by Rabbi David Lyon | Nov 26, 2024 | Uncategorized
Thanksgiving is everyone’s holiday. In every family there are traditions that bring everyone to the table. Set around special place settings are all the foods, aromas, flower arrangements, and goodies that family and friends expect. The satisfying meal arouses...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Nov 13, 2024 | Uncategorized
Don’t be fooled. The attacks on Jews in Amsterdam were not spontaneous or uncalculated. They were organized and precise. In Amsterdam, WhatsApp was used to coordinate with Arab taxi drivers and antisemites throughout the city to identify and locate Israelis and other...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Nov 5, 2024 | Uncategorized
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Oct 30, 2024 | Uncategorized
Contrasts help us see differences. In this week’s Torah portion about Noah, the first verse reveals a contrast that identifies Noah as more than just the man who built an ark and saved living creatures. The Torah portion opens with these words, “Noah was a righteous...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Oct 24, 2024 | Uncategorized
This past week, the Jewish world celebrated Simchat Torah, “the joy of Torah.” It marks the renewal of the Torah reading cycle. On the holiday, we end the Torah reading with the last words of Deuteronomy (Devarim) and begin again with the words of Genesis...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Oct 9, 2024 | Uncategorized
Yom Kippur is coming this weekend on Shabbat. It’s the conclusion of the Ten Days of Repentance, but just the beginning of all our hopes that the New Year will unfold with new promises to contribute to its strength and peace. A longstanding tradition is the Yom Kippur...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Sep 25, 2024 | Uncategorized
Anticipation of the Jewish New Year also brings back memories. Without equivocation, we always wished each other Shanah Tovah, a good year, a sweet year, good health, and peace. This New Year, we’ll begin with the same good wishes between us, but with greater earnest...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Sep 11, 2024 | Uncategorized
Sometimes it hits so hard that you can’t breathe or stand up straight without shaking. The execution-style murders of six Israeli hostages held by Hamas terrorists was more than anyone could bear. By anyone, I don’t mean people who still use words like...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Sep 3, 2024 | Uncategorized
After a full week in Rome, Italy, I just returned on September 1st. I wouldn’t have been there except for a very special invitation. Some weeks ago, the organizers of TMO (The Metropolitan Organization), a region of IAF (Industrial Area Foundation), of which...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Aug 21, 2024 | Uncategorized
All the signs are there that school has begun. It’s not just the flashing School Zone signs reminding us to slow down for students; it’s also the heavy traffic in the morning and afternoon, and the social media posts announcing everyone’s arrival on campus and into...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Aug 14, 2024 | Uncategorized
This past week, the Jewish observance of Tisha B’Av, or 9th of Av, was held in some Jewish communities. The date recalls days of destructions in Jewish history, beginning with the ruin of the Temple in Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. As history records it,...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Aug 7, 2024 | Uncategorized
In Judaism, everything is paired. There’s joy and sorrow, life and death, health and sickness. These pairings provide a worldview that can never be all joy nor all despairing. That’s a good thing. It relieves us of having to long for Disneyland experiences every day,...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Jul 31, 2024 | Uncategorized
My summer vacation is now part of special memories. Last June, I was mentally and physically ready for a rest and diversion from a full and meaningful year. My time away began with a week devoted to solitude to read and write. Though I love the company of family and...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Jul 17, 2024 | Uncategorized
The assassination attempt on former President Trump was a horrific act in a tense political environment. It terrified the nation. It rattled our civil society. Trump survived, shaken, with a bloodied ear. Tragically, the attack took the life of a father of two...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Jul 3, 2024 | Uncategorized
The American flag is waving this week. Americans are gathering with family and friends for familiar July 4th celebrations to honor hard-won independence from British rule. Our democracy was birthed from hopes, dreams, and long-fought battles to emerge into a world of...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Jun 26, 2024 | Uncategorized
In this week’s Torah portion, Sh’lach-lecha, in the book of Numbers, Joshua and Caleb return from scouting out the Promised Land and report to the Israelites what they found there. Unlike other scouts from other tribes, Joshua and Caleb were realistic and hopeful. The...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Jun 19, 2024 | Uncategorized
One of the most impactful Biblical passages is found in this week’s Torah portion in Numbers 12. It involves a conflict between Moses, Miriam, and Aaron. Beginning with Miriam and Aaron who speak against their brother “concerning the Cushite wife he had taken,” they...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Jun 12, 2024 | Uncategorized
Four hostages rescued. Many people have noted that they were not released; rather, they were rescued. And though the lives of terrorists and complicit Palestinians were lost in the dangerous operation, it’s a risk they bear when hostages, who are still alive, are,...
by Rabbi David Lyon | May 29, 2024 | Uncategorized
Will I turn my back on Israel? Never! The news from Rafah is bad, but the truth is worse. Immediate Past Editor-in-Chief of The Jerusalem Post, Avi Mayer, posted on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) what we are learning now to be true: “The Israeli airstrike that...
by Rabbi David Lyon | May 22, 2024 | Uncategorized
Israel will always matter to us. But it’s been difficult for family and friends to talk about Israel, lately. It was true last year when we debated judicial reform. It’s truer now when the debate is existential. Shortly after October 7th, the Jewish world drew close...
by Rabbi David Lyon | May 8, 2024 | Uncategorized
Beth Israel emails are important to read, not just because one of them is my blog. They tell important stories about the life of our congregation. In one of those emails is news of Temple members who have gone from life. Their funerals or memorial services are...
by Rabbi David Lyon | May 1, 2024 | Uncategorized
It was not supposed to happen this way. I held off for as long as I possibly could. A Mishnah teaches, “Don’t separate yourself from the community.” Only in community can we find what we need to support life and well-being that depends on healthcare, education,...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Apr 17, 2024 | Uncategorized
Dear Friends, This past weekend, the wave of firepower aimed at Israel from Iran sent Israelis to their safe rooms. The rest of us held our breath and sent texts of support. After the long night, the results were benign compared to what they could have been. We’re...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Apr 10, 2024 | Uncategorized
Young couples fall in love and plan for marriage, eventually. Along the way, they talk about being parents. Typically, they do imagine themselves as parents. Their meetings with the rabbi to prepare for the wedding and married life includes talk about their roles as...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Apr 3, 2024 | Uncategorized
On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will occur. It will be observed around the world and notably in Texas. Special glasses and other safe means to view it are being prepared. Schools are teaching important lessons about astronomy and physics. What will Judaism...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Mar 27, 2024 | Uncategorized
I don’t know anyone who enjoys being commanded. Maybe it’s customary in the military or in sports where sergeants and coaches bark (give) orders, but at home or in the workplace, being commanded can be authoritative and rude. And how about in a sacred...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Mar 19, 2024 | Uncategorized
Be Happy, it’s ADAR! It’s Purim time, and Adar is the Hebrew month when we celebrate the holiday. When the month begins, we say, “When Adar enters, joy increases!” In history, Purim was a festive holiday that provided a place in the Jewish calendar for the Jewish...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Mar 6, 2024 | Uncategorized
I’m home from a profound and emotional trip to Israel. From Monday to Thursday, February 26-29, this whirlwind trip was filled with intensity and purpose. Organized by Houston Jewish Federation and led by J2 Israel Tours, it was precisely what we needed to see and do,...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Feb 21, 2024 | Uncategorized
On February 25th, I’ll board a familiar flight to Israel under unfamiliar circumstances. Rather than accompany first-timers to Israel for a life-changing experience, this trip will be mission-driven to bring support, comfort, and hope to Israeli families and friends....
by Rabbi David Lyon | Feb 14, 2024 | Uncategorized
Since October 7th, we have tuned in to news that is difficult to watch, hear, and know. War is horrible and terror is the worst, because it violates international laws of warfare. It’s all too much. Nevertheless, we have a responsibility as Jews and Jewish allies to...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Jan 31, 2024 | Uncategorized
I grew up in a house where fluent Yiddish wasn’t spoken, but Yiddish words and expressions were used to say what couldn’t be said with the same intensity or cynicism in English. An odor was nothing compared to something farshtunken; a mischievous kid was one thing,...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Jan 24, 2024 | Uncategorized
The Torah portion called Beshallach (Exodus 13:17ff) includes the “Song of the Sea,” in Hebrew Shirat Hayam (Exodus 15ff). It’s more than a song or poem, it’s a victory song. The Israelites sang it and Miriam led the women in dancing in tribute to God for redeeming...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Jan 17, 2024 | Uncategorized
If you can pronounce it, you’ll know that the root of “diasporism” is “diaspora.” By definition, it’s any place where Jews made their homes outside of Israel. Since the chaos surrounding judicial reform in Israel, and the horrifying events and their aftermath of...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Jan 10, 2024 | Uncategorized
The last verses of Torah exalt Moses: Never again did there arise in Israel a prophet like Moses whom God singled out (Deuteronomy 34:10). Moses’s stature is well-known, but his beginnings were humble. Left in a basket in the Nile, baby Moses was rescued and brought...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Jan 2, 2024 | Uncategorized
In a paper calendar book, I turned the page to find the secular New Year 2024. Accidentally, I took hold of too many pages and opened to 2025. If only, right? The tragedy that began on October 7th in Israel, and the American presidential election that looms in the...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Dec 12, 2023 | Uncategorized
Chanukah is ending but not without kindling in us what we need to remember about being Jewish. Lighting the menorah began in history as an act of courage and renewal following the defeat of the Syrian Greeks by the Hasmoneans. Outnumbered, Judah Maccabee and his small...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Dec 6, 2023 | Uncategorized
No matter how it’s spelled, Chanukah is a minor Jewish holiday that means “dedication.” It’s minor, because it’s not a pilgrimage holiday that obligated Jews, in ancient times, to arrive in Jerusalem and offer sacrifices. Though a minor holiday, it has come to mean...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Nov 29, 2023 | Uncategorized
First light, Evening of December 7th Darkness is defeat and light is victory against our oppressors, persecutors, and contemporary antisemites in all their forms. “Light in the darkness” can be a meaningful metaphor, but it fails if it’s only a metaphor. Yes,...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Nov 22, 2023 | Uncategorized
After October 7th, I wrote about the fence that my Muslim neighbor and I had to fix between our houses when it broke and fell in a windstorm. It was an apt metaphor for the obvious brokenness and horror between Israel and Gaza. In a personal face-to-face conversation,...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Nov 15, 2023 | Uncategorized
Those who were able to attend the march in Washington, D.C., absorbed and digested more than they could have imagined. Throngs of people, some 290,000, plus leaders of our country with significant speeches, lifted up an historical message for our times. Perfectly...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Nov 8, 2023 | Uncategorized
That blue and white box is still a vivid image in my memory. I’m sure it is in yours, too. That blue and white box, a “pushke,” in Yiddish, symbolized a community-wide effort to engage everyone in Israel’s well-being, strength, and continuity. It had a Jewish star on...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Nov 1, 2023 | Uncategorized
Don’t drink from a fire hose. It’s not just good sense, it’s also a good metaphor. We can’t extinguish the burning fire of misinformation, lack of Jewish education, or personal unpreparedness around Israel’s crisis in one great sermon, marvelous podcast, or viral...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Oct 25, 2023 | Uncategorized
In last week’s Torah portion, Noah, we read about the flood that came after God saw that the earth was filled with “lawlessness.” In Torah, the word “lawlessness” is a single Hebrew word, “Hamas.” That’s right. In Torah, hamas caused God to bring a terrible flood in...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Oct 19, 2023 | Uncategorized
In the Middle East, there is no more room for hate and no path to peace through vengeance. Though Houston is more than 7000 miles away from Israel and Gaza, Houston is a city where 145 languages are spoken and many more than a few religions are observed and...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Oct 11, 2023 | Uncategorized
There is no justification. For the attack on Israel by Hamas terrorists there is no justification. It begins with the fact that in 2005, despite many Israelis who wanted to remain in Gaza, where they had homes, synagogues, schools, and businesses, then PM Ariel Sharon...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Oct 4, 2023 | Uncategorized
Sukkot is one of my favorite holidays. It’s part of the season called Z’man Simchateinu, the “Season of our Joy.” Sukkot is purposely joyful to follow Yom Kippur’s solemn mood. In Leviticus 23:40ff, we learn to spend time in a sukkah, take up the four species (etrog,...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Sep 13, 2023 | Uncategorized
On Rosh Hashanah, we’ll greet each other with wishes for a Happy New Year. It’s a time filled with hopeful expectations that a new beginning will be fresh and sweet. Often times, the New Year is, indeed, fresh and sweet. It’s as our rabbis taught, “Live each day as if...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Aug 30, 2023 | Uncategorized
At the end of a long day, I watched “You Are SO Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah,” the new movie starring Adam Sandler, Idina Menzel, among other greats. I settled into my chair with skepticism. Would this be another movie to lay on the pile of caricatures in Jewish life...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Aug 23, 2023 | Uncategorized
During this month of Elul, leading up to the High Holy Days, which begin on the first day of Tishrei, thus the New Year, we read from the fifth book of the Torah, in Deuteronomy. There we find Moses’s final words and instructions to the Israelites. They are about to...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Aug 16, 2023 | Uncategorized
The Hebrew month of Elul begins this week. You might be asking yourself, “Is that when the weather turns cooler?” It’s unlikely, but it is the month that precedes Tishrei, the first day of which is Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year 5784. And, you know well that from...
