Shabbat Shalom with Information about Tisha B'Av 7/24/2020
Dear Kol Rinah Family,
This Wednesday evening begins the holiday of Tisha B'Av, the 9th day of the Hebrew month of Av. Considered a day of communal lamenting, it is one of only two full-day fasts (25 hours) on the Jewish calendar. Traditionally, this day recalls the destruction of both the 1st and 2nd Temples in Jerusalem, but it has also become a day associated with mourning the many other tragedies that the Jewish People and the world have suffered throughout the ages.
This year, of course, we need no reminder about tragedies befalling us. The world around us seems frought with new and unthinkable perils. Some might argue that we don't need to observe Tisha B'Av this year. Between the pandemic, the lockdowns, the racial injustice, the state-sponsored violence and terror of our own people, the hatred against our LGBTQ+ siblings, the increased anti-Semitism, and so many more heart-rending travesties we witness everyday, haven't we experienced enough suffering?!
But I would argue that this year it is even more important. Not only does Tisha B'Av commemorate those tragic parts of our shared past, it also reminds us that we survived them, that we as a people and as a world continued on in our shared quest to make this world a more just and equitable one for all. I think that the very act of sitting with our pain, confronting it, and then getting up from it as Tisha B'Av ends reminds us that this too shall pass, if we dedicate ourselves to the work and the struggle to keep from repeating the mistakes of injustice that have dogged humanity throughout our history.
Similar to the other full day fast, Yom Kippur, it is customary to refrain from eating and drinking, as well as bathing, annointing oneself (adding perfume or pleasant odors), and intimate relations on Tisha B'Av. Because of the sorrowful nature of the holiday, many choose to sit low to the ground and also to refrain from greeting one another joyfully. So, if you see Rabbi Arnow or me on Tisha b'Av and we don't greet you warmly, I apologize in advance.
The fast for Tisha b'Av begins at 7:58 pm on Wednesday, July 29. At 8:30 pm, we will gather together for Ma'ariv, which will include the reading of Megillat Eicha, the Book of Lamentations, as well as a little bit of learning. On Thursday morning, services for Tisha b'Av will begin at 7:00 am. Mincha for Tisha b'Av will be at 6:00 pm. The fast ends at 8:58 pm.
We continue to have many fantastic ways to connect throughout our Kol Rinah community. All the links for minyanim, programs, and learning opportunities can be found below.
This afternoon, at 12:00 pm, I will be leading his weekly Torah Talk focused on Parashat Devarim, this week's Torah portion, the upcoming holiday of Tisha B'Av and how it relates to us differently this year than ever before. Tonight, mincha and Kabbalat Shabbat begin at 6:00 pm. Candle lighting this evening begins Shabbat tonight at 8:01pm. Havdallah on Saturday night will be at 9:04 pm.
On Sunday, July 26 we have two amazing programs. Our own Melissa Bellows will continue leading a Havdallah program and gathering for families beginning at 10:00 AM. It has been an amazing community building slice of fun for all and we hope you can attend.
Click Here To Register
In addition, at 11:30 am, Rabbi Arnow will be teaching another session on Halakhah in the Time of COVID-19, which will focus on streaming, video, and use of electronic devices on Shabbat. It should be a wonderful (and extremely timely) learning session for the entire community.
And now, for a little Torah...
This week begins Sefer Devarim (The Book of Deuteronomy), literally the Book of Words. Ironically, a new set of words appears in this week's Torah portion for the very first time (Deut. 1:1) :
אֵ֣לֶּה הַדְּבָרִ֗ים אֲשֶׁ֨ר דִּבֶּ֤ר מֹשֶׁה֙ אֶל־כָּל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל בְּעֵ֖בֶר הַיַּרְדֵּ֑ן
These are the words that Moses addressed to all Israel on the other side of the Jordan.
Blink, and you might miss it. Up until this point, when the collective Jewish People were being addressed, they were called B'nai Yisrael (The Children of Israel) or Adat Yisrael (The Assembly of Israel) or another synonym.
The Kli Yakar, Rabbi Shlomo Ephraim Luntschitz, the 17th Century Rabbi of Prague notes that this new status for the Jewish People is not accidental, but rather a statement of their changing status. In Egypt, we were a loose assemblage of families oppressed into slavery. In the wilderness, we formed tribes, raised leaders, and learned how to build a common future together. In the Land of Israel, we became a nation, one people united in a shared faith, with shared goals, and a vision of a just world coming into fruition.
It is only when we join together to support one another that we can truly become one people. Despite our different backgrounds, families, languages, opinions, identities, or experiences, it is our shared culture as Jews, Americans, and human beings that makes us all a part of the same people. Just as the Jewish People wandered a winding path through the dangerous terrain of the Sinai wilderness and came out into the Promised Land, so too do I believe that we can help one another see our way through the many trials we face today and immerge into a better world.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Shafrin
This Wednesday evening begins the holiday of Tisha B'Av, the 9th day of the Hebrew month of Av. Considered a day of communal lamenting, it is one of only two full-day fasts (25 hours) on the Jewish calendar. Traditionally, this day recalls the destruction of both the 1st and 2nd Temples in Jerusalem, but it has also become a day associated with mourning the many other tragedies that the Jewish People and the world have suffered throughout the ages.
This year, of course, we need no reminder about tragedies befalling us. The world around us seems frought with new and unthinkable perils. Some might argue that we don't need to observe Tisha B'Av this year. Between the pandemic, the lockdowns, the racial injustice, the state-sponsored violence and terror of our own people, the hatred against our LGBTQ+ siblings, the increased anti-Semitism, and so many more heart-rending travesties we witness everyday, haven't we experienced enough suffering?!
But I would argue that this year it is even more important. Not only does Tisha B'Av commemorate those tragic parts of our shared past, it also reminds us that we survived them, that we as a people and as a world continued on in our shared quest to make this world a more just and equitable one for all. I think that the very act of sitting with our pain, confronting it, and then getting up from it as Tisha B'Av ends reminds us that this too shall pass, if we dedicate ourselves to the work and the struggle to keep from repeating the mistakes of injustice that have dogged humanity throughout our history.
Similar to the other full day fast, Yom Kippur, it is customary to refrain from eating and drinking, as well as bathing, annointing oneself (adding perfume or pleasant odors), and intimate relations on Tisha B'Av. Because of the sorrowful nature of the holiday, many choose to sit low to the ground and also to refrain from greeting one another joyfully. So, if you see Rabbi Arnow or me on Tisha b'Av and we don't greet you warmly, I apologize in advance.
The fast for Tisha b'Av begins at 7:58 pm on Wednesday, July 29. At 8:30 pm, we will gather together for Ma'ariv, which will include the reading of Megillat Eicha, the Book of Lamentations, as well as a little bit of learning. On Thursday morning, services for Tisha b'Av will begin at 7:00 am. Mincha for Tisha b'Av will be at 6:00 pm. The fast ends at 8:58 pm.
We continue to have many fantastic ways to connect throughout our Kol Rinah community. All the links for minyanim, programs, and learning opportunities can be found below.
This afternoon, at 12:00 pm, I will be leading his weekly Torah Talk focused on Parashat Devarim, this week's Torah portion, the upcoming holiday of Tisha B'Av and how it relates to us differently this year than ever before. Tonight, mincha and Kabbalat Shabbat begin at 6:00 pm. Candle lighting this evening begins Shabbat tonight at 8:01pm. Havdallah on Saturday night will be at 9:04 pm.
On Sunday, July 26 we have two amazing programs. Our own Melissa Bellows will continue leading a Havdallah program and gathering for families beginning at 10:00 AM. It has been an amazing community building slice of fun for all and we hope you can attend.
Click Here To Register
In addition, at 11:30 am, Rabbi Arnow will be teaching another session on Halakhah in the Time of COVID-19, which will focus on streaming, video, and use of electronic devices on Shabbat. It should be a wonderful (and extremely timely) learning session for the entire community.
And now, for a little Torah...
This week begins Sefer Devarim (The Book of Deuteronomy), literally the Book of Words. Ironically, a new set of words appears in this week's Torah portion for the very first time (Deut. 1:1) :
אֵ֣לֶּה הַדְּבָרִ֗ים אֲשֶׁ֨ר דִּבֶּ֤ר מֹשֶׁה֙ אֶל־כָּל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל בְּעֵ֖בֶר הַיַּרְדֵּ֑ן
These are the words that Moses addressed to all Israel on the other side of the Jordan.
Blink, and you might miss it. Up until this point, when the collective Jewish People were being addressed, they were called B'nai Yisrael (The Children of Israel) or Adat Yisrael (The Assembly of Israel) or another synonym.
The Kli Yakar, Rabbi Shlomo Ephraim Luntschitz, the 17th Century Rabbi of Prague notes that this new status for the Jewish People is not accidental, but rather a statement of their changing status. In Egypt, we were a loose assemblage of families oppressed into slavery. In the wilderness, we formed tribes, raised leaders, and learned how to build a common future together. In the Land of Israel, we became a nation, one people united in a shared faith, with shared goals, and a vision of a just world coming into fruition.
It is only when we join together to support one another that we can truly become one people. Despite our different backgrounds, families, languages, opinions, identities, or experiences, it is our shared culture as Jews, Americans, and human beings that makes us all a part of the same people. Just as the Jewish People wandered a winding path through the dangerous terrain of the Sinai wilderness and came out into the Promised Land, so too do I believe that we can help one another see our way through the many trials we face today and immerge into a better world.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Shafrin
Thu, April 18 2024
10 Nisan 5784
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Thu, April 18 2024 10 Nisan 5784