Rabbi Arthur Weiner

  What do we call the prayer we recite after we eat a meal? (For those who answered the Motzi , that’s the prayer we recite before we eat.) In fact, there’s a joke about that. A woman complained to the Rabbi about how religious and even zealous her brother had become, saying “It’s crazy.   He makes a blessing after everything he does.” The Rabbi responded, “if he was really so religious, he would make those blessings before he did anything.” Now back to the correct answer.   The prayer recited after we eat is the Birkat HaMazon .   Literally, it means the blessing after the meal, though in our Christian 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 8:8) Birkat HaMazon is one of the 613 commandments from the Torah. I’m sure we all understand its val

  It is not my place to weigh in on the disaster that the Olympic games may potentially turn out to be. The event was mired in controversy almost since the day Tokyo was awarded what was supposed to be the 2020 games in 2013. The Japanese public did not seem to be particularly eager to host. Infrastructure issues and exorbitant costs marred excitement in the pre-pandemic era.   The pandemic forced the cancellation of the games last summer, and now the authorities must contend with a rampant and aggressive rise in COVID cases in Japan, as well as among Olympic hopefuls, dashing hopes for the fulfillment of the dreams of the host nation, the international Olympic committee, and millions of fans throughout the world. Let the games begin! Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse for the organizers of this event, on the eve of the opening ceremonies the organizers fired the artistic director of the ceremony, Kentaro Kobayashi for a comedy routine that mocked victims of the Holocaus

This Saturday night, at a special service beginning at 9:30 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 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 from England was signed by King Edward I in 1290 •      The Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492. With the emergence of the state of Israel, many have questioned the relevance or even need for th

  I’ve been asked recently about whether the COVID-19 vaccine is mandated by Jewish law. The answer is a clear, simple, and unequivocal yes. Vaccination is a mitzvah. Jewish law obligates Jews to vaccinate themselves, and encourage others within their care to receive vaccines that have a proven and safe track record. The COVID-19 vaccination fulfills this requirement. In this week’s message I am going to borrow heavily from Vaccination and Ethical Questions Posed by COVID-19 Vaccines, a Halachic response to the emergence of the COVID-19 Vaccine, approved by the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Rabbinical Assembly, which provides guidance in matters of Halakhah (Jewish Law) for the Conservative movement.   I thank my colleagues, especially Rabbi Micah Peltz, the author of this document, for their efforts and scholarship.   Rabbinical authorities have encouraged and approved vaccinations since their introduction. The first Rabbinic rulings addressed the response to the

  For many years, I have had a tradition of sharing a document of great Jewish historical significance on the Shabbat that either preceded or followed July 4. I want to share it this week in my Shabbat message to the community.   As you read to it, please consider the audience to which it was directed, and understand the perspective of the small Jewish community in the USA in the post-revolutionary war era, a community likely numbering less than 5000.    Who were the first American Jews? They were Sephardic Jews whose ancestors were forced from Spain during the Inquisition, only to flee their own homes in Brazil when Spain wrested control of Dutch colonies in the New World and brought the Inquisition to South America. They fled to the United States, seeking religious freedom, economic opportunity, and a safe home.   And they were followed by millions of Jews who have arrived during the 245 years of our nation’s existence.   Only the “…. self evident truths” espoused in the Decla