From the Desk of Rabbi Jacobs

Chag Pesach Kasher v’Samei’ach—A joyous Passover

The approach of Passover 5784 raises fundamental questions for me as a practicing, affirming Jew. Since October 7, 2023, so much has been fundamentally thrown into chaos, hidden by ‘fog of war’ and open to debate on meta- levels: Connection to the Land of Israel, real needs of multiple ethnicities in the small area between the Jordan River and the...Read more...

On the day of the solar eclipse—with Colleyville fully within the zone of totality—there were signs of returning light even before the celestial event. Like the predictions for the day’s skies, the assorted events was muddled. 

Last week closed out with the [apparently] testy conversation between the US President and the Israeli Prime Minister. Changes in Israeli policy and practice followed...Read more...

Remembering the Holocaust, and more significantly, teaching the Holocaust, remains a significant part of the Jewish present. Beyond the trials that began at Nuremberg after WWII ended, and set new parameters in international law, or the 1961 trial of Adolph Eichmann in Israel that led to the only execution in the State’s 75+ year history, came the early screenings of the mini-series Holocaust (1978) that raised awareness of an...Read more...

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine enters the third— or tenth — year (depends upon how one views the 2014 events), with expense of war mounting in human terms as well as the cost of armaments, the face of Europe is being refashioned. After a prolonged delay, in recent days Turkey and Hungary have opened the pathway into NATO for the remaining outsiders bordering directly west of Russia. With Finland and Sweden as members, a...Read more...

The daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, one of Europe’s leading newspapers, has become a major source for my regular, nearly daily explorations of world news. As American journalism is increasingly eclipsed in these days of electronic publication coupled with decreasing advertising revenues, I find the limited coverage of all but the most shocking events across the seas leaves a big hole in my understanding of the world and its...Read more...

The crisis for Israel has transmuted into a crisis for Jews everywhere as both an internal and an external challenge to our existence with greater intensity than any I have ever known. The external crisis is clear; the internal one represents the diverse interests within Jewish society. 

Political necessity in 1948 dictated the new Israeli state, led by David ben Gurion, to start with the ‘status quo’....Read more...

Recent reports have focused on isolation as a lasting post-pandemic issue. From ancient times, Jewish communities have sought to combat the kind of lone existence that other communities promoted through monasticism and even celibacy. A focal period of old was obligatory times of mourning, when recitation of the memorial prayer was ritualized in mourners’ Kaddish—one of a limited number of activities requiring a minyan, or...Read more...

Beginning the year 2024, there is much to be hoped for as members of the Jewish community. Our world and situation are clearly less than ideal, yet each week has moved us farther from the darkness of the recent past. We are, after all, told in the text (Isaiah 42:6):

“I the Eternal have called you in righteousness 

And have taken hold of...Read more...

The rising antisemitism of 2023 has caught many by surprise. The drumbeat of aggression turned into a steamroll of reports as of October 7, when Hamas burst through Israel’s defenses when Hizbollah opened rocket barrages from Lebanon and the Houthi rebels started sending Iranian missiles at ships in the Persian Gulf, and social media tiktokked a baseline of anti-Jewish sentiment into rising outbreaks of threats,...Read more...

Through the extended Thanksgiving weekend that just passed, the world has had front-row seats on the trickle of hostages released after seven weeks in captivity. There is much to celebrate in each life thus restoring to its pre-October 7 liberty. However, for those captives, nothing can restore lives disrupted and destroyed by terrorism. 

If 240 is the correct count, some 20% are out of captivity. That leaves 80% still...Read more...

The grinding awfulness of a very real war in densely populated Gaza continues to fascinate the world. An on-going battle for minds and hearts brings people to the streets: marching, demonstrating, harassing and at times wreaking havoc on public spaces. Behind closed doors, conversations to free hostages, to supply entrapped Gaza residents and to move Israel to stop the advance ‘now’ go on to be reported. Too...Read more...

The coastal plain of the Mediterranean from the Eastern shores of modern Israel--where it is known as ha-shefelah-- to the south and west at Gibraltar is home to both ancient and contemporary centers of population. Great cities like Alexandria—home of a storied library in antiquity—rose and fell, launched vessels of trade, and were homes to varied populations. Jewish communities rose in most, and this often led them to periods...Read more...

Just say ‘no’ worked much better in fighting drug use than in making peace among nations. Honest negotiations start before the shape or size of the tabla are decided, claims and counter claims are revealed, or conditions are set. The Seven Years War, the Hundred Years War, the American Revolution or defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo each found resolution in a more or less successful agreement among various parties with standing in...Read more...

Weathering the storm on Sukkot

Last Friday, as we prepared to celebrate Shabbat Sukkot in a still very warm Tarrant County, the country’s east coast was literally swimming in a deluge. We won’t read about Noah for two weeks, but the universality of flood experiences has been included in more than a few of the records of ancient civilization. And perhaps that is one of the central points of moving our lives outside our curated...Read more...