one and only earth, the pain their stubbornness bears out?

Read more...

Elul Thoughts -  24 & 25 Elul / September 27 & 28

09/27/2024 07:07:11 PM

Sep27

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.

September 27-28, 2024/24-25 Elul 5784
Cantor David Berger

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...

Elul Thoughts - 23 Elul / September 26

09/27/2024 10:13:12 AM

Sep27

September 26, 2024/23 Elul 5784
Rabbi Brad Levenberg

The slow trickle of time has the potential to turn streams into lakes. Consider the story of Mr. Brown, a widower in metro Atlanta, Georgia. He had a dream of a large pond in a recessed part of his property. Tragically, he died before his dream could be realized. The company he hired to design the project was negligent, leaving a hose running as they stepped away from the...Read more...

Elul Thoughts - 22 Elul / September 25

09/25/2024 12:53:15 PM

Sep25

September 25, 2024/22 Elul 5784
Rabbi Stephen Wise

I spent two weeks in Israel this summer. This was my second visit since October 7. The first was to bear witness to the massacre. At that time I noticed a bond of solidarity among Israelis over fighting back against Hamas and rescuing hostages. Grassroots charities sprung up across the country to help take care of others and put aside past grievances. Over the past 8 months...Read more...

Elul Thoughts - 21 Elul / September 24

09/24/2024 03:42:58 PM

Sep24

September 24, 2024/21 Elul 5784
Rabbi Rony S. Keller

Elul asks us to physically engage in the daily act of listening to the sound of the shofar. 

“The shofar call begins with a tekiah, a long, unbroken blast; progresses to sh’varim, three wailing blasts; and finally reaches the staccato t’ru’ah. But the shofar always returns to the tekiah. That is the growth of a spirit: first holiness; then...Read more...

Elul Thoughts - 20 Elul / September 23

09/23/2024 10:54:24 AM

Sep23

September 23, 2024/20 Elul 5784
Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker

In a debate, there’s a winner and a loser. As a result, debate is a terrible way to resolve problems or bring people together. If our goal for family, our People, or our community is to “seek peace and pursue it” (Psalms 34:15), logical (or illogical) arguments won’t lead to reconciliation or healing. Instead, we have to suffer.

Sevel in...Read more...

Elul Thoughts - 19 Elul / September 22

09/23/2024 10:53:39 AM

Sep23

September 22, 2024/19 Elul 5784
Rabbi Erin Boxt

As the High Holy Day Period is coming upon us fast, we tend to turn our focus (internally and externally) to seeking and giving forgiveness. It is in our attempts to heal these rifts among people that we spend so much time dwelling on in the month of Elul.

Perhaps you are familiar with the musical, Hamilton. When Alexander Hamilton admits to an affair, his wife,...Read more...

Elul Thoughts - 17 & 18 Elul / September 20 & 21

09/20/2024 01:25:54 PM

Sep20

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.

September 20-21, 2024/17-18 Elul 5784
Rabbi Batsheva Appel

Is such the fast I desire,
A day for people to starve their bodies?...

Read more...

Elul Thoughts - 16 Elul / September 19

09/19/2024 04:19:36 PM

Sep19

September 19, 2024/16 Elul 5784
Rabbi Neal Katz

During Elul, I like to meditate on a beautiful teaching from the Torah that reminds me of my smallness.

In Genesis, as our ancestor Jacob prepared to meet his estranged brother, Esau – for what he presumed would be a battle, Jacob prayed to God:

“קָטֹנְתִּי מִכֹּל הַחֲסָדִים...Read more...

Elul Thoughts - 15 Elul / September 18

09/18/2024 12:33:21 PM

Sep18

September 18, 2024/15 Elul 5784
Rabbi Alan Litwak
“Fraternal Rifts”

The entire biblical book of Genesis is a study in fraternal strife. One set of brothers after another is in conflict. Yet, even as the trauma seems to doom the next generation to more pain, there is also a moral arc that swings towards healing. 

The die is cast when Cain kills his brother. Separated by their parents, Isaac and...Read more...

Elul Thoughts - 14 Elul / September 17

09/17/2024 03:46:32 PM

Sep17

September 17, 2024/14 Elul 5784
Rabbi Simone Schicker

Every morning we recite a blessing for Torah Study. Which then requires us to fulfill the recitation of a blessing with its associated action. Many of us choose to read the words of Eilu D’varim (Mishnah Peah 1:1). While each piece of the passage is powerful, my eyes are often drawn towards the end when we recite vahava’at shalom bein adam lachaveiro - and making peace...Read more...

Elul Thoughts - 13 Elul / September 16

09/17/2024 03:45:30 PM

Sep17

September 16, 2024/13 Elul 5784
Rabbi Deana Sussman Berezin
Seeing the World in Jewish Time 

So often in our lives, we mark time through significant moments– the beginning of a new school year, the countdown to January 1st, the number of days until summer vacation, and the like. These moments serve to connect us with the world around us. And yet, as Jews, we straddle both secular and sacred time. Jewish time tells...Read more...

Elul Thoughts - 12 Elul / September 15

09/17/2024 03:44:15 PM

Sep17

September 15, 2024/12 Elul 5784
Rabbi Benjamin Sharff

In today’s world, where certainty and binaries reign, it is so hard to find any space for commonality or even perceiving humanity in someone else who holds a different view. If I am right, then you are wrong. And more than that, if I am right, then your worldview is fundamentally flawed and there is no hope for you.

And this is the challenge of binaries....Read more...

Thu, February 6 2025 8 Sh'vat 5785