Hear Our Voice

Sometimes I wonder how it is that we Jews have indeed survived (and thrived) as long as we have. Not despite the slings and arrows of history. And not despite the pitifully small percentage of the world’s population we represent. Not despite the fact that in every society in which we have lived, we often stick out by means of our theologies, rituals, and calendar, not to mention the way in which so much of our affirmations stand...Read more...

Purim is Thursday, March 13, but this past Sunday, Journey (our religious education program) celebrated Purim due to the upcoming Spring Break. With the story of Esther woven through the morning’s activities of team-based Purim projects, as well as a talent show performed by the students, we told, and retold, Esther’s tale, which can be summed up by that famously blunt, Jewishly sardonic, refrain appropriate for many Jewish...Read more...

And God remembered his people, and God heard their cries of suffering.

It had been 400 years since God’s children had been enslaved under the rule of Egypt.

And a shepherd tending to his flock, approached an odd sight - a bush that was aflame. Not the strangest site he’d seen that day, but drawn to it he was, nonetheless. It burned seemingly of its own accord but maintained its structure. This...Read more...

To listen to Rabbi Scott's Blog, click HERE.

One could argue that the second commandment of the Big Ten, “No Idolatry,” is actually the first. Technically, the first of the Big Ten doesn’t come across as a commandment, but as an affirmation or a reminder, perhaps a baseline. The first commandment reads, “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” It sounds more like a preamble, than an affirmative...Read more...

In the heady (or hazy) days of CSK’s beginnings, somebody said, “Look, Houston doesn’t need another regular Jewish congregation. What would make us different?”

Unlike clubs, or consumer memberships, or organizations, with special-access premiums, Congregation Shma Koleinu’s essence is indeed summed up with, “Join us, you already belong.”

A bit more than 11 years into our story, CSK continues to rewrite what...Read more...

Of all the statistics that describe CSK’s success, my absolutely most favorite one is that, as of November 2024, CSK has celebrated 73 B’nai Mitzvah in 35 different locations! As we say, “Have Torah, Silver, Ark, Table, Sound System, Prayerbooks…Will Travel.

With Thanksgiving on the horizon, this note is my expression of ebullient joy over the bounty of happiness and learning and growth and the fulfillment of...Read more...

Dear Friend,
You invited me to have a chat, as you didn't much love my Yom Kippur sermon. Our talk was amenable, it was peaceful, and as I have always known you to be, it was authentic. I know that you are an avowed Marxist, as you affirmed yesterday, insisting that
everything ultimately comes down to, “follow the money.” You echoed the belief that were it not for oil, no one would really give a wit about the Middle East. I...Read more...

To listen to Rabbi Scott's blog, click HERE.

The other day in Jerusalem, I saw a bumper sticker that read, “Our story will have a
good ending.” Those words were spoken by Sarit Zussman at the funeral of her son,
Ben, a soldier who fell in Gaza. Once, that sentiment would have seemed self-evident to
Israelis. Now it has the poignancy of a prayer.

This is how Yossi Klein Halevy concluded his most recent...Read more...

Hey CSK, what are you waiting for?

This coming October 2nd marks CSK’s 11 th High Holy Days season. Our first year was at the Power Center, the next 9 years were at Emery Weiner.

This year, CSK’s renowned High Holy Days experience will take place in the Kaplan Theater at the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center.

I know that perhaps you and others have mostly traded out the “pew” for your couch, perhaps...Read more...

Dear Friends, this is a longer one than usual.  It’s a text study that I would encourage to read at a leisurely pace, maybe even with others.  Enjoy! 

I was honored to be invited to deliver the D’var Torah to the Alexander Jewish family services board meeting yesterday.  For those who don’t know, JFS is a crucial organization of most medium and large size Jewish communities. From their...Read more...