Mikeitz 5773-2012
"Two Long Years in Joseph’s Life" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Mikeitz, opens two years after Joseph had successfully interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh’s…
Noah 5775-2014
“The Fate of Humankind is Sealed” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Noah, we read of the deluge that inundated the world, ending human life on earth except for…
Vayeira 5779-2018
“The Tension Between Human Love and Divine Will” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Vayeira, we find two important stories that reflect on the…
Chukat 5779-2019
“Can Death Be Sweet?” (Revised and updated from Chukat 5761-2001) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s Torah portion, parashat Chukat, we learn of the death of Aaron at Mt. Hor.…
Manna from Military Aircraft?
Is there a connection between “Manna,” the food from heaven that sustained the Children of Israel in the Sinai wilderness, and a World War II humanitarian military operation? On the…
Say Cheese!
For decades the word Polaroid was synonymous with 60 second instant photography, in an era when film canisters were removed from the camera and developed into photographs by a third…
Rabbi Shimon’s Favorite Tree
On Lag Ba’omer, Jews around the world honor the memory of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, a student of Rabbi Akiva who delved into the esoteric meaning of the Torah. He taught what is…
Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai
Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (Rashbi), whose yahrtzeit is on Lag Ba’omer, was one the five survivors of the plague that took the lives of 24,000…
Keeping Ethical
Pirkei Avot is commonly translated as Ethics of Our Fathers because many of its statements focus on ethical behavior. For those striving to be ethical, “Nittai the Arbelite says:…
For The Mothers And Their Children
Sophie Irene Simon Loeb had no children of her own, but she dedicated her life to fighting for government support for widowed mothers. Her passionate campaign, which started after she did…