Kedoshim,Weekly Message,Acharei Mot
Acharei Mot-Kedoshim 5778-2018
“The Extreme Sanctity of the Holy of Holies--Revisited” In parashat Acharei Mot, the first of this week’s double parashiyot, Acharei Mot-Kedoshim, we learn of the prohibition to enter the…
Shemini 5779-2019
"Substance Abuse in Judaism" (Revised and updated from Shemini 5760-2000) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This coming week’s parasha, parashat Shemini, opens with the historic ceremony…
Shemini 5781-2021
“Using, Not Abusing, a Sanctified Substance” (updated and revised from Shemini 5763-2003) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Shemini, opens at a most…
Shemini 5770-2010
"The Show Must Go On" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this coming week's parasha, parashat Shemini, the first day of Nissan, the day about which Aaron had been dreaming, finally arrived.…
Terumah 5769-2009
"The Delicate Balance" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week's parasha, parashat Terumah, begins a series of four and a half parashiot that deal extensively with erecting the Mishkan,…
Tetzaveh 5766-2006
"Drawing Close to G-d" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Tetzaveh, G-d instructs the people to make sacred garments for the priests to wear when performing the…
Yom Kippur 5767-2006
"The Poetry of Yom Kippur" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In the year 1916, the great American poet, Robert Frost, penned a poem he entitled, The Road Not Taken. In this poem Frost talks of…
Sukkot I 5767-2006
"Sukkot - The Festival of Joy" by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald The festival of Sukkot is regarded as the most joyous of all the Jewish holidays. In fact, there is not a single reference in the…
Water, Water Everywhere
Sukkot is considered the holiday on which God determines the world’s water allotment for the year to come. During the time of the Temple, the week of Sukkot was highlighted by the…
The Story of Chanukah
Around the year 167 B.C.E., the Syrian-Greek rulers of Judea tried to force the Jews to assimilate into Hellenic culture. They summoned the Jews to the town squares where they were forced…