Yiddishisms
On November 18, 2013, NASA launched an atmospheric probe to Mars, which initiated the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution mission. Its mission was to gather data to determine why…
Can’t We Agree on the Blessings over Brit Milah?
Parashat Vayera contains the story of the circumcision of Isaac (Genesis 21:4), the first person to undergo the ritual of circumcision on the eighth day of life. At a Brit Milah, the…
Operation Magic Carpet
A decade ago, the Wall Street Journal reported on the involvement of the United States’ government in a mission that brought approximately 100 Yemenite Jews to America, a little…
Jews in the Fold
Yesterday, November 11th, was celebrated internationally as National Origami Day. Origami is a compound Japanese term: ori means folding and kami means paper. Origami was created in the…
The Story of Lenny Kravitz
On March 6, 1951, a platoon of American soldiers serving in the Korean War came under heavy fire by the Chinese Army near Yangpyong, Korea. When the platoon’s Machine Gunner was wounded,…
Vayeira 5780-2019
“The Preciousness of Hospitality” (Updated and Revised from Vayeira 5760-1999) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald As this week’s parasha, parashat Vayeira, opens, aged Abraham, 99 years old, is…
No Strings Attached
Deuteronomy 16:18 states: "...You shall not take a bribe, for bribery blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts just words." Although this statement of Jewish law is written in…
Yonah of Geronah
It is a fact of history that students have frequently been at the center of radical movements, often under the influence of a teacher or mentor. This was the case of Rabbi Yonah of…
Counting on You?
Every nation seeks to know how many citizens it has, which can also inform the nation of the quantitative strength of its armed forces. In democratic countries, counting the nation also…
The Seven Mitzvot
Jewish law places great emphasis on the way a Jew must live and the rewards for living according to Jewish law. Laws such as Shabbat and kashrut create a lifestyle in which Jews mingle…