by Rabbi David Lyon | Aug 19, 2021 | Uncategorized
On Sunday, August 15th, we observed the first yahrtzeit anniversary of Rabbi Samuel E. Karff’s death. Many of us will say, “I can’t believe it’s already been a year.” In fact, it’s been a lifetime of memories with a rabbi, scholar, friend, and guide who made an...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Aug 12, 2021 | Uncategorized
I was watching late TV recently. I found a channel with an evangelical preacher carrying on about virtue and sin. I know something about the subject, too, so I tuned it to see what he knew. Apparently, he knew a lot more than I did. He spoke with absolute certainty...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Jul 22, 2021 | Uncategorized
It’s good to step away and it’s good to return. The time that you afforded me to step away and recharge my batteries also enabled me to return this week ready for a sweet New Year. I wrote you earlier about my planned trips. They all came to pass, and they were...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Jul 8, 2021 | Uncategorized
Since last time I wrote about our two chickens, “Light Meat” and “Dark Meat,” much has happened. We learned a lot about chickens. Free-range chickens are in vogue, but they tear into your grass, plants, and shrubs, to find their favorite morsels. And according to...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Jun 17, 2021 | Uncategorized
Some years ago, Rabbi Karff and I saw each other in the hallway at Temple and we began to catch up with each other, as we often did. First, a big hug, and then time to chat. He told me about his schedule and plans, and I told him about mine. He said he didn’t envy my...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Jun 3, 2021 | Uncategorized
Suddenly, the calls and emails stopped. As the cease-fire held in the Middle East, and other news filled the headlines and newsfeeds, everyone’s heads turned in a new direction. Out of sight is out of mind, but it isn’t; not for those of us who understand what’s at...
by Rabbi David Lyon | May 27, 2021 | Uncategorized
The word “mitzvah” means commandment. It’s also a “good deed,” because every mitzvah, whether it’s a positive or negative commandment, leads us to goodness. For example, “Honor your father and your mother,” or “Do not put a stumbling block before the blind,” are...
by Rabbi David Lyon | May 20, 2021 | Uncategorized
I stepped outside this morning to walk the dog in the front yard. As I stood there, my next-door neighbor pulled into his driveway. We greeted each other, as usual, but this time with added words of mutual concern about the crisis in the Middle East. My neighbor is...
by Rabbi David Lyon | May 13, 2021 | Uncategorized
Dear Friends, The situation in Israel is critical, again. The media isn’t our only eye-witness account. Our friends and family in Israel are reporting exactly what’s happening in their own words and with personal pictures. We also learned about events on the ground in...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Apr 29, 2021 | Uncategorized
Who hasn’t felt jealous on occasion? A normal human being feels pangs of jealousy. It happens when we’re young and it can happen when we’re older, too. When we’re young, jealousy begins between siblings. It might go badly between them but there might also be lessons...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Apr 23, 2021 | Uncategorized
The double Torah portion this week includes Kedoshim, beginning in Leviticus 19. It’s a favorite portion of Torah and Leviticus, because it begins with what is called the “Holiness Code.” In Leviticus 19:2, we read, “You shall be holy for, I, the Lord, Your God, am...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Apr 15, 2021 | Uncategorized
This past week, Congregation Beth Israel’s Wolff-Toomim Distinguished Lecture Series hosted on Zoom, Anne Applebaum, journalist and author, and Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat. In conversation, Anne responded to questions that were framed by her recent book, “Twilight of...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Apr 1, 2021 | Uncategorized
What is freedom? Passover teaches us that freedom is liberation from bondage and then revelation at Sinai. There is no freedom without liberation and there is no life without revelation. Torah teaches, “For [Torah] is your life and the length of your days”...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Mar 18, 2021 | Uncategorized
Passover begins next week on the evening of Saturday, March 27, 2021. The theme of liberation from bondage seems entirely apropos after a year of pandemic lockdown and isolation. Though hardly as bad as 430 years of slavery in Egypt under the heavy hand of taskmasters...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Mar 4, 2021 | Uncategorized
The holiday of Purim ended last week, but not the fuss about wearing masks. Masks would have greater appeal if they were always bedazzled as they are for Purim, but ordinary masks for life-saving reasons are sterile, cold, and political. Just as we removed our Purim...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Feb 25, 2021 | Uncategorized
Be Happy, it’s ADAR! It’s Purim time, and Adar is the Hebrew month in which we celebrate the holiday. When the month begins, we’ve been taught to say, “When Adar enters, joy increases!” In history, Purim was a festive holiday that provided a place in the Jewish...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Feb 12, 2021 | Uncategorized
In 1844, when the Houston Jewish community was beginning to organize itself more formally, Jewish leaders purchased land for a cemetery. Traditionally, it’s among the first formal steps that a Jewish community takes even before organizing a formal synagogue. Why?...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Feb 4, 2021 | Uncategorized
In a world filled with hurt and hate, faith can lead us to many positive outcomes. In the Abrahamic traditions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), our respective pathways to one God are particular, but they are not exclusive. We are all the progeny of one first man and...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Jan 28, 2021 | Uncategorized
This past week, we observed International Holocaust Remembrance Day and Tu B’shvat. International Holocaust Remembrance Day also marked the 76th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Years have passed but the indelible memories and hard lessons endure. The...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Jan 21, 2021 | Uncategorized
The inauguration of President Biden and Vice-President Harris was a momentous occasion. Ultimately, it was a peaceful transition of power that signaled to our nation and the nations of the world that the United States and its democratic principles, its institutions,...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Jan 7, 2021 | Uncategorized
We’re all finding our breath after watching the chaos that ensued in the nation’s capital. We have all felt tension before, during, and after the election, but nothing could have prepared us for what occurred yesterday, when marauders took aim at our Democracy and...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Dec 31, 2020 | Uncategorized
Dear 2021, You’re new on the scene. You have no idea what we’ve been through this past year. I won’t even write the past year’s number, because it shouldn’t get anymore PR. I prefer to begin by welcoming you with open arms, though from a distance, because that’s just...
by astoundz | Dec 10, 2020
Featuring Eric K. Ward Register at Tinyurl.com/Friedlander-Ward2020
by Rabbi David Lyon | Dec 3, 2020 | Uncategorized
The first night of Chanukah is Thursday night, December 10th! In the darkness of the evening, one small candle plus the shammash (lead candle) can hardly brighten the space around the Menorah. It reminds me of the rabbinic lesson, “All beginnings are hard.” But, then...
by astoundz | Dec 2, 2020
Being that 2020 is an unique and challenging year, volunteering in person is not a reality . We have worked diligently on your behalf with Ronald McDonald house to share some options to choose from, which are rewarding and safe and for some of them, you will never...
by astoundz | Nov 30, 2020
The Membership Engagement Committee invites you to join them for their first online Oneg! Join them online December 11th at 7:30 PM after the Chanukah Service. All guests will be entered to win one of our famous Pull-A-Part Cakes! Zoom Link below!...
by astoundz | Nov 30, 2020
The Membership Engagement Committee invites you to join our own Marsha Gilbert for an online demonstration of her mother’s famous latke recipe! To Register, please contact Liza Hirsch at LHirsch@beth-israel.org Zoom Link will be sent
by astoundz | Nov 20, 2020
Chanukah Car Celebration December 6, 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM We have treats and goodies to help you celebrate Chanukah! Please drive by the temple on December 6th to pick up your goody bag and say hello to the Rabbis, Cantor and staff! Sisterhood Gift Shop will also...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Nov 13, 2020 | Uncategorized
Never have I witnessed such a thing and neither have you. Years ago, when I was a boy in the 1970’s, I watched President Nixon announce his final words after resigning from office and then departing from the White House on a helicopter. With his signature victory...
by astoundz | Nov 5, 2020
RSVP to KZerlin@beth-israel.org
by astoundz | Nov 5, 2020
by Rabbi David Lyon | Nov 5, 2020 | Uncategorized
God of holiness, we hear Your message: Justice, justice, you shall pursue (Deut. 16). God of freedom, we hear Your charge: Proclaim liberty throughout the land (Lev. 25). Inspire us through Your teachings and commandments to love, and uphold our precious democracy....
by astoundz | Nov 4, 2020
by astoundz | Nov 4, 2020
by Rabbi David Lyon | Oct 22, 2020
by Rabbi David Lyon | Oct 22, 2020
by Rabbi David Lyon | Oct 22, 2020 | Uncategorized
In Genesis 11, just after the story of Noah and the ark, we read about the Tower of Babel. It’s a short story that tells about the people living in the land of Shinar. They spoke only one language, which enabled them to cooperate in a project to build a tower to the...
by astoundz | Oct 21, 2020
by astoundz | Oct 21, 2020
by astoundz | Oct 16, 2020
On Tuesday, October 27th at 6:30pm, join Mark Vogel, for the first Adult Volunteer Choir gathering of the new year on Zoom. Anyone who loves music, singing and community is encouraged to attend. Zoom Link https://zoom.us/j/94043705808
by Rabbi David Lyon | Oct 15, 2020 | Uncategorized
Judaism and technology sound like contrary ideas. Judaism is four thousand years old and technology is modern and cutting-edge. But I would argue that they’re nearly one and the same. Granted, I open the Torah on Shabbat and read from a scroll inscribed by hand that...
by Rabbi David Lyon | Oct 8, 2020 | Uncategorized
Just a week after Yom Kippur, we’re still feeling the warmth and spirit of our season of repentance. Thank you for your emails, letters, and calls you shared about how much the worship services, sermons and music spoke to you this year. All the rabbis and cantor...
by astoundz | Oct 8, 2020
TMO Get Out The Vote Rally & Candidate Accountability Session Sunday, October 11, 5:00pm ZOOM TMO (The Metropolitan Organization: tmohouston.org) will be hosting a Get Out The Vote Rally and Candidates Accountability Session this upcoming Sunday. Candidates...
by astoundz | Oct 6, 2020
by Rabbi David Lyon | Oct 1, 2020 | Uncategorized
Just five days after Yom Kippur, the most solemn day of the year, we begin Sukkot, the beginning of “Z’man Simchateinu,” the season of our joy. Judaism is a celebration of goodness and blessing. Our celebration includes time in the Sukkah, the fragile booth that...
by astoundz | Sep 30, 2020
Zoom webinar Register at: https://tinyurl.com/LyonCohen2020 After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. For more information, contact Stephanie Robertson at SRobertson@beth-israel.org or 713-771-6221 ext....
by astoundz | Sep 30, 2020
Family History- What it Can Do For You Why family history is more important than direct-to-consumer genetic testing presented by Dr. Jacqueline T. Hecht, acclaimed local Geneticist RSVP to Judy Weidman jweidman@beth-israel.org or...
by astoundz | Sep 30, 2020
A Conversation with Rice University Professor Emeritus, Stephen L. Klineberg, Ph.D. Congregation Beth Israel is pleased to welcome distinguished Rice University Professor Emeritus of Sociology Stephen Klineberg, the founding Director of Kinder Institute of Urban...
by astoundz | Sep 30, 2020
Join Rabbi Aaron Sataloff and David M. Scott, R.J.E on Zoom or in person for a socially-distanced, safe Shabbat service followed by a family-friendly craft for your Sukkah. DOORS OPEN AT 5:30PM SERVICE BEGINS AT 6:15PM Masks required and limited spaces available....
by astoundz | Sep 30, 2020
We invite families with children under age 6 to join RABBI AARON SATALOFF for a morning of songs and playtime. We will end with a fun story to celebrate Shabbat! Please email Kerri Zerlin, Youth Coordinator KZerlin@beth-israel.org for the zoom...
