Rabbi Arthur Weiner

For these, I weep, My eyes flow with tears: Far from me is any comforter Who might revive my spirit; My children are forlorn, For the foe has prevailed. (Lamentations, 1:16) How many sermons and articles over the last 26 years have I begun with the words "I want to talk about the terrible shooting at _____­­­____ (fill in the blank) that happened this week. Columbine, Sandy Hook, Parkland, The Mother Emanuel Church, The Tree of Life Synagogue, Poway, Buffalo. Where do I stop? After all, there have been hundreds of mass shootings (defined by the FBI as an incident where more than 4 people are killed or injured) in recent years. Now, sadly, the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde Texas has joined this terrible list. What's going on in our great nation that makes these shootings an almost uniquely American problem? That is not a rhetorical question. There is actually an answer. What's going on is that we have failed to prioritize the sanctity of human life.   W...

There is a lot in the news right now that should rightly concern us. Inflation. The baby formula crisis. The war in Ukraine. Tuesday's primaries. Abortion rights.   Gas prices. And the most significant event of the past week, the racist and terrorist attack in Buffalo that claimed the lives of 10 precious souls, murdered simply for being black in America. How did a bored and troubled teenager become so enthralled by the racist and antisemitic messages he read so voraciously on irresponsible internet sites that either encourage or claim they have no power to control the vile content that is distributed on those platforms? Today, I want to reflect on another important issue which you may not be aware of, yet one over which you actually have some control.   Unlike the big ticket items which I mentioned above, we can address this problem right now. Earlier this week, the Department of Transportation announced that 42,915 Americans died from traffic accidents in 2021. You d...

  On the second night of Passover, we began an observance called Sefirat HaOmer the counting of the Omer. You shall count for yourselves -- from the day after the Shabbat, from the day when you bring the Omer of the waving -- seven Shabbats, they shall be complete. Until the day after the seventh sabbath you shall count, fifty days. (Leviticus 23:15-16)       An Omer is a unit of measure – think of a quart or a bushel or a pound – you get the idea.  In Biblical times, an Omer of barley was brought as a special offering during this season. This mitzvah reinforced several values.  First of all, the spring is the time of the first harvest.  Regular offerings of produce like barley, symbolized gratitude for the good harvest that the people enjoyed.  By counting each of the days, the Omer linked Passover, the celebration of the liberation from Egypt with Shavuot, the holiday that celebrates the giving of the Torah to the Jewis...

A Plea for National Unity in Israel David Horovitz timesofisrael.com In an urgent, vital and plaintive speech last night, delivered in front of the Western Wall at the start of Israel’s annual ceremonies for fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism, President Isaac Herzog reminded the watching, mourning nation that those of “our sons and daughters” who have fallen in the defense of our glorious reborn nation, “fought together and fell together. They did not ask, nor did anyone ask them, who was right-wing and who was left-wing; who was religious, who was secular; who was Jewish and who was not Jewish. They fell as Israelis, defending Israel. In cemeteries, arguments fall silent…” Click here to read the speech Herzog’s strikingly articulated plea for national unity should not have been necessary. As has been the case in the 74 years since Israel’s revival, the challenges to our national existence are grave and unmistakable. A nation that survived its War of Independence against a...