TEMPLE TALK | OCTOBER 10
10/15/2025 09:10:49 AM
This week we have a special reading for Sukkot. It can be found in Parashat Ki Tisa. Ki Tisa contains the story of the egel zahav, the Golden Calf. As a reminder, Moses was alone, atop Mt. Sinai, receiving more mitzvot. At this moment, they were concerning further instructions regarding the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, the portable structure the Israelites were to construct to worship God in the wilderness. He is also informed that he is...Read more...
TEMPLE TALK | SEPTEMBER 12
09/19/2025 08:46:49 AM
As many of you know, I grew up in Houston. I am a proud Astros fan ever since 86 and the days of Mike Scott and Nolan Ryan. I loved my Rockets during the heyday of Hakeen Olajuwon, who actually lived just a few doors away from me, back when we knew him as Akeem. I was also a die-hard Houston Oilers fan, until they became the Tennessee Traitors, err, Titans. And I only became a Longhorn fan when I attended college at the University of...Read more...
ELUL THOUGHTS | 21-27 ELUL
09/19/2025 08:38:48 AM
21 Elul 5785 | September 14, 2025
Rabbi Judith Siegal
Playing games and reconnecting in the new year - for the sake of heaven
In a time when there is so much division in our society, disagreements with those we know and love are almost inevitable. Whether it is about Israel, politics, or something else, we are in a time of great change, and there will be — and should be — robust debate. The challenge is to keep...Read more...
ELUL THOUGHTS | 14 - 20 ELUL
09/12/2025 11:57:28 AM
14 Elul 5785 | September 7, 2025
Raymond Zachary
The Jewish principle of Makhloket l'shem Shamayim—argument for the sake of Heaven—teaches that not all conflict is destructive. When motivated by truth, humility, and a desire to serve something beyond the self, disagreement can be sacred. This idea offers a striking lens through which to consider the High Holy Days and the existential tension: Do the means justify the...Read more...
ELUL THOUGHTS | 7 - 13 ELUL
09/05/2025 10:35:12 AM
7 Elul 5785 | August 31, 2025
Rabbi Stephen Wise
This summer at Camp George I ran a program with my fellow faculty members with 11 and 12-year-olds about productive arguments. We use as the basis for our program the arguments of Hillel and Shamai, the most well known commentators in the Talmud who constantly disagreed. The lesson was that while they might have not been able to agree on Jewish law, the Talmud records both...Read more...