Dear Beth Israel Friends,

As of this writing, the tragedy of October 7, 2023, has persisted for 661 days and counting. In that time, the clergy and leadership of the congregation have asked the essential question, namely, how will our synagogue continue to respond? Since 1854, the mission of our synagogue has been to provide excellence and inspiration in three areas: education, worship, and community.

In the area of education, we doubled down on Israel and Jewish education where history, literature, and experiences would enable and empower adults and children during times of rampant antisemitism and war in Israel. We’ve had national and international scholars address the congregation, numerous Zoom discussions with experts in their fields, and engaging programs for youth on their roles in Jewish life.

In the area of worship, we’ve spoken countless times on Israel, with passion, commitment, and concern for the peace we seek and the people who seek it with us, including Palestinians and Israeli Arabs, Christians, Druze, and recent immigrants. We will continue to use our collective voice to champion the rightful place of Israel and the opportunity for land for her neighbors. We have advocated for our Reform values in Israel, and we have called out Israeli politics when they failed to conform to those values. The topics are critical and heated. They require a deft touch from the pulpit but without failing to speak up and out.

In the area of community, Beth Israel is seen and heard widely. In a recent Houston Chronicle Op-Ed, Bishop James Dixon, Michael Trevino (Chair, ADL Coalition for Mutual Respect), and I addressed antisemitism as the root of hatred and bigotry that reached Washington D.C.’s Holocaust Museum, and soon after, in Boulder, Colorado. Our goal was to call out all forms of hatred rooted in antisemitism and to compel Houstonians to do their part to combat it. Readership of the Houston Chronicle aside, it was online and in print for our incredibly diverse city to learn about what’s at stake for all of us, beginning with the Jewish community.

Beyond Houston, I serve in a national position as president of the CCAR (Central Conference of American Rabbis). Leading a board that represents 2300 Reform rabbis across the world, we work closely with the URJ (Union for Reform Judaism) and other national Jewish boards to publish statements on critical issues, among other functions, when our rabbis, lay leaders, and communities need words, sources, and perspective to move, inasmuch as we’re able, as a movement in our pursuit of moral and Torah-based outcomes. The privilege to serve provides me a seat at many tables where our voices have been worn out by imposing our views and demanding that our Reform Jewish values stand for Israel’s well-being and its sovereignty, and for its neighbors’ access to life-sustaining leadership, safety, and hope. Our statements are online, including an important recent statement on “Starvation in Gaza”.

All of us work against many odds, including grotesquely biased media, organized efforts to delegitimatize Israel, and calls for a “global intifada” on all Jews. Rabbis, lay leaders, and national figures who support Israel are exhausted. But none of us gives up.

So, I’m urging you in this letter to participate more than you have, thus far. Everybody can do more, including me. For many months, Beth Israel’s website opened with Israel resources for learning, engagement, and support. It will be updated. Sermons, blogs, and educational opportunities will continue to address Israel and personal times we continue to experience at home. For now:

– Choose an organization that supports Israel. It’s okay to support and critique Israel. It’s in our nature and it’s also in our best interest. If you’re not sure, then support Beth Israel’s Israel Advocacy Committee with a donation and your personal time; or give to the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston, which provides finances to organizations in Israel that we support.
– Come to synagogue for Shabbat and hear beautiful music and a meaningful message that is often about Israel and other timely matters. Your rabbis’ words enable us to fit hope and peace into our lives when it’s lacking. Many times worshipers have commented on the helpfulness and hopefulness of the worship service and the message. Come be with us on Fridays at 6:30pm or livestream the service.
– Learn about Israel history and Jewish practice. Israel and Jewish history and practice are long and rich subjects. Just begin. Learn with us, attend one of the many lectures we offer, and read with us from Torah to find our moral compass, our hopeful outlook, and our faithful commitment to the people and land of Israel.
– Read my blogs ​​​​​​​and hear my Shabbat messages ​​​​​​​about Israel, which I’ve given for many years and since October 7th, more often than not.

Finally, never stop engaging your rabbis. Ask your questions, offer your opinions, and always know that we’re in this, together. Rabbi Scott, Rabbi Rheins, Cantor Feibush, and I have devoted our lives to our people, our faith, and our land. Learn with us and from us, worship alongside us, and feel more prepared for the hard work that still lies ahead of us.

As summer gives way to fall, even if the heat lingers, the High Holy Days will be time to assemble, to focus, and to prepare for the New Year. My sermons and messages are works-in-progress. At least one will surely address Israel and who we are as Jews living in a most discordant time in our Jewish history. Above all, our rabbis’ messages will be about hope for us, hope for the most vulnerable among us, and hope that emanates from Torah knowledge and deeds, which continue to be our deepest Jewish duty to our people and to humanity.

On behalf of all our clergy, staff, and lay leadership, I pray that these dogged days of summer, filled with suffering and despair, will give way to the prophet Micah’s hope (4:4):

They shall beat their swords to plowshares
And their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation shall not take up sword against nation;
They shall never again know war;
But every person shall sit under their grapevine and fig tree
With no one to disturb them.

L’Shalom,