Hear Our Voice

Thanksgiving!  For most of us, it is a time to look forward, whether we are in or out of town, to gather with family and friends.  For many, this is an “official” time of year, not any less important than gathering for the High Holy Days or Passover.  It is historically for Jewish families, (at least as far as America is concerned), a very welcomed, secular holiday that doesn’t challenge notions of the “kosherness” of...Read more...

For much of the 20th and so far in the 21st century, and let’s face it, for most of Jewish existence, the “Oy Gevalts” over our existence have been a constant of Jewish life.  From the new book, The 100 Most Jewish Foods: A Highly Debatable List, regarding Horseradish, “Let the WASPs have their Worcestershire; leave it to the Jews to turn suffering into a craving.” 

Sociologists and historians, genealogists and...Read more...

I’ll never forget when I heard Malat Wei call his new wheelchair basketball teammate, Abraham Hausman-Weiss, his “brother from another mother,” and even joked around claiming a new last name, “Hausman-Wei!”  Malat had contracted polio as a child when his family survived and barely escaped with their lives from Sudan. Eventually they made their way to Houston, and after few years, Malat joined and played for the Houston Hot...Read more...

On Yom Kippur, we will be immersed in that idea.  Not because this year, Shma Koleinu is doing something new and different.  It’s not this year’s “Yom Kippur theme.”  It is THE THEME of Yom Kippur.  And in this moment, I really want to encourage you not to call it, “Yum Kipper.”   For a fast day, who really wants to wish each other a hearty and delicious...Read more...

Who is invited to the High Holy Days at Shma Koleinu? (cont'd)

For the past two weeks, I have issued “invitations” to people stuck in different mind frames that might make the High Holy Days feel less “inviting.”  As my grandmother used to say, “Poppycock!” I echo her now, because if those who are feeling disconnected or those who are feeling a deep sense of dread aren’t “invited” to the High Holy Days, who...Read more...

If you are a regular reader of this blog, or familiar with Shma Koleinu, you’ll probably know the obvious answer to this question.  “Everyone.”

However, sometimes “everyone” sounds too general to be meaningful, too “umbrellaish” to not get wet.  So, let’s talk about it.

Who is invited to Shma Koleinu for the High Holy Days?  The next several weeks of blogs are going to feature some special folks...Read more...

This isn’t some existential question that only became germane to our lives because of our post-shtetl, assimilated, acculturated, reality.  It’s actually a question we have been asking for millennia.  The Book of Devarim (or Deuteronomy) is built upon this investigation.  Moses, Joshua and Caleb (the only Israelites alive at this point who had experienced slavery and the Exodus) stand before the Israelites (or should we...Read more...

Last week, I had the distinct privilege to volunteer for an organization very close to my heart, The Woods Project. The Woods Project is dedicated to creating fertile ground for the growth, development and expanding opportunities for Houston high school students from low-income families. They do this primarily through wilderness experiences, both locally and nationally. And while, yes it’s true that my wife, Natalie is their...Read more...

Ah, Houston freeways in the summer. Yes, it’s true they are often filled with delayed or postponed public works projects, and it can get so hot that the path in front of us seems to shimmer as if it were melting. But it is a nice surprise to find a whole lot less traffic, with thousands fewer school carpools and busses schlepping kids from here to there! It is a sight when a Houstonian experiences emotional uplift upon witnessing no traffic...Read more...