Rabbi Zehavi’s Message… Diving into the Tradition
Tish’ah be-Av and Yom Kippur: Two Very Different Fasts
Perhaps because it falls in the middle of summer, or because its content is upsetting, Tish’ah be-Av is frequently overlooked by non-Orthodox Jewish communities in the US. Aside from Yom Kippur, Tish’ah be-Av is the most significant fast day on the Jewish calendar. It marks the destruction of both temples, the first by the Babylonians in 586 BCE and the second by the Romans in 70 CE. These were cataclysmic events which accompanied the decimation of Jerusalem, loss of the spiritual, cultural, political, and economic center of the Jewish people, and much loss of life. Many other tragedies are also tied to this day, including the final massacre of the Bar Kokhva revolt against Rome in 133 CE, the First Crusade in 1095 CE, the 1290 expulsion from England, and the Spanish expulsion in 1492 CE. For all of these reasons, Tish’ah be-Av became the central day of mourning for the tragedies of Jewish history.
Rabbis in the Talmud provide various theories for the destruction of the First and Second Temple. All connect the destruction to sins of the Jewish people, most famously “sin-at hinam”, senseless hatred. (Yoma 9a-b) Though these may have been theological more than historical arguments, Tish’ah be-Av became an occasion to mourn not just misfortune but the consequences of our wrongdoing. It is a time to take stock of the ways that misguided action and loss of values lead to the unravelling of a society.
So, on the one hand, our two major fast days are quite connected. Tish’ah be-Av reminds us of the potential costs of collective wrongdoing. Yom Kippur is a day to atone. Tish’ah be-Av is followed by six weeks during which we read the prophets’ words of comfort after the destruction of the First Temple. These lead right into selihot, the services of confession and apology that precede Rosh haShannah and continue until Yom Kippur. Tish’ah be-Av thus pivots us into an extended season of repentance.
Nevertheless, Tish’ah be-Av and Yom Kippur are very different types of fasts. Nothing can symbolize this better than their opposite pre-fast meals. Before Tish’ah be-Av, it is customary to eat lentils and eggs (or even bread dipped in ashes), foods deemed appropriate for mourners. (Shulhan ‘Arukh, Orah Hayim 552:5) However, before Yom Kippur we actually feast and eat more than we are accustomed. (Yoma 81b) Why this difference? Because only Tish’ah be-Av is a day of mourning. Yom Kippur is a day of possibility. If on the former we try to bring our awareness to brokenness and our own complicity in the tragedies of this world, on the latter we embrace God’s boundless compassion and the enduring opportunity to return ourselves and our society to wholeness. Yom Kippur is certainly a day of solemnity and intense spiritual focus, but it is not characterized by sadness and mourning. Rather, it is a time of expansive hope.
May we all take this opportunity to deeply confront our failings and may that bring awareness of a brighter and more expansive future than we thought possible.
In blessing,
Rabbi Zehavi
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Congregation Agudat Achim welcomes Sarah Jane Acheson as the synagogue’s new office manager
While she is getting to know everyone, please check that your Yahrzeit donations are labeled so she knows in whose memory they are intended. Thank you very much!
(If Sarah Jane is too much of a mouthful, S.J. is also good!)
Please note that we have a new office email
please direct all emails to the new address
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Service Times:
Fridays: 6:30pm**
Saturdays: 9:30am
Thursdays: 7:15 Morning Minyan
**PLEASE NOTE:
Starting August 3,
start time for Friday services
will change to 6:00pm
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Shabbat Candle Lighting Times
Friday, July 6 – 8:05pm
Friday, July 13 – 8:02pm
Friday, July 20 – 7:57pm
Friday, July 27 – 7:50pm
Friday, Aug 3 – 7:42pm
Friday, Aug 10 – 7:33pm
Friday, Aug 17 – 7:23pm
Friday, Aug 24 – 7:12pm
Friday, Aug 31 – 7:01pm
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Worship Committee will meet July 26 and Aug 28
Any interested members are encouraged to attend
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Happy Birthday to:
Nadiv Zehavi, Boaz Zehavi, Juliet Randell, Daniel Alpert, Samuel Alpert, Owen Clements, and Erez Cohen
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Mazel Tov from your friends at Agudat Achim:
- Jonathan Heimberg on his graduation from Mt. Ida College
- Shari Davis and Michael Wilmot on their upcoming marriage
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Do you have a child who will be entering kindergarten in September?
If so, please contact the synagogue for religious school registration.
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Reminder to send back your L’Shana Tova forms. Help keep Sarah Jane from making calls!
The L’Shana Tova membership book is one of the few fundraisers we have during the year.
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Our new executive board members are:
Scott Zibel, President
Richard Cohen, 1st V.P.
Rachel A. Carter, 2nd V.P.
David Fisher, Treasurer
Francine Farb, Secretary
Please welcome our new board members
Rebekah Stevens, Alana Clements, and Lisa Bateman
We would like to thank our past board members
Steve Weedon and Sheila Dansky
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**Please note: There will be no Bulletin next month. Next bulletin will be end of August.
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The Night of Tish’ah be-Av
Please join us after Shabbat for havdalah, a short evening service, and the reading of Lamentations,
a book of biblical poetry describing the destruction of the First Temple and Jerusalem.
9:00pm Saturday July 20 at the Zehavi residence, 225 Arlington St.
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CALENDAR FOR JULY 2018
Friday, July 6: Kabbalat Shabbat Service 6:30pm
Saturday, July 7: Shabbat Service 9:30am
Friday, July 13: Kabbalat Shabbat Service 6:30pm
Saturday, July 14: Shabbat Service 9:30am
Thursday, July 19: Morning Minyan 7:15am
Friday, July 20: Kabbalat Shabbat Service 6:30pm
Havdalah and reading of Lamentations 9:00pm at the Zehavi residence, 225 Arlington St.
Saturday, July 21: Shabbat Service 9:30am
Thursday, July 26: Morning Minyan 7:15am
Worship Committee meeting 7:00pm
Friday, July 27: Kabbalat Shabbat Service 6:30pm
Saturday, July 28: Shabbat Service 9:30am
CALENDAR FOR AUGUST 2018
**please note Friday services will now begin at 6:00pm starting Aug 3**
Thursday, Aug 2: Morning Minyan 7:15am
Friday, Aug 3: Kabbalat Shabbat Service 6:00pm
Saturday, Aug 4: Shabbat Service 9:30am
Thursday, Aug 9: Morning Minyan 7:15am
Friday, Aug 10: Kabbalat Shabbat Service 6:00pm
Saturday, Aug 11: Shabbat Service 9:30am
Monday, Aug 13: Exec. Board Meeting 7:00pm
Board Meeting 7:30pm
Thursday, Aug 16: Morning Minyan 7:15am
Friday, Aug 17: Kabbalat Shabbat Service 6:00pm
Saturday, Aug 18: Shabbat Service 9:30am
Thursday, Aug 23: Morning Minyan 7:15am
Friday, Aug 24: Kabbalat Shabbat Service 6:00pm
Saturday, Aug 25: Shabbat Service 9:30am
Tuesday, Aug 28: Worship Committee meeting 7:00pm
Thursday, Aug 30: Morning Minyan 7:15am
Friday, Aug 31: Kabbalat Shabbat Service 6:00pm
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Don’t miss the deadline….
L’Shana Tova listings
must be sent back to CAA by July 20th.
If you would prefer, call and speak with
Sarah Jane at 978-534-6121
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“Yahrzeits for July & August 2018”
July 1 – 9: Nicola Angelini, Lena Zelda Caplan, David Goldberg, Nathan Goldstein, Benjamin Jaffe, Fay Lazarowitz, Herman I. Levin, Tena Lipkind, Abraham Possick, Minnie Rosenberg, David Schwartz, Benjamin Smith, Grace Sterling, Herbert Tieger, Irwin and Margot Weinbaum, Phillip Weisberg, Maxwell Zide
July 10 – 16: Louis Alintuck, Mae Benson, Esther Brotheim, Herman Cofman, Israel Dansky, Lena Davis, Minnie (Faulk) Epstein, Irving Finestone, Lena Flaum, Gertrude Goldman, Hans Hess, Sara Kane, Doris Levine, Herman Mand, Bud Marcus, Nathan Miller, Abraham Ogowetsky, Rose Rebecca Primack, Rose Rosenbaum, Dora Rothstein, Klem Rubinstein, Marcia Rubinstein, Judith Siel, Seymour Silberberg, Gladys Solomon, Deborah Steinberg, Sophie Szyszko, Alvan Tall, Leon Weiner
July 17 – 23: Harry Baylin, Elizabeth Bernstein, Shirley Billet, Lena Cohen, Jack Fashing, Martin Feldman, Lewis Green, Frank Gotthelf, David Malchman, Benjamin Novick, Lewis Rome, Phillip Rome, Morris Rosenberg, Leah Rubin, Fannie Sarkin, Alice Annie Wagner, Rebecca Weiner
July 24 – 31: Kenneth Alpert, Ida Brodsky, Herman Claman, Ella Wieder Freilich, Max Garber, Morris Geiger, Dora Gibber, Michael Green, Bella Gross, Paul Gross, Goldie Kline, Betty Leonard, Sadye Rome Mason, Edward Medoff, William Miller, Minnie Press, Margery Gould Rath, Lloyd Sager, Phyllis Sarafconn, Celia Solomon, Barry Stern, Anne Tater, Lee R. Uditsky
August 1 – 9: Herman Aronson, Rachel Bever, Hattie Casper, Henrietta Cofman, Valerie Cohen, Matthew Faberman, Robert Goldman, William Garbose, Sarah Schwartzberg Joseph, Rabbi Harry Katzen, Harold Klein, John Macpherson, Belle Margolin, Julius Miller, Taube Long, Harriette Rome, George Ross, Martha Sager, Molly Schatz, Hanna Schlosberg, Samuel Stevens, Martha Winthrop, Helen Zide
August 10 – 16: Rose Chitoff, Gladys Guethlen, Irwin Hirschfield, Irving Rome, Oscar Rome, Judy Stern, Adele Zibel
August 17 – 23: Max Alintuck, Louis Bolinsky, Harry Brodsky, Joseph Crocker, Grace Feinberg, Benjamin Fiegar, Gladys Hirsh Finkelstein, Joan Gottsegen, Phillip Horwitch, Morris Kopelman, Bernard Korn, Gertrude Kreiger, A. Orin Leonard, Josephine Levin, Dorothy Ozer, Julius Perlstein, Julia Rome, Hyman Sandrof, Charles Shapiro
August 24 – 31: Peter Aranson, Irwin Billet, Eddie Cohen, Eva Cohen, Fannie Cohen, Meyer Cohen, Rose Cohen, Jacob Austin Cohen, Marilyn Fields, Herman Freed, Abraham Goldfarb, Mordecai Goodstein, Peg Griffin, Pearl Hess, Abraham Klein, Etta Linsky, Morris Lowis, Ida Moos, Arthur Pariser, Bruce Plotnick, Frances Rottman Scharmett, Leo Shaevel, Ruth Singer, Dorothy Susman, Anna Warren, Mildred Zerinsky