Hineh mah tov umah na'im shevet achim gam yachad!
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for people to dwell together in unity! (Psalm 133:1)

In the Jewish world, countless services and lifecycle events open with this verse, attributed to King David.

What do we read when there are no good words? As I thought about the text to teach following the tragedy at Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston, my mind fixed on the nine murdered. Murdered in their church, a holy sanctuary of God.

On this holiday weekend, due to a confluence of special days — Independence Day, the 17th of Tammuz and Shabbat — American Jews will have the opportunity to both celebrate our religious freedom and retrace what we did when it was threatened.

The 17th of

Throughout Jewish history, the three weeks before Tishah B’Av have been mournful, even dark. The Babylonian Talmud (Yoma 9b) explains that the Second Temple was destroyed because of “baseless hatred” (sinat chinam).

Quite often, I remember my great bobe and zayde (grandma and grandpa) and the little village in Belarus they left to make a life here.

On Tishah B'Av, we bear witness for people around the world who suffer destruction and exile, knowing that return, recognition, and redemption are possible. But we don't stop with remembrance. We must also take action.

As I watched Israel's Iron Dome intercept a Hamas rocket, I began to get some insight into why we mourn on the Ninth of Av.

Yesterday began the three-week period leading up to Tishah B’Av (August 4-5 this year), the darkest, saddest day on the Jewish calendar.

Last night, for the first time ever, I attended a Tishah B’Av study session – a joint venture between my own Temple Shaaray Tefila and Or Olam - The East 55th Street Synagogue, a neighboring Conservative congregation. Bookended by the singing of Hashiveinu,