The Passover Story in Brief

On Passover, we commemorate the exodus from Egyptian slavery. The following is a brief summary: Jacob’s family came to Egypt to escape a famine in Canaan. Joseph, Jacob’s son and the…

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Prepare for the Final Celebratory Meal of Passover

The seventh day of Passover, which begins tonight, recalls the splitting of the Sea of Reeds and the Shira (Song of Crossing the Sea), which is tomorrow’s Torah reading. We will read Shir…

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What’s the Complaint?

People always like to complain. It is a fact. Sometimes they have legitimate complaints and sometimes they don’t. Suffice it to say, however, that most often the reaction to the complaint…

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Ein Gedi

No tour of Israel can be complete without a visit to the Judean desert. Aside from climbing the famed fortress of Masada, you can actually float in the Dead Sea, the lowest spot on earth,…

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Passover Story in Brief

On Passover, we commemorate the exodus from Egyptian slavery. The following is a brief summary: Jacob’s family came to Egypt to escape a famine in Canaan. Joseph, Jacob’s son and the…

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Bo 5773-2013

"Interfacing with the Non-Jewish World" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Bo, we read of the last three plagues--locusts, darkness and the death of the…

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Bo 5770-2010

"Finding Favor in the Eyes of the Egyptians" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Bo, the ninth plague, darkness, strikes. In response to the plague, Pharaoh…

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Bo 5780-2020

“Rational Love and Emotional Love: A Lesson from Tefillin” (revised and updated from Bo 5760-2000)   by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Bo, we read about…

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Vayeira 5777-2016

“There is But No Fear of G-d in this Place” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Vayeira, Abraham relives the trauma of his wife’s abduction in Egypt when he…

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Parasha of the Month

This Shabbat is Parashat HaChodesh, the Sabbath of “The Month.” The Torah portion that is read as the Maftir (additional reading) after the conclusion of the reading…

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