Who Was a Nazirite?
One of the topics found in Parashat Naso concerns the Nazirite. The Nazirite is a man or woman who vows to avoid the vices of wine and grape products, to avoid any contact with the dead…
Who Was a Nazirite?
One of the areas covered in Parashat Naso is about the Nazirite. This is a man or woman who opts to avoid the vices of wine and grape products, eludes any contact with the dead and does…
Naso 5779-2019
"Traditional Judaism: Fundamentalist or Ascetic" (Revised and updated from Naso 5760-2000) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Naso, we encounter the…
Naso 5769-2009
"An Extreme Lifestyle" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Naso, we encounter two particularly challenging themes. We read of the Sotah, a woman suspected of…
Tripping the Vision Impaired
Parashat Kedoshim contains a total of 51 mitzvot. One of those mitzvot pertains to the prohibition of taking advantage of the disadvantaged. “You shall not curse a deaf person and you…
Tripping the Vision Impaired
Parashat Kedoshim contains a total of 51 mitzvot. One of those mitzvot pertains to the prohibition of taking advantage of the disadvantaged. “You shall not curse a deaf person and you…
Tripping the Vision Impaired
Parashat Kedoshim, the second of the two Torah portions (Acharei Mot-Kedoshim) that will be read this Shabbat, contains a total of 51 mitzvot. One of those mitzvot pertains to the…
What’s In the Book: Judges
Once in the promised land (Book of Joshua), the Israelites formed a commonwealth of 12 tribes loosely ruled by judges and elders. After the first generation, the Israelites fell into a…
What’s In The Book: Judges
Once in the promised land (Book of Joshua), the Israelites formed a commonwealth of 12 tribes loosely ruled by judges and elders. After the first generation, the Israelites fell into a…
Naso 5760-2000
"Traditional Judaism: Fundamentalist or Ascetic" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this coming week's parasha, parashat Naso, we encounter the curious law of the Nazir, the Nazarite. In…