Terumah 5775-2015

“The Sanctity of the Synagogue” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Terumah, is the first of a series of parashiot that deal with the creation, erecting and…

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Miracles in the Holy Temple

As we prepare to celebrate Yom Yerushalayim, Jerusalem Day, on Monday, May 10th, take the opportunity to print out before Shabbat the 5th chapter of Pirkei Avot, Ethics of the Fathers,…

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Tetzaveh 5780-2020

“The True Story of Purim” (updated and revised from Tetzaveh 5761-2001)   by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This coming week’s parasha, parashat Tetzaveh, speaks of the fashioning of the…

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Metzorah 5779-2019

“The Ultimate Value and Sanctity of Human Life in Judaism” (Revised and updated from Metzorah 5760-2000) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Metzorah, continues the…

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Tetzaveh 5779-2019

“Clothes: A Reflection of the Divine Image” (Revised and updated from Tetzaveh 5760-2000) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this coming week’s parasha, Parashat Tetzaveh, we read of the…

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Terumah 5779-2019

“The Mishkan: Underscoring the Centrality of the Home in Jewish Life” (Revised and updated from Terumah 5760-2000) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this coming week’s parasha, parashat…

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Pekudei 5776-2016

“The Mishkan--the Tabernacle, as Collateral” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Pekudei, opens with a reckoning and accounting of all the precious materials that…

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The Second Uprising

History is a study in cause and effect. On the 9th of Av (Saturday, July 25. Fast observed on Sunday, July 26), the Jewish people mourn two additional tragic events that…

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Bamidbar 5775-2015

“Finding Value in Every Task” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Bamidbar, the Torah describes the structure and layout of the camp of Israel in the wilderness.…

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A House Unfinished

The Hebrew name for the Holy Temple is the Beit Hamikdash, the House of Holiness, a term that invokes a warm sentiment of a place where one is at home. It is therefore, perhaps,…

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