Rabbi Arthur Weiner

This Shabbat, the Shabbat that follows the observance of Tisha B'Av is called  Shabbat Nachamu.   It’s named after the first words of the haftarah for this week:   Nachamu Nachamu Ami  –  Be Comforted My People . For the previous three weeks, the Haftarot warned of impending doom, destruction and violence.   The destruction of the First and Second temples, as well as so many other tragedies were remembered on Tisha B’Av.   Yet now, the mood of the Jewish people is different.   How are we to be comforted after the destruction of our Holy Temples and our exile? This week’s Torah reading,  Parshat Vaetchanan  points the way. This Shabbat we read the words of the Ten Commandments , and the  Sh’ma . These words are a wake-up 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!” Shabbat Nachamu is also a reminder to us that the High Ho...

This Wednesday night we will begin the observance of Tisha B'Av , the fast of the 9th of the Hebrew month 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, as well as a series of other terrible events that continue to influence Jewish life.   Tisha B'Av is a day of mourning, fasting, and remembering difficult and tragic periods in our long history.  It is a day to look backwards.  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 The First and Second Temples were destroyed (the first by the Babylonians in 586 BCE and the second by the Romans in 70 CE Betar, the fortress headquarters of Simon bar Kochba fell to the Romans in 135 CE, ending the last resistance to the Romans in...

One of Israel's most talented observers is David Horovitz, the editor of timesofisrael.com . He was the speaker at the first event of our Harold Lerman Fund for Israel Education and Engagement in 2016. One of the things that I like about David Horovitz is that he is hard to pin down. He is not a man of the left or the right, nor do his politics fit neatly into the conservative or liberal boxes that dominate American politics. He is a moderate, and an independent thinker. Remember those commercials from a generation ago, "when EF Hutton talks, people listen?" The same can be said of David Horovitz. When he speaks, people throughout the world, including influential policy makers in Israel and among Israel's allies, listen. When he is worried, I worry. And right now, David Horovitz is letting his concerns be known. In a recent column When Israel's National Politics Divide its People's Army , he wrote about a reserve officer in Israel’s air force reserve...

This Thursday, July 6, 2023 is the observance  of Shivah Assar B'Tammuz (17th day of the Hebrew month of Tammuz) . It is one of the minor fast days of the Jewish year. On  Shiva Assar B'Tammuz , we commemorate an important event in Jewish history. In the year 69 CE, after a lengthy siege, the walls of Jerusalem were breached by the Romans, leading to the destruction of the Second Temple several weeks later. This day also marks the beginning of a three-week period leading to the observance of  Tisha B'Av , the 9 th of Av, the day we remember the destruction of both the First and Second Temples. The 9 th  of Av is considered to be the saddest day of the Jewish Year. The Fast on Shivah Assar B'Tammuz is observed from early Thursday morning beginning at 4:19 AM until 9:12 PM. A fast day is not only a sad day, but a day of opportunity. We refrain from food from early morning until nightfall to better reflect on the events that this day ...