Temple Avodat Shalom

I.      Prayers for Peace @ TAS - Tuesday, July 15 @ 8 PM

Temple Avodat Shalom will partner with the Glen Rock Jewish Center for a special evening of songs, reflections and prayers for peace in Israel.  Rabbi Tow, rabbi of the Glen Rock Jewish Center has recently returned from two weeks in Israel.  Rabbis Tow and Jacobson will address both communities.

Tuesday also marks the 17th of Tammuz in the Jewish calendar, a day in which several calamities befell the Jewish people.  Most notably, on this date in 70 CE, the Romans breached the walls of Jerusalem, leading three weeks later on the 9th of Av (Tisha b'Av), to the destruction of the Second Temple and the scattering of the Jewish people from Israel until the twentieth century.  For this reason and others, the 17th of Tammuz has come to be observed as a minor fast day, with observers of the fast abstaining from food and water from before sunrise until after nightfall. 

It is fitting that we will join together with members of the Glen Rock Jewish Center on Tuesday night, marking the conclusion of the 17th of Tammuz.  In ancient times, at moments of great trauma for our people, such as a prolonged drought, it was also a known practice for rabbinic authorities to decree a public fast, and institute additional services in the synagogue to allow for greater introspection and reflection. With the ongoing crisis in Israel, we encourage our members to treat Tuesday as a day of increased introspection and reflection and join us for services at 8 pm.  For those who wish to fast and use their fast as a measure of solidarity with other Jews in Israel and throughout the world, the fast begins at 4:25 AM and concludes at 9:03 PM.