Hear Our Voice

Allow me to introduce you to some friends of mine: This is a picture from last week in the 5th Ward with my One-America colleagues (from left to right): Rabbi Steve Gross, Houston...Read more...

With less than two weeks until the 2019 Houston Pride Celebration, as a Rabbi, I would like to address a group of people, who despite tremendous advances in how our society treats, embraces, and legislates the affirmation of rights for LGBTQIA people (don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot more work to do!), still feel heavy doses of shame, the roots of which are so unfortunately found in the Bible and religion. To those, who still struggle...Read more...

Meditation is not about sitting still. That may be its vehicle, but that isn’t what it’s about. Meditation is practice for living life less reactively. It is the practice of quieting our gut impulse to respond when silence may be the better way.  I’ve always loved learning about the martial art of Judo which relies significantly upon using the weight and motion of your opponent against them. Not that we...Read more...

I am a Rabbinic Fellow of a national organization called “Interfaith Family,” or IFF for short.  IFF has been around now for a couple of decades and their mission is to serve interfaith families with support, opportunity and encouragement for bringing Judaism into their lives.  Now, I have always served interfaith families.  Ever since I was a student rabbi in Merced, CA, for Congregation Eitz Chaim’s 30 families, 28 of...Read more...

Not so occasionally, people ask me, “When are y’all going to get a building?”  With a sort of quiver of responses, depending on how the question is asked, I attempt to choose one that will speak to the individual and the moment.  The responses to this question generally range from a recognition of the great financial cost of a building to the impact these expenses often have on an institution’s...Read more...

Journey is a labor of love.  Truly, a labor of love.  I dedicate this blog entry to the Journey Guides, 2018-19.  Who are they?  In alphabetical order:

Sandy Boccara

Laurie Gass 

Cynthia Gbadebo

Jay Goldberg

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We live in an ironic world.  The more our “real politicians” seem to be frozen in 2 dimensions, with little depth, TV characters seem to be getting deeper and far more reflective, of themselves and of us.  Natalie and I just finished watching Shtisel, a 2-season Israeli hit TV show (with English subtitles) that aired in 2013 and 2014, but only just made it to the Netflix “airwaves” this year. Shtisel isn’t...Read more...

The Torah, AKA Part 1 of the Hebrew Bible (the other two are the “Prophets” and the “Writings”), contains the Five Books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.  These books form a holy and sacred text that might better be described as a mélange, a pastiche, if you will, a smattering of stories, rules, guidelines, and genealogies.  As the mystical writers adjure us, “Do not call the Torah a book...Read more...

One of the most profound moments of a Bar or Bat Mitzvah occurs when a parent or parents stand with their child and deliver what we call “The Parent’s Speech.” I cannot speak for all other congregations but I know that at Shma Koleinu, our B’nai Mitzvah parents are encouraged to speak to their child about the meaning of this moment, what it feels like to be their parent, and perhaps a bit of life wisdom peppered in for good measure....Read more...

Good afternoon.  My name is Scott Hausman-Weiss and I am a Rabbi in Houston for Congregation Shma Koleinu – A synagogue without walls, membership or dues.  Taking a cue from our ancient ancestors as we move from venue to venue, and considering how hot it can get here in Houston, one might think we are truly channeling our desert-wandering ancestors.  They say that if Moses had been a woman, the Israelites would never have...Read more...