Bamidbar 5780-2020
"Jewish Continuity through Family Structure” (Updated and revised from Bamidbar 5761-2001) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Bamidbar, G-d instructs Moses to…
Nitzavim-Vayeilech 5770-2010
"Rebelling with G-d" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald At the very end of parashat Vayeilech (the second of this week’s double parashiot, Nitzavim-Vayeilech), we read the conclusion of Moses’…
Selichot
In addition to the unique prayer services of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, the High Holidays are known for one other service: selichot. A collection of religious poems and…
The Fast of the 17th of Tammuz
Everyone knows about Yom Kippur. There are, however, several other fast days on the Jewish calendar that are not nearly as well known. (The fast of the 17th of Tammuz, which, this year,…
Spying: Take Two
The Book of Joshua begins with God appearing to Joshua, Moses’ prime disciple and successor, and informing him to prepare to lead the Children of Israel into the Land of Israel. Joshua…
Selichot
In addition to the unique prayer services of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, the High Holidays are known for one other service: selichot. A collection of religious poems and…
Does Life Begin at 40?
In 1932 Walter Pitkin published his popular self-help book, Life Begins at Forty. Truthfully, before the 20th century, life expectancy, on average, rarely exceeded 40. The number 40 is…
The Fast of the 17th of Tammuz
Everyone knows about Yom Kippur. There are, however, several other fast days in the Jewish calendar that are not nearly as well known. On Sunday (July 1), the Fast of the 17th of Tammuz…
The Tragedy of the Idol
Ever since Moses saw the Israelites dancing around the Golden Calf and smashed the two tablets of the law, the 17th of Tammuz has been an inauspicious day for the Jewish people,…
Waving Levites
Every society, large and small, has a hierarchy, and in the society defined by the Torah for the Children of Israel, there is a well-defined system that guides its spiritual life. The…