Rabbi Arthur Weiner

You have all heard my joke over the years that even though I'm a doctor (an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 2017), I'm not a "real" doctor. You have also heard me joke over the years that I was a science major, but in actuality, it was political science. Accordingly, I do not have the medical or scientific knowledge to fully weigh in on yesterday's bombshell announcement from the CDC director (and member of the tribe) Dr. Rochelle Walensky. So, I'm not going to make any comments about the CDC and the various criticisms of it that have emerged over the past several years. I will simply acknowledge that what often unites both liberals and conservatives, democrats and republicans, elected officials as well as ordinary citizens, is a lack of confidence in the CDC’s leadership and its communication with the American people. But what I can judge, and what I want you to think is the content of the public ...

We need to encourage the Jews of Russia to leave now, while they still have the chance.   Israel, and every major Jewish organization needs to prioritize the movement of Jews to Israel and Western nations on a scale comparable to the Soviet Jewry movement of the 1970’s.   There is no time to waste. Allow me to explain why this is necessary When Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in February, I wrote to the congregation of my concerns for the Jewish communities in both Russia and the Ukraine.   I also (correctly, as it turns out) predicted the pressure the invasion would place on Israel to both adopt Western sanctions against Russia (which it did) but at the same time maintain its delicate relationship with Russia.   As the Obama and Trump Administrations withdrew from America’s leadership role in the Middle East, Russia filled the void.   As a result Israel must take into account Russia’s strategic interests in the region even as it seeks to thwart Iran’s go...

  This Saturday night we will begin the observance of Tisha B'Av , the fast of the 9th of the Hebrew month of Av . We will gather on Zoom for the Ma’ariv service at 9:15 PM. 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. The Mishnah ( Ta'anit 4:6 ) explains that five terrible events occurred on this day in Jewish history: •      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 in the post Second Temple era. •      The Roman ruler Hadrian established a pagan temple and rebuilt Jerusalem as a pagan city in 136 CE. •      The Edict of Expulsion of the...