Mishpatim 5763-2003
"Justice! Justice!" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This coming week's parasha, parashat Mishpatim, contains an abundance of laws that cover a vast array of Jewish civil and criminal…
Behar 5765-2005
"The Torah's Revolutionary Economic System" by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald This coming week's parasha, parashat Behar is an extraordinarily challenging and revolutionary parasha. The Torah, in…
Vayakhel,Pekudei,Weekly Message
Vayakhel-Pekudei 5764-2004
"Celebrating the Month of Nisan" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This coming Shabbat, the final Shabbat in the Hebrew month of Adar, is also known as Shabbat Parashat HaChodesh. An…
Weekly Message,Behar,Bechukotai
Behar-Bechukotai 5764-2004
"The Revolutionary Nature of Shemita and Yovel" by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald In the first of this week's double parashiot, parashat Behar, we encounter the remarkable laws of Shemita--the…
Naso 5760-2000
"Traditional Judaism: Fundamentalist or Ascetic" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this coming week's parasha, parashat Naso, we encounter the curious law of the Nazir, the Nazarite. In…
Shelach 5763-2003
"Can Human Beings Achieve Immortality?" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald One of the most heartrending and challenging juxtapositions in the Bible appears in this week's parasha, Shelach…
Korach 5765-2005
"Lessons from the Rebels" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this coming week's parasha, parashat Korach, we learn about the infamous rebellion of Korach and his cohorts against G-d and…
Chukat 5767-2007
"The Excesses of Rationality" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald One of the most common issues raised when analyzing a Torah text is the question of juxtaposition: why a particular parasha…
Masei 5765-2005
"The Role of Witnesses and Testimony" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald As last year was a leap year, this year is one of the rare occasions where, outside of Israel, parashat Masei is read…
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…