The Fruit That Is Not A Fruit

Eating a healthy diet is important. In fact, it is so important that many governments allocate significant budget funds to analyze the best diets for people. The U.S. Department of…

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Are Kosher Foods Cleaner Or Healthier

Kosher food has enjoyed a reputation for being “clean” and “healthy.” Is this true? Certain standards of kosher food processing might suggest it. Consider the following: Washing - In…

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Singing About the “Woman of Valor”

Aishet Chayil, “The Woman of Valor,” which is traditionally sung at the Shabbat table on Friday nights, is actually a selection of verses from the Book of Proverbs (31:10-31) written by…

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Kee Tavo 5780-2020

“There are Stones with Human Hearts” (updated and revised from Kee Tavo 5761-2001) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Kee Tavo, Moses transmits to the Jewish…

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Symbolic Foods

Since Rosh Hashana is the Day of Judgment, it is customary to eat simanim,* foods with symbolic meanings that invoke God's blessings. We also recite a short prayer before eating them.…

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More Than A Harvest Festival

Few people refer to Sukkot by the name Chag Ha’Asif, Feast of the Ingathering, but the Torah specifically states: “And you shall observe…the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year”…

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Symbolic Foods

Since Rosh Hashana is the Day of Judgment, it is customary to eat simanim*, foods with symbolic meanings that invoke God’s blessing. We also recite a short prayer before eating them.…

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Tu b’Shevat

While it may seem as if winter has just begun, it may be a good time to invoke a bit of optimism and look beyond the turbulent weather and remember that spring is just around the corner.…

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Symbolic Foods

Since Rosh Hashana is the Day of Judgment, it is customary to eat simanim*, foods with symbolic meanings that invoke God’s blessing. We also recite a short prayer before eating them.…

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Naso 5782-2022

“The Hypocrite as Exemplar” (updated and revised from Naso 5763-2003) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Naso, we find that the topics of the Biblical text are…

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