The Girl in the Red Coat

Except for one girl's red coat depicted in a scene taking place in the Krakow Ghetto, and the opening and closing scenes in Steven Spielberg’s 1994 Academy Award winning “Schindler’s…

Read More

The Girl in the Red Coat

Aside from the opening and closing scenes in Stephen Spielberg’s 1993 Academy Award winning “Schindler’s List,” the entire movie was presented in black and white, except for one girl’s…

Read More

Boy or Girl

In Leviticus 12, God commands Moses to tell the Israelites that when a woman bears a son she is considered to be niddah (state of marital separation when a woman has her menstrual cycle)…

Read More

Girl Power

When congratulating someone on the birth of a daughter, say more than mazal tov. Give the parents a blessing that they should succeed in raising her to a life full of Torah and good…

Read More

Vayishlach 5770-2009

"The Rape of Dinah: Impossible to Fathom!" by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Vayishlach, we learn of the brutal abduction and rape of Jacob's daughter, Dinah. The…

Read More

Celebrating a Daughter

On his 8th day of life, a baby boy has his brit milah (circumcision) and is given a Jewish name. But how do Jews celebrate the birth of a girl? While there are no mandatory…

Read More

Coming of Age

The assumption that every Jewish adult has had a Bar/Bat Mitzvah celebration is presumptuous. The assumption that every Jewish adult (other than a convert) has become a Bar/Bat Mitzvah is…

Read More

Celebrating A Daughter

On his 8th day of life, a baby boy has his brit mila (circumcision) and is given a Jewish name. But how do Jews celebrate the birth of a girl? While there are no mandatory rituals in…

Read More

Chayei Sara 5767-2006

"A Match Made in Haran" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Chayei Sarah, we read of Abraham's determined efforts to find a wife for his beloved son Isaac, by…

Read More