Rabbi Arthur Weiner

  Dear JCCP/CBT family, Today is  Rosh Chodesh Elul , the beginning of the new Hebrew month of Elul, the month that immediately precedes the High Holidays.   This year, the entire High Holiday experience will be different. The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged us in every area of our lives, and Jewish communal life is no exception. So even the way we prepare for the High Holidays must change as well. So to help us get ready for the High Holidays, I’m going to do something different, something that I’ve never done before.  Throughout the month of Elul, I am going to send a short email to the congregation every day with a special High Holiday idea, message , or lesson. I plan to share things that I have written, as well as the wisdom of Rabbi’s and teachers representing the entire spectrum of Jewish life. Some will be deep and profound, and others will be humorous and entertaining. I want to offer inspiring teachings which have t...

  Dear JCCP/CBT family,   Like many of you, I learned this morning that Israel and the United Arab Emirates reached an historic agreement to set up full diplomatic relations between the two countries. What wonderful news!   Although I like to think that I follow the news from Israel carefully, and have both read and seen evidence of growing ties and cooperation between Israel and the gulf Arab states, this news was a surprise, and a welcome one at that.  Egypt established diplomatic relations with Israel in 1979. Jordan did the same in 1994. Today’s news, according to the leading Israeli newspaper  Times of Israel , marks Israel’s biggest diplomatic achievement in over 25 years. According to the editor of  Times of Israel  David Horovitz, who was the guest speaker at our 2016 Harold Lerman Fund for Israel Education and Engagement event “it constitutes a major step in Israel’s core effort to cement and normalize its presence in th...

  Dear JCCP/CBT family, What do we call the prayer we recite after we eat a meal? (For those who answered, “the  motzi, ” please remember that’s the prayer we recite before we eat.) Now back to the correct answer. It’s the  Birkat HaMazon .  Literally the “blessing after the meal”, though in our Christianity-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 8:10) Birkat HaMazon  is a mitzvah, one of the 613 commandments in the Torah. I’m sure we understand its value and utility. Cultivating gratitude is both good for our mental health, and a significant part of our religious responsibilities. In fact, at the root of the Hebrew word  ya’hadut , which is Judaism in Hebrew, is the Hebre...

  Dear JCCP/CBT family,   The Shabbat , the Shabbat that follows the observance of Tisha B'Av is known as  Shabbat Nachamu.   It’s named after the first words of the haftarah we read this week:   Nachamu Nachamu Ami  –  Be comforted my people .   How are we to be comforted after the destruction of our Holy Temples? This week’s Torah reading,  Parshat Vaetchanan  points the way. This Shabbat we read the words of the Ten Commandments, and the  Shma . These words are a wakeup 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!”   This Shabbat also reminds us that High Holidays are coming. The Haftarah for this Shabbat is the first of what we call the  Shivtah D’nechamta , the seven Haftarot of consolation, that speak of the eternal relationship between God and Israel. They remind us that we have seven weeks to put ...

  Dear JCCP/CBT Family, This Wednesday night, at a special service beginning at 8:00 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 a series of devastating events, especially 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 fro...