Rabbi Arthur Weiner

  Dear JCCP/CBT family, Today is  Rosh Chodesh Elul , the beginning of the new Hebrew month of Elul, the month that immediately precedes the High Holidays.   This year, the entire High Holiday experience will be different. The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged us in every area of our lives, and Jewish communal life is no exception. So even the way we prepare for the High Holidays must change as well. So to help us get ready for the High Holidays, I’m going to do something different, something that I’ve never done before.  Throughout the month of Elul, I am going to send a short email to the congregation every day with a special High Holiday idea, message , or lesson. I plan to share things that I have written, as well as the wisdom of Rabbi’s and teachers representing the entire spectrum of Jewish life. Some will be deep and profound, and others will be humorous and entertaining. I want to offer inspiring teachings which have taught me so much about what this speci

  Dear JCCP/CBT family,   Like many of you, I learned this morning that Israel and the United Arab Emirates reached an historic agreement to set up full diplomatic relations between the two countries. What wonderful news!   Although I like to think that I follow the news from Israel carefully, and have both read and seen evidence of growing ties and cooperation between Israel and the gulf Arab states, this news was a surprise, and a welcome one at that.  Egypt established diplomatic relations with Israel in 1979. Jordan did the same in 1994. Today’s news, according to the leading Israeli newspaper  Times of Israel , marks Israel’s biggest diplomatic achievement in over 25 years. According to the editor of  Times of Israel  David Horovitz, who was the guest speaker at our 2016 Harold Lerman Fund for Israel Education and Engagement event “it constitutes a major step in Israel’s core effort to cement and normalize its presence in this complex, challenging, constantly shi

  Dear JCCP/CBT family, What do we call the prayer we recite after we eat a meal? (For those who answered, “the  motzi, ” please remember that’s the prayer we recite before we eat.) Now back to the correct answer. It’s the  Birkat HaMazon .  Literally the “blessing after the meal”, though in our Christianity-influenced culture it’s often called the Grace after Meals. In fact, the scriptural basis for it appears in the first Aliyah of tomorrow morning’s Torah reading of Parshat  Ekev : “ you shall eat, and you shall be satisfied and you shall bless the Lord your God.”  (Deuteronomy 8:10) Birkat HaMazon  is a mitzvah, one of the 613 commandments in the Torah. I’m sure we understand its value and utility. Cultivating gratitude is both good for our mental health, and a significant part of our religious responsibilities. In fact, at the root of the Hebrew word  ya’hadut , which is Judaism in Hebrew, is the Hebrew word  l’hodot , which means to thank. This reminds u