Is It Good To Be The King?

Parashat Shoftim addresses many issues, among them the Jewish jurisprudential system, false prophets and the Arei Miklat, cities of refuge. The guidelines for the appointment of a future…

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Is It Good To Be The King?

Parashat Shoftim, this week’s Torah portion, addresses many issues, among them the Jewish jurisprudential system, false prophets, and the Arei Miklat, cities of refuge. The guidelines for…

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Yom Kippur-The Day

Yom Kippur - The Day Table of Contents Customs and Laws Yom Kippur Prayers Focusing on Vidui Afternoon Service Yizkor…

Va’etchanan 5766-2006

"A Small Verse that Started a Mighty Revolution" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Some weekly Torah portions are considered particularly significant by virtue of the large number of mitzvot…

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Va’etchanan 5771-2011

"The Ten Commandments: The Differences" By Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Va’etchanan, Moses revisits the scriptural verses known as the "Decalogue" or the Ten…

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Kee Tavo 5765-2005

"Contemporary Implications of an Ancient Ritual" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In our analysis of parashat Kee Tavo for 2003/5763, we reviewed the message of the extraordinary confession…

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Duties of the Heart

The concept of “being spiritual” is often assumed to be a fairly recent one, resulting, perhaps, from the enlightenment’s deconstruction of organized religion.  The idea of…

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Discover The Backstory

When reading the Torah narratives, remember that the Written Torah contains basic information, but Oral Torah highlights the character development.

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Bamidbar 5782-2022

“The Role of the Levites, and the Service of Yeshiva Students in the Israeli Army.” (updated and revised from Bamidbar 5763-2003) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week, we begin to…

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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,…

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