The Voices of Emanu El, our podcast, is live! You can listen to our episodes using this player, or you can find us wherever you stream your favorite podcasts. Please subscribe and download our content!
Initially, content will focus on sermons and music. When Rabbi Hayon returns from sabbatical, we will expand to include engaging roundtable discussions with the clergy team, interviews with guest speakers and musicians, and more!
If you have a question or topic you’d like our clergy team to discuss when we expand to include clergy roundtables, please send those ideas to info@emanuelhouston.org.
Rabbi Steve Gross is the rabbi at Houston Congregation for Reform Judaism and has served the Houston Jewish Community for over 25 years. Rabbi Gross sees every religious endeavor as an opportunity to promote community and establish an intimate relationship with God. His love of life is inextricably linked to his love of food, and his quest for the perfect croissant is eternal.
Rabbi Matt Michaels served as Emanu El’s Associate Rabbi from 1988–1999. He has also served congregations in Spring, TX, and Knoxville, TN, as well as a trained intentional interim rabbi for congregations in Plano & Beaumont, TX. Moving back to Houston to retire in 2016, Rabbi Michaels spends as much time as possible playing golf.
Rabbi Denise L. Eger, is a noted author, human rights activist and Reform Movement leader. She is a Past President of the Central Conference of American Rabbis and Founding Rabbi Emerita of Congregation Kol Ami, in West Hollywood, CA. Author of three books, she lives in Austin, TX where she is an executive coach for clergy and nonprofit executives. She is married to Rabbi Eleanor Steinman, Sr. Rabbi of Temple Beth Shalom in Austin.
Rabbi Segal was born and raised in Houston at Congregation Emanu El. He was ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in New York in 2010. From 2010–2017, Segal and his wife, Cantor Rollin Simmons, co-led the Aspen Jewish Congregation in Colorado. From 2017–2021, he served as the founding Texas Lead Organizer for the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. In May 2024, Segal graduated from the University of Houston Law Center. He is the Policy Counsel at Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, supporting their litigation and legislative advocacy on First Amendment-Religion issues (church/state and religious freedom), as well as their Christians Against Christian Nationalism initiative.
Neal Katz has served as the rabbi of Congregation Beth El in Tyler, TX, since his ordination from HUC-JIR in 2003. In Tyler, Neal is involved in many non-profit agencies and is currently the chair of The Tyler Loop, an independent, non-profit journalism project. He and his wife Jen have three children.
Rabbi Jon Siger serves as the spiritual leader of Congregation Jewish Community North in Spring, TX. He received his rabbinic ordination from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 2002 and is a member of the Central Conference of American Rabbis.
He has also been involved in chaplaincy with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, serving in patrol and special operations chaplain roles and working along the Gulf Coast on critical incident response. He has also worked with college students as Hillel rabbi and director at several campuses, including serving as visiting rabbi for Texas A&M Hillel.
Rabbi Bob Loewy began his rabbinic career at Congregation Emanu El in 1977, serving as the last Assistant Rabbi for Rabbi Kahn and first for Rabbi Walter. In 1984, he became Senior Rabbi for Congregation Gates of Prayer in Metairie, LA, where he served until his retirement in 2018. Throughout his career, he has been a leader in the Reform Movement, both regionally and nationally. With one of his four children (Sara Loewy Belin) and two of his six grandchildren now living in Houston, he and his wife Lynn moved back to Houston in 2023. He enjoys being an Emanu El member, as well as performing an occasional rabbinic role.
Rabbi Seth Stander is the Inaugural Community Aging Specialist at HHCI CARES (Caregiving, Aging, Resilience, Ethics, Spirituality). Seth connects community members with resources related to caregiving, aging in place, long-term care facility placement, advanced care planning, and more. After earning a B.A. (Judaic Studies) from SUNY-Binghamton in 1992, Seth attended the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, where he was ordained in 1999. He has served as a congregational rabbi, resident and staff chaplain, and most recently on staff at the Harris County Long-term Care Ombudsman Program, advocating for the rights of facility residents and their loved ones.
Rabbi Annie Villarreal-Belford, a native of El Paso, TX, received her BA in Creative Writing from the University of Judaism in Los Angeles, her MAHL and rabbinic ordination from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, and a PsyD in Pastoral Logotherapy from Graduate Theological Foundation. Rabbi Annie was the first female solo rabbi in Houston, serving Temple Sinai from 2009–2022, and currently works as the Editor at CCAR Press. She loves nothing more than spending time with her wife, three amazing children, and three rowdy dogs — especially if they are outdoors and she has a book nearby.
There is great comfort in community, particularly in times of great loss. If you are planning to attend tomorrow’s memorial service for Rabbi Roy Walter, please make note of the following updates regarding parking and streaming.
Parking and Streaming Details
November 9, 2025
Dear friends:
A great light has gone out, and our world is now darker and colder.
I am heartbroken to have the responsibility to share the news that Rabbi Roy Walter, our beloved Emeritus Rabbi, died this morning with his cherished loved ones nearby.
Read moreDear friends,
In recent days, many members of our large and diverse congregational community have found themselves affected by the ongoing government shutdown. We are aware that a number of temple members employed by the federal government are working to make ends meet despite missed paychecks, while others are struggling due to disruptions in SNAP benefits and other government programs. If you or your family are worried or struggling during these uncertain times, we want to remind you that Emanu El is here to support you.
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Last week, the Jewish community celebrated the end of a weeklong festival during which we constructed and spent time in sukkot — temporary outdoor booths meant to evoke the fragility and vulnerability of our ancestors’ sojourn in the wilderness. At the close of this holiday, we disassembled our sukkot and came back to the comfort and stability inside our homes. This year, the process of returning home carried an additional poignant and powerful resonance as we witnessed the last of the living Hamas-held hostages being returned to their families.
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December 2024- Volume 79, Number 3
November 2024- Volume 79, Number 2
October 2024- Volume 79, Number 1
September 2024- Volume 78, Number 12
August 2024- Volume 78, Number 11
July 2024- Volume 78, Number 10
June 2024- Volume 78, Number 9
April 2024- Volume 78, Number 7
March 2024- Volume 78, Number 6
