Shabbat Chazon
This Shabbat is known as Shabbat Chazon, the Sabbath of the Vision (prophecy), named after the opening word of the Book of Isaiah, the first 27 verses of which are read as the haftarah on…
The Book of Lamentations
On Tisha b’Av, the ninth of Av, one of the ways that the Jewish people demonstrate their mourning over the loss of both Holy Temples is by refraining from Torah study that brings pleasure…
Telephone, Gramaphone, Helicopter…Emile Berliner
Emile Berliner (May 20, 1851 – August 3, 1929) came to America to avoid being drafted as a soldier in the Franco-Prussian War. A native of Hanover, Germany, Berliner had trained as a…
Mourning Jerusalem I: A Brief History of the First Temple
This coming Saturday night and Sunday, Jews the world over will be observing the fast of Tisha b’Av. It is on this day of the Hebrew calendar that the Jewish people mourn the destruction…
Learning From Prior Mistakes
Learn from the mistakes of our ancestors to gain an appreciation of the long-term implications of how our actions can impact directly upon the destiny of the Jewish people as a whole.
Devarim 5782-2022
“The Gentle Reproof” (updated and revised from Devarim 5763-2003) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week, congregations the world over finally align their Torah readings with Israel, and…
Tisha b’Av
This Saturday night at sunset, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar begins. Known as the Fast of the 9th of Av (Tisha b’Av), it’s observance this year is postponed one day because it is…
A Woman in Charge: Bessie Gotsfeld
Mizrachi Women’s Organization of America (MWOA, known today as AMIT – Americans for Israel and Torah) began as part of the religious Zionist organization known as Mizrachi of America. The…
Rashi and The Tosafot Commentaries
One of the most fascinating aspects of Jewish study are the layer-upon-layer of enlightening and edifying commentaries that can be found when studying texts of the Torah or the Talmud. Of…
The Month of Av
The months of the Jewish year are called in the Torah by number only (the first month, second month, etc.). Over time, during the exile, the months assumed the names given to them by host…