Wearing Tzitzit
There is more than meets the eye. Study the Torah portion and its commentaries to learn the deeper meaning and significance of tzitzit. While the Torah admonishes a person in this week’s…
Shoftim 5784-2024
“The Extent of Rabbinic Authority” (updated and revised from Shoftim 5765-2005) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Shoftim, 41 new Torah laws, are…
Fashion Statement
In Numbers 15:38, God commands the Jewish people to “make themselves tzitzit on the corners of their garments, throughout their generations.” Additionally, it is written in Deuteronomy…
Korach 5782-2022
“Korach’s Rebellion: Why is the Jewish Community Losing So Many of its Best and Brightest?” (updated and revised from Korach 5763-2003) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha,…
Sukkot 5782-2021
“A Sukkah Memory” (updated and revised from Sukkot 5763-2002) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Growing up as one of the few religious Yeshiva students in the East Bronx in the early 1950s was…
Korach 5781-2021
Korach 5781-2021 “The Origin of the ‘Big Lie’” (updated and revised from Korach 5762-2002) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s Torah portion, parashat Korach, we read of Korach…
No Strings Attached
Deuteronomy 16:18 states: "...You shall not take a bribe, for bribery blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts just words." Although this statement of Jewish law is written in…
Of Shamrocks, Snails and Survivors: the life of Rabbi Isaac Herzog
Rabbi Isaac Herzog, the State of Israel’s first Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi, passed away, at age 70, on this date - the 19th of Tammuz – sixty years ago, in 1959, corresponding to July 25th.…
Shelach 5779-2019
"Finding Meaning in the Rituals" (Revised and updated from Shelach 5760-2000) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Shelach, concludes with the well-known…
Kee Teitzei 5778-2018
"The Impact of Performing Mitzvot" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Kee Teitzei, has more mitzvot than any other parasha in the Torah, featuring a total of 74…