If your goal is to not just observe Tisha B’Av but grow from it, the shuls and yeshivot in Edison and Highland Park are offering a variety of opportunities for adults and children to thoughtfully reflect on the messages of the day.
On Thursday night, August 8, at 9:15 p.m., the assistant rabbi of Congregation Ohr Torah in Edison, Rabbi Sariel Malitzky, will offer a shiur at the shul on “How to actually make Tisha B’Av a meaningful day.” This shiur is sponsored by Didi Deitcher and Dave Mattew in memory of Didi’s father, Rabbi Joseph Deitcher zt”l, and refreshments will be provided.
On Tisha B’Av night (Motzei Shabbat, Aug 10), at the conclusion of the reading of Eicha (approximately 10 p.m.), Rabbi Steven Miodownik will present a shiur at Congregation Ahavas Achim in Highland Park on “Tisha B’Av and the Chevron Massacre: In commemoration of the 90th anniversary of the 1929 pogrom.”
Teens are welcome to a Teen Leil Tisha B’Av, also on Motzei Shabbat, Aug 10, starting at 9:10 p.m. at Congregation Ahavas Achim. The event will start with Maariv and continue with Eicha and Kinot led by shul’s youth director, Kivi Neuman.
On Tisha B’Av day (Sunday, Aug 11), Rabbi Eliyahu Kaufman of Congregation Ohav Emeth will share an explanation of the Kinot and the Gemara on Churban HaBayit, at the shul. This program will be held as part of the 8:30 a.m. Shacharit minyan and will start at approximately 9:15 a.m., running until noon.
On Tisha B’Av day, Rabbi Pesach Raymon Yeshiva (RPRY) invites members of the community to a screening of the 2018 Names Not Numbers© video, researched, filmed, edited and produced by members of that year’s eighth grade class. The screening will be held at 2:30 p.m. at Congregation Ahavas Achim, after the 2 p.m. Mincha minyan. The Names Not Numbers© film interweaves conversations with Holocaust survivors from Middlesex County with reflections of the students who conducted the interviews.
Congregation Ohav Emeth will hold screenings of the Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation’s two Tisha B’Av 5779 videos on the theme of Love Your Fellow Like Yourself. The shul will screen Program A, featuring talks by HaRov Yitzchok Sorotzkin, Rabbi Fishel Schachter and Rabbi Ephraim Shapiro, at 2:30 p.m. Program B, featuring talks by Rabbi Moshe Weinberger and Rabbi Zecharia Wallerstein, will be screened at 4:30 p.m. The Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation requests an admission fee of $18 per adult and $13 per child.
Congregation Ohr Torah will hold screenings of the two films at 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
On Tisha B’Av day, Congregation Ohr Torah will also hold a Tisha B’Av Youth Event for children in kindergarten through 5th grade from 1-4 p.m. The children will be served lunch and watch a video program for children prepared by the Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation, followed by Israel-themed arts and crafts. The cost is $20 per child, two for $35, and three for $50 ($50 max per family). Advance reservations are requested by sending an email to [email protected].
Congregation Ahavas Achim will hold a Tisha B’Av day youth program for children in kindergarten through second grade, featuring Tisha B’Av-themed art projects and stories, starting at 2:30 p.m. The program will be led by youth director Chani Neuman. The shul will also host Kinot for Kids, for children in grades 3-6, starting at 2:30 p.m. The program will feature age-appropriate lessons, stories and songs. Both youth programs are dedicated by Leila Guzman and family in memory of Erez Guzman.
By Harry Glazer
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