Matot-Masei 5780-2020

“Setting Our Priorities Straight” (updated and revised from Parashiot Matot-Masei 5761-2001) This coming Shabbat, the double parashiot, Matot and Masei, will be read in synagogues…

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Acharei Mot-Kedoshim 5767-2007

"Beards and Payos" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In the second of this week's double parashiot, Acharei Mot-Kedoshim, instructions are given regarding "kosher barbering etiquette": the…

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Nitzavim-Vayeilech 5767-2007

"The Choosing People" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald It surely cannot be mere coincidence that parashiot Nitzavim and Vayeilech are always read in the weeks that immediately precede or…

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Chayei Sarah 5770-2009

"The Willing Bride" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Chayei Sarah, the wondrous story unfolds of Rebecca's selection to be the wife of Isaac and, ultimately,…

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Balak 5771-2011

"Taking the Law Into One’s Own Hand" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald At the conclusion of this week’s parasha, parashat Balak, we learn that after Bilaam’s failed attempts to curse the…

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Professional Proofers

Jewish life centers around the Torah, which, for thousands of years, has been transmitted from generation to generation. With such an extended chain of transmission, it has often been…

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Clothing Makes The Man – Clothing Makes The Woman

Although it is often noted that traditional Jews dress differently than members of their  surrounding culture (particularly members of the Chassidic communities), there is not much…

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Hey Handsome

Religion is about spirituality, morals and becoming a better person. One might, therefore, assume that physical beauty is beyond the Torah’s spectrum of interest. But the Torah makes a…

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Thoughts on Shevat

Although the Torah implies that Abraham and his descendants are removed from the fate of the stars (based on Genesis 15:5, Nedarim 32a) - meaning that their personal destinies are not…

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The Ban on Philosophy

Rabbi Shlomo ben Aderet (a.k.a. the Rashba 1235-1310) was born in an age of controversy. The Jewish world was still unsettled over the first blend of “philosophy and Torah” produced by…

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