An Eye For Civil Law
You’ve heard the phrase “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand...” And you’ve likely heard frightening stories of societies in which this biblical rule is applied…
Torah, To What Can I Compare Thee?
Various biblical verses and rabbinic texts compare the Torah to different natural resources to teach us about the greatness of the Torah in terms that can be readily understood. After…
Shoftim 5764-2004
"Justice, Justice Shall You Pursue" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Parashat Shoftim--the name means "judges" or "magistrates," and this parasha deals essentially with the ethical and…
Yitro 5765-2005
"Jethro's Advice to an Overburdened Leader" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this coming week's parasha, parashat Yitro, we learn of Judaism's remarkable openness and willingness to…
Vanity of Vanities
Most people are unknowingly familiar with the beginning of the third chapter of Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) because of the 1962 hit song by The Byrds: “To everything – turn, turn, turn/There…
The Baal Shem Tov
Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer, known as the Baal Shem Tov (literally Master of the Good Name, often referred to as the BESHT), was born in 1698, in Okop (Ukraine). While there is little record…
Einstein’s Jewish Life
Albert Einstein, whose yahrzeit is the 26th of Nissan (today), is one of the most admired men in history. His name and his face are almost universally recognized, and his scientific…
Va’eira 5781-2021
“Mesmerized by the Subtle Slavery” (updated and revised from Va’eira 5761-2001) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Va’eira, G-d assures Moses that the Jewish…
Tzav 5781-2021
"Understanding Shabbat Hagadol" (updated and revised from Tzav 5762-2002) This week, we read the second parasha of the book of Leviticus, parashat Tzav. Because it immediately precedes…
A Place For the Artists
Marcel Janco, who passed away on April 21, 1984, is best known as one of the founders of the Dada movement, an avant-garde art movement of the early twentieth century that rejected…