Smashing the Tablets
The sages declare that five tragedies occurred on the Seventeenth of Tammuz, which is why the day is observed as a fast day. Days of what we might now call "bad karma" (on which bad…
Bamidbar 5763-2003
"The Role of the Levites, and the Service of Yeshiva students in the Israeli Army" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week we begin to study the fourth book of the Torah, Sefer Bamidbar,…
Chukat-Balak 5762-2002
"The Paradox of the Red Heifer" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In Parashat Chukat, the first of this coming week's double Torah portion, Chukat-Balak, we learn of the inscrutable law of the…
Matot 5765-2005
"Love of G-d Trumps Lust for Life" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Matot, G-d speaks to Moses and tells him (Numbers 31:2): "N'kom nik'mat b'nay Yisrael…
Chukat 5772-2012
"It is a Decree Before Me–-You Have No Right to Question It!" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Chukat, we encounter one of the most enigmatic laws of the…
B’ha’alot’cha 5773-2013
"Contemporary Implications of Ancient Rebellions" by Rabbi Ephaim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat B’ha’alot’cha, we read of two egregious rebellions that occurred on the…
Yitro 5776-2016
“Apparently, Not All Converts are Created Equal” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Yitro, Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, arrives in the wilderness to join Moses…
Kee Tisah 5776-2016
“Moses Pleads on Behalf of the People of Israel” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Kee Tisah, features the infamous sin of the Golden Calf. The Al-mighty…
Rosh Hashana,Weekly Message,Nitzavim
Nitzavim-Rosh Hashana 5776/5777-2016
“Israel’s Charge to Impact on the World” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Nitzavim, Moses, on the last day of his life, renews the Covenant of G-d with His…
B’shalach 5778-2018
“The Exalted Spirituality of Miriam the Prophetess” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat B’shalach, the long-awaited redemption of the Jewish people from…