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…
Toledot 5767-2006
"The Unanswered Prayer" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week's parasha, parashat Toledot, focuses on the life of the patriarch Isaac and his relationships with his wife, Rebecca and his…
Rosh Hashana 5781-2020
“A Message for the High Holy Days: ‘Export, Export!’” (updated and revised from Rosh Hashana 5763-2002) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Beginning this Friday evening,…
Is Chanukah Really Eight Days?
Tonight is the eighth night of Chanukah, known as “Zot Chanukah,” a reference to the Torah portion that is read on the eighth day of Chanukah. Chanukah is set apart as an eight-day…
Happy Birthday Birkat Hamazon
The Torah (Exodus 16:1) reports that the Children of Israel arrived at the Wilderness of Sin on the 15th of the Hebrew month of Iyar, approximately one month after the exodus from Egypt.…
Bo 5781-2021
“The Slave Mentality” (updated and revised from Bo 5761–2001) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Bo, concludes the Torah’s narrative of parashat Va’eira, of the…
Belarus, China, Jerusalem and Brooklyn: The Odyssey of the World’s Largest Yeshiva
For 125 years, from 1814 until 1939, the Mir Yeshiva served as a beacon of elite Torah study on the European continent. Situated in the small town of Mir in Belarus, the yeshiva was…
A Jar of Manna
As discussed in this coming week’s Torah Portion, parashat B’shalach, while the Israelites wandered in the wilderness, there were few things more miraculous than the manna, the food from…
Passover I 5782-2022
“Chametz, Matzah and Faith in Redemption” (Updated and revised from Passover 5763-2003) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week, the regular Torah portion is preempted by the upcoming…
Seven Days to the Sea
The Passover celebration lasts seven days in Israel and eight days, outside of Israel. (For more information as to why, please click here). The first day (and second, outside of Israel)…