Hear Our Voice

We have come to know our upcoming big holiday as “Passover,” in light of the story of the Angel of Death “passing over” the homes of the Israelites, as the first born children of the Egyptians are struck dead by the tenth plague.  However, truth be told, this holiday that inspects, analyzes and investigates the essence of freedom, isn’t about passing over, avoiding, skirting, or shying away.  Its Hebrew name, “Pesach,”...Read more...

A friend and congregant emailed me today asking, “Rabbi Scott, since you wrote a piece about how Donald Trump is channeling the destructive efforts of Korach, then which biblical personas might I liken President Obama or Secretary Clinton or Senator Sanders?” Citing a particularly negative article against these three individuals that seeks to create parallels between them and Trump, I believe my congregant’s suggestion was, in essence,...Read more...

Dear CSK,

Shabbat Shalom!  

First of all, let me say that I am sorry I won’t be with y’all tonight for Shabbat.  However, I am grateful to Josh Levine, Laura Rose and Ben Rose, who have prepared a wonderful Shabbat celebration for you in my absence.

Second of all, I wanted to share with you why I will be out of town this weekend.  In short, I will be leading a retreat outside Birmingham, AL.  As...Read more...

Well, today, day 4 was perhaps our most profoundly important day of all. Caveat – no, I did not fully comprehend how much time we wouldn’t be spending actually “working” here. And I know that is true for my fellow travelers as well. But what we have been doing has exhausted even the most experienced travelers among us. Today, we departed Jubilee House Community for El Porvenir Coffee Plantation, close to a three-hour van ride followed...Read more...

Day 2! And oh wow, its been busy! You’ll want to read this whole thing as it includes mayhem, mystery, museum, mucha comida, market, murals and mass.

The day started with our beautifully wind-blown and decently cooled...Read more...

Dear CSK,

Shabbat Shalom!  

First of all, let me say that I am sorry I won’t be with y’all tonight for Shabbat.  However, I am grateful to Josh Levine, Laura Rose and Ben Rose, who have prepared a wonderful Shabbat celebration for you in my absence.

Second of all, I wanted to share with you why I will be out of town this weekend.  In short, I will be leading a retreat outside Birmingham, AL.  As...Read more...

I am not a happy camper! I was just about to get to bed at a reasonable time when yet another truly ridiculous, truly insulting and truly illuminating bad-synagogue story was related to me. Picture an 11 year old who uses a wheelchair (this is not a story about my son, by the way). This 11-year old who is physically disabled but intellectually sharp, bright and dynamic wants to attend Hebrew school at a local synagogue. The mItzvah projects...Read more...

Once upon a time, il etait un fois, habia una vez, hayah hayah….there was a boy, bored with his chores. If only he had some excitement, people might pay attention to him. So he hollered to the people of his village, “Wolf!” “Wolf!” and they came running. Upon discovering there was no wolf, his parents punished him and people went back to their jobs, mumbling under their breath. Yet another time, disconsolate and lonely, the boy...Read more...

:Ari Gold Finds God” – A Rabbinic Review of Entourage, the movie
You know its been quite a few years since I have written a movie review, but let me see if I can dredge up some of my favorite film critique techniques to offer some wise gleanings on the “bromantic comedy” (an industry term), Entourage. Clearly, the masses are awaiting this Rabbi’s review!

For viewers like myself, Entourage, the TV series, was a guilty...Read more...

Hemingway defined courage as “grace under fire.” Leading Houston author and change-maker, Brene Brown, defines courage as “whole-heartedness.” In Hebrew, when we wish someone courage, we say “Chazak v’amatz!” – “Strength and fortitude!” Over these past few weeks here in Houston, many of us inside and outside the Jewish community, have been and continue to be put to a series of tests of our courage and frankly, to use the...Read more...