Bo 5774-2014
“In the Blink of an Eye” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Bo, Pharaoh finally yields to the power and destruction of the Ten Plagues. Rising in the middle of…
Bereshith 5775-2014
“The Sad Destiny of the Firstborn Children” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald A prominent feature of the book of Genesis is the struggle for family leadership between the firstborn and the…
Devarim 5775-2015
“Looking Through the Pain, Toward a Bright Future” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald With this week’s parasha, parashat Devarim, we begin reading the fifth and final book of the Torah, the…
Haazinu-Sukkot 5776-2015
“The Sukkah In The Sky” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Haazinu, the penultimate parasha in the book of Deuteronomy, signals the conclusion of Moses’ departing…
Sukkot II 5777-2016
“Why is Sukkot Celebrated in the Fall rather than in the Spring?” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald The Torah, in Leviticus 23:42-43, states, בַּסֻּכֹּת תֵּשְׁבוּ שִׁבְעַת יָמִים; כָּל…
Vayechi 5777-2017
“The Passing of the Last of the Patriarchs” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Vayechi, is the final parasha of the book of Genesis. In this parasha, Jacob, the…
Sukkot 5778-2017
“Jewish Unity and the Festival of Sukkot” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Of all the Jewish holidays, the one holiday that is singled out as a “Festival of Joy” is Sukkot. As the Torah in…
The Chassidic Rebbe and His Snoopy Tie
On January 3, 2000, the final edition of the “Peanuts” comic strip appeared in the daily edition of newspapers worldwide. For the followers of Charlie Brown and his gang, it was the end…
Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah
Tonight starts the holiday of Shemini Atzeret, literally the Gathering of the Eighth, a connected, yet independent holiday, that immediately follows Sukkot.During the seven days of…
The Great Hoshana (Hoshana Rabbah)
Rosh Hashana is known as the Day of Judgment (Yom Hadin), the day on which God judges the world. Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is the day on which God finalizes His verdict on the…