Rabbi's Blog - The Shul of Bellaire

Are You Just Going Through the Motions?

Friday, August 28, 2026 - 3:02 PM

There is a difference between experiencing something and allowing it to become part of you.

We encounter things every day that make an impression on us. We hear something inspiring, experience a meaningful moment or receive something special from someone, and for a moment we feel moved. Sometimes that feeling remains just that, a momentary reaction. Other times, something goes deeper. We think about it, reflect on it and allow it to change us. It becomes part of who we are and eventually influences how we act.

Gratitude is a good example.

Someone does something wonderful for us, and we immediately feel grateful. We recognize the kindness and we say thank you. But there is another level of gratitude that comes when we stop and think about what they actually did for us. We consider the details, the effort, the thoughtfulness and the impact it had on our lives. The more we contemplate it, the more deeply we appreciate it. It may even inspire us to express our appreciation through action rather than simply words.

There is a fascinating discussion about the Mitzvah of ‘Bikkurim’, bringing the first fruits to the Temple as an expression of gratitude to G-d for the gift of the Land of Israel. The sages differ on when this obligation actually set in. One opinion says it began as soon as the Jewish people entered the Land. Another opinion says the obligation did not begin until fourteen years later, after the Land had been settled and each tribe was able to fully experience the gift they had received.

Perhaps both have a point. There is the initial recognition of a gift, and then there is the deeper appreciation that comes from living with it, contemplating it and truly experiencing what we have been given.

I thought about this when I received a rather unexpected phone call this week. A prominent lawyer in town called to ask me about something his son was interested in: learning Talmud. He wanted my recommendation about which edition to purchase. I was impressed. Here was a family looking to go deeper, finding a way to integrate serious Jewish learning into their life.

As we prepare for the High Holidays, we have a choice as well. We can check in with Judaism as we do every year, go through the prayers and familiar rituals, and then return to our regular lives.

Or we can resolve that this year will be different. We can allow the prayers, the Torah, the Shofar and the experience of the High Holidays to penetrate a little deeper, so that what we experience during these days continues to influence the way we live throughout the year.

Rosh Hashana is called the ‘head’ of the year. Perhaps our goal should be to allow the head of the year to influence the entire body of the year that follows.

This year don’t just go through the motions. Let it become part of you.

Do the High Holidays Give You Anxiety?

Monday, August 24, 2026 - 2:21 PM

As children, we are often given simple images to help us understand big ideas. A great example is G-d. We may be taught to imagine Him as a King in heaven, watching over the world and judging our actions. As we grow older, the hope is that we continue to learn and broaden the depth of our understanding of everything, including G-d.

The High Holiday season brings that relationship back into focus. We turn to G-d asking to be remembered favorably and inscribed in the Book of Life. Yet if our only understanding of G-d is as a King sitting in judgment, approaching Him can naturally evoke a certain measure of unnecessary anxiety.

Today, I want to introduce another, remarkably empowering way to understand this relationship.

We are partners.

How are we partners with G-d?

G-d created the world, a world that is far from perfect, yet filled with extraordinary potential for goodness, kindness and holiness. Then He entrusted it to us. He asks us to cultivate it, improve it and reveal the goodness and G-dliness hidden within it.

Think about the profound trust that represents. He could have created a world in which everything was already perfect. Instead, He created a world that needs our involvement and gave us the responsibility to help complete it.

We are, in a sense, managing partners in G-d's world.

And like any managing partner, we have responsibilities, but we also have a Partner who has committed to supporting us. G-d has entrusted us with His world and, so to speak, obligated Himself to provide what we need to carry out the responsibility He has given us.

We do our part to the utmost, and then we can turn to our Partner with confidence. Our prayers can be filled with the expectation that He will provide what we need to fulfill the mission He has entrusted to us.

As we approach Rosh Hashanah, we are not simply approaching a distant Judge and hoping He will look favorably upon us. We are approaching the One who entrusted us with a role in His creation.

We can say: “G-d, You have given me a mission and entrusted me with a part of Your world. I am doing everything I can to cultivate it. Please give me the health, strength, livelihood and peace I need to fulfill it. Help me succeed in the work You have entrusted to me.”

That is the spirit in which I invite you to join us at The Shul this High Holiday season. Together, we will pray, reflect and celebrate, entering the New Year with a renewed sense of our relationship with G-d and the mission He has entrusted to each of us. Come be part of it, and let’s begin the year connected, inspired and uplifted.

Are You Sure You Want What You Deserve?

Friday, August 14, 2026 - 1:57 PM

Imagine a parent making a deal with a child: If you do your homework or clean your room, I'll give you a certain reward. The child does what they were asked to do and receives the reward. In a sense, they earned it. They fulfilled their part, and the parent fulfilled theirs.

But there is something the child can easily overlook: Who gave them the ability to fulfill their side of the deal in the first place?

The parent provided the home, the education, the food, and so much of what enabled the child to accomplish what they did. Even what the child "earned" was made possible by everything they had already received from the parent.

In our relationship with G-d, there are two ways to approach it.

One approach is to recognize the system G-d created. We do our part: we live Jewishly, fulfill Mitzvot, give charity, and strive to live according to His will. We trust that G-d will respond with the blessings He promises.

But there is a deeper way to approach G-d. Instead of saying, "G-d, I did my part, now You do Yours," we recognize that even our ability to do our part is itself a gift from Him.

Our health, talents, opportunities, resources, relationships are all blessings from above. So even when a blessing comes as a result of our efforts, those very efforts were only possible because of blessings we received first.

That realization helps us see G-d's kindness woven into every part of our lives.

As we enter the month of Elul leading up to the High Holidays, we naturally have many prayers and hopes for the coming year. The best way to approach those prayers is not to say, "G-d, I did mine, now please do Yours." It is to say, "G-d, I will do everything I can. But ultimately, I know that everything I have and everything I am capable of doing comes from You. In Your infinite kindness, please bless me and my family with a beautiful and blessed year."

But perhaps the best way to achieve those blessings is to start by doing the same for others. If we hope that G-d will look beyond what we have earned and bless us with kindness and generosity, we should strive to do the same for those around us, giving more than is expected and treating others with greater generosity than they may deserve.