Inside or Outside?

Seder night is an event pregnant with tradition and ritual. As the Hagaddah instructs, “we are obligated to see ourselves as if we ourselves were slaves in Egypt.” So much of the Seder…

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Outside Rest

If the weather is pleasant where you live, spend part of Shabbat day outside enjoying the miracles of God's natural world.

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Purim Story 2.0: the First Jewish Defense Outside of Israel

The Scriptural story how Queen Esther saved the Jews of the Persian Empire is one of the greatest and most exciting stories ever told. Jews worldwide celebrate the festival of Purim…

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Opulent on the Outside Only

Dressed in fancy clothes with silver buttons and a hat of golden fur, Rabbi Israel Friedman (1797-1850) of Rhuzin was a unique figure among the chassidic leaders. He surrounded himself…

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Kee Tavo 5767-2007

"Can the Promise of G-d Keep the People Holy?" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Parashat Kee Tavo is one of the two parashiot in the Torah that features the Tochacha, the terrifying…

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Pinchas 5765-2005

"Whatever Became of the Sons of Korach?" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week's parasha, parashat Pinchas, opens with the conclusion of the well-known act of zealotry perpetrated by…

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Tetzaveh 5765-2005

"A Flame in Every Jewish Heart" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This coming week's parasha, parashat Tetzaveh, focuses primarily on the design and manufacture of the priestly vestments. The…

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Behar-Bechukotai, Yom Yerushalayim 5772-2012

"Living Outside the Land of Israel" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In parashat Behar, the first of this week’s double parashiot, Behar-Bechukotai, we learn of the special relationship that…

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Tetzaveh 5784-2024

“A Flame in Every Jewish Heart" (updated and revised from Tetzaveh 5765-2005) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Tetzaveh, focuses primarily on the design and…

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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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