Rabbi Arthur Weiner

  Dear JCCP/CBT family,   The Shabbat , the Shabbat that follows the observance of Tisha B'Av is known as  Shabbat Nachamu.   It’s named after the first words of the haftarah we read this week:   Nachamu Nachamu Ami  –  Be comforted my people .   How are we to be comforted after the destruction of our Holy Temples? This week’s Torah reading,  Parshat Vaetchanan  points the way. This Shabbat we read the words of the Ten Commandments, and the  Shma . These words are a wakeup call and a vote of confidence in our future. God is saying, “Let me remind you who you are, and who you will be again!”   This Shabbat also reminds us that High Holidays are coming. The Haftarah for this Shabbat is the first of what we call the  Shivtah D’nechamta , the seven Haftarot of consolation, that speak of the eternal relationship between God and Israel. They remind us that we have seven weeks to put ...

  Dear JCCP/CBT Family, This Wednesday night, at a special service beginning at 8:00 PM, we will begin the observance of Tisha B'Av, the fast of the 9th of Av.  Tisha B'Av is the saddest day of the Jewish year.  On this day, we commemorate a series of devastating events, especially the destruction of the First Temple by the Babylonians in 586 BCE and the Second Temple by the Romans in 70 CE. Other infamous events that occurred on this day in Jewish history include: •      The decree that the Israelites would wander in the desert for 40 years •      Betar, the fortress headquarters of Simon bar Kochba fell to the Romans in 135 CE, ending the last resistance to the Romans. •      The Roman ruler Hadrian established a pagan Temple and rebuilt Jerusalem as a pagan city in 136 CE. •      The Edict of Expulsion of the Jews fro...