Rabbi Arthur Weiner

Several years ago, I wrote to the congregation about a particular pet peeve of mine: the tendency of news organizations, especially Jewish news organizations to attribute Jewish status to individuals who are certainly of Jewish origin and background, but are not Jewish, nor claim to be. This is especially common with sports heroes and political figures. Four years ago, when Tom Steyer announced a failed bid for the presidency, he was routinely referred to as an "American Jewish billionaire" when in fact he is an Episcopalian. And don’t even get me started on baseball superstar (now retired) Ryan Braun! Words matter.   Definitions and boundaries are important. We are the people who taught the world the religious significance of Havdalah , the importance of making distinctions It is with this idea in mind that I consider the proper approach to a recent letter, highly critical of Israel, signed by 163 American Jewish leaders.   This letter was organized by Americans For...

For many years, I have written a Shabbat message to the congregation each week. Those who read these messages know that I write about a variety of topics. One week it might be a political or social issue that we face as Americans. Another might be about Israel. Sometimes I like to concentrate on something distinctly religious, like an upcoming holiday or other day or event of Jewish significance. Other weeks, I like to deal with more secular concerns. I write about the things that we are all thinking about and at other times, I write about the things that I'm thinking about and reading about and want to share with you. I rarely know when I send my Shabbat message what the next week's topic will be. That's part of the challenge and the fun. My goal is to make these weekly messages interesting and readable (and occasionally entertaining) for you and give you something to think about. Several years ago, I changed the format of my Shabbat message. If you are reading this me...