Simchat Torah 5784-2023
“The Evolving Holiday” (updated and revised from Simchat Torah 5767-2006) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald The festival of Simchat Torah is one of the most joyous on the Jewish calendar. In…
Torah, To What Can I Compare Thee?
Various biblical verses and rabbinic texts often compare the Torah to different natural resources, in order to teach us about the greatness of the Torah in terms that can be more readily…
Simchat Torah 5781-2020
“Celebrating Torah” (Updated and revised from Simchat Torah 5764-2003) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Because of the festivals of Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, we do not read…
From Bandit to Scholar
Few people famous for their Torah learning have as colorful a background as Rabbi Simon ben Lakish, who is frequently referred to in rabbinic literature as “Reish Lakish.” Before…
A Lost Language of Scholarship
When most people think about Jewish language they think of Hebrew or Yiddish, and sometimes of Ladino. In honor of UN Arabic Language Day, Jewish Treats would like to recognize the…
A Modern Scholar
Respected Biblical commentators are rarely university professors or radio personalities. Even less common is for them to be female. And while her credentials were certainly not the norm,…
A Man of Torah, A Man of Science
Perhaps you’ve heard of Maimonides (Rabbi Moses ben Maimon, Rambam) and Nachmanides (Rabbi Moses ben Nachman, Ramban), two medieval scholars whose works are quoted frequently even today.…
How Pirates Spread Torah
From the 6th to the 11th century, the center of Jewish life was in Babylon under Persian rule. The Jewish community was headed politically by the Exilarch and religiously by a sage known…
Torah, To What Can I Compare Thee?
Various biblical verses and rabbinic texts compare the Torah to different natural resources to teach us about the greatness of the Torah in terms that can be readily understood. After…
Simchat Torah 5767-2006
"The Evolving Holiday" by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald The festival of Simchat Torah is one of the most joyous of the Jewish calendar. In Israel, following the conclusion of the festival of…