Vayishlach 5781-2020

“The Proper and Improper use of Zealotry” (updated and revised from Vayishlach 2000-5761) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Vayishlach, we encounter in…

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Pidyon Ha’ben – Redeeming the Firstborn

“You must redeem the firstborn of a person…when he is one month old, for the value of five silver shekels” (Numbers 18:15-16). God sanctified the firstborn male Israelites when He…

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The Thanksgiving Synagogue Service

While Thanksgiving is most certainly an American festival of gratitude, its founders prominently articulated its religious underpinnings, which ultimately find their source in Judaism.…

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Before They Knew Viral

Martha Wollstein, whose parents were Jewish immigrants from Germany, began her medical education when she was 16 years old. The Women’s Medical Society of the State of New York was also…

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The Second President

Yitzchak Ben-Zvi, the second President of the State of Israel, was born on November 24, 1884 in Poltava, Ukraine. After participating in the Jewish self-defense units organized during the…

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The Longest 250 Miles: Sadat’s Bold Flight

Imagine America’s foremost enemy addressing a joint session of Congress? You can’t; it’s almost impossible to envision such a scenario actually taking place. But, such a miraculous event…

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First On The Court

Born in 1856, in Louisville, Kentucky, Louis Dembitz Brandeis was the child of European immigrants who maintained a minimal Jewish identity. However, his maternal uncle, Lewis Dembitz,…

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A Historical Overview of Jews in Morocco

Jews have lived in Morocco for thousands of years. Jewish nomadic tribes integrated into all aspects of Moroccan life even before the Mohammedan conquest of Morocco, which occurred in the…

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Pre and Post-Chanukah Classes and Workshops on Zoom

Pre-Chanukah Classes and Workshops on ZoomJoin NJOP for these exciting Chanukah prep classes on Zoom! Forward to a friend

A Friendly Emperor

On November 17th, in the year 331 C.E., Flavius Claudius Julianus was born. He was the son of the half-brother of Constantine, the first Roman Emperor to recognize Christianity as the…

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