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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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