President's Welcome
Welcome!
As you can tell from our mission (above), at Temple Sinai we pride ourselves on being a warm and welcoming community. We are thrilled to be entering our 33rd year, and our 3rd year with energetic yet learned spiritual leader. After only 2 years with us, Rabbi Annie Belford is as beloved as if she had been here since our beginning.
We are the only Reform congregation on the west side of Houston and we are a diverse community. Our members hail from many different backgrounds and upbringings, and include native Texans, transplants from all across the U.S. and foreign born. As you can see, all are welcome at Temple Sinai.
We are proud to be designated as an ADL “Community of Respect’®, committed to creating an environment of respect and appreciation of all, both at Temple Sinai and in the greater Houston community.
We invite you to come and experience our many activities and programs. Whether it is Shabbat
services, our classes for children and adults, our special events, social gatherings or community celebrations, you are sure to find something to suit your interests and needs.
UNA International Choir
Submitted by webmaster on Sat, 05/12/2012 - 2:34pm
The United Nations International Choir Presents its Spring Concert 
Timeless Music
Universal Truths
Featuring Ernest Bloch's Avodath Hakodesh (Sacred Service) and other International Selections
Phillip Kloeckner, Conductor
Mark S. Doss, Grammy Award-Winning Bass-Baritone
Saturday, May 19, 2012 at 5:00 P.M.
Stude Concert Hall at Rice University
Reception Following the Concert
Download postcard to share with friends!
It's a Girl (In Case You Didn't Know)
Submitted by webmaster on Tue, 01/31/2012 - 6:15pm
Mazel Tov to Rabbi Annie and Family
With open arms and great big hugs, Temple Sinai is thrilled to welcome our newest member, Ahava. Ahava joined our congregation last evening at 5:14 pm and Rabbi Annie and Ari were, of course, the first to welcome her. She was born 6 lbs. 10 Oz, 20.5” tall, and absolutely beautiful. All five members of the Belford/Vernon family: Mom, Dad, Lev, Eiden and Ahava are doing fine and could not be happier. Ahava has been the most anxiously awaited new member in the Temple’s history and we will all get to meet her when she makes her first appearance at Temple Sinai on Friday evening, March 9th. Details will be forthcoming.
Mazel Tov to Rabbi Annie, Ari and the whole Belford/Vernon family.
Jewish Federation investing in Temple Sinai
Submitted by webmaster on Mon, 01/30/2012 - 11:08pm
Jewish Federation investing in
Temple Sinai, Beth Israel, Beth Yeshurun and Emanu El schools
The Jewish Federation is partnering with PELIE, Partnership for Effective Learning and Innovative Education, to provide funding for our synagogue/congregational school to participate in the first cohort of Houston schools using the JSASIP, the Jewish School Assessment School Improvement Process. The JSASIP is an effective comprehensive tool used in Jewish communities across North America to assess their schools’ effectiveness and assist in developing an improvement plan. This tool creates a snapshot of the synagogue/school culture, makes the invisible visible, describes best practices in synagogue schools, and provides a shared vocabulary about synagogue school practices for community stakeholders.
OUR CARING COMMUNITY NEEDS YOUR HELP!
Submitted by webmaster on Mon, 08/08/2011 - 8:50pm
The Caring Committee is looking for congregants who have time and are willing to participate in caring activities. We are looking for both new members to the committee (who could attend a monthly meeting held every 2nd Friday at 12:00 noon at the temple and assist in guiding thecaring program) and those congregants who simply could provide some time to make caring calls to fellow congregants, occasionally make a meal and deliver to a needy member, send get well or sympathy cards, deliver shabbat baskets to families, provide transportation to assist a member to shabbat services, or help, when needed, during a gri
Temple Sinai Goes to Israel
Submitted by webmaster on Tue, 07/05/2011 - 10:32am
Greetings from Israel. Our group of thirteen has been very busy so we apologize for not writing sooner. Israel is an amazing place, I don’t know how else to describe it. After landing in Tel Aviv we immediately proceeded to Neot Kedumim for the traditional tree planting. Did you know that Israel is the only country that increases its tree population every year? We then proceeded to Jerusalem and had a wonderful dinner as a group. While in Jerusalem we visited the old city, twice, visited the Kotel, toured excavation sites, and explored the Western Wall Tunnel. We also visited the Naharayim power station. This was the first hydroelectric power plant ever built. It is actually right on the Jordanian border. The power plant has a personal connection to Mal Sokol and his family. We also learned about the reform movement in Israel and visited Yad Vashem and the Children’s Memorial, a truly moving experience. We also attended Friday night services at a reform temple that easily could pass for Temple Sinai in Israel. We finished up the Sabbath with a Havdallah service outside the Jaffa gate (we used three matches and a tea bag for our Havdallah candle and spices). Following the Havdallah service we saw a spectacular light show at the Tower of David Museum inside the old city. Before leaving the Jerusalem area, we hiked up Masada, after the cable car took us up most of the way. It was a truly moving experience to understand what our ancestors endured. After Masada we all had a chance to float in the Dead Sea. Before leaving the area, we visited the Kinneret Cemetery. The Kinneret Cemetery is the final resting place for those people who dedicated their lives to Israel. It is a special place, peaceful and moving.
D'var Torah: Emor
Submitted by Rabbi Annie Belford on Wed, 05/04/2011 - 7:56pm
Torah Portion: Emor, Leviticus 21:1-24:23
This has been an incredible week in world affairs. The news media swung from the violent storms in the South, to the Royal Wedding, to the end of Osama Bin Ladin. As an observer to all of these events, I cannot help but feel a sense of whiplash! I heard someone says recently that when a home defaults in Ohio, Iceland goes bankrupt; when a rebellion erupts in the Middle East, our gas prices go up. Today, we are connected in unprecedented ways—not only to the people in our own country, but to every other country in the world. In many ways, this is a blessing; in many ways, it brings great challenge to our every day existence.
D'var Torah: Vayeira
Submitted by Rabbi Annie Belford on Wed, 10/20/2010 - 5:40pm
Torah Portion: Vayeira, Genesis 18:1–22:24
The tradition of hachnasat orchim, or being welcoming to guests, runs deeply throughout our tradition. On Sukkot, we have an "Ushpizin" ceremony, when we welcome our ancestors into our sukkah. On Passover, it is considered a great mitzvah to include guests who do not know anything about the holiday. And every Shabbat, it is traditional to invite anybody who doesn't have plans to join you for Shabbat dinner.
D'var Torah: Chol HaMo-eid Sukkot
Submitted by Rabbi Annie Belford on Wed, 09/22/2010 - 9:34pm
Torah Portion: Chol HaMo-eid Sukkot, Exodus 33:12–34:26
One of the most interesting commandments relating to Sukkot is the command to be joyful. The Torah says, "Rejoice in your holiday.... You should have nothing but joy!" (Deut. 16:13 and 15). Feelings are very rarely commanded in the Torah in the first place (notable exceptions include "loving God" and "thou shalt not covet"). But one could argue that Sukkot is one of the most uncomfortable holidays we share--we eat outside, rain or shine; we are supposed to sleep in the sukkah, the least stable structure most of us ever build; for some the weather is downright nasty (my husband remembers Sukkot with lake effect snow in Cleveland!). How, then, can we be joyful when the holiday makes us so uncomfortable?
