Yitro 5778-2018
“Striving as a Jewish Ideal” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Yitro, Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law advises Moses to delegate authority when he sits in…
Naso 5778-2018
“Counting the ‘Special’ People” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In last week’s parasha, parashat Bamidbar, after conducting a census of all the tribes of Israel and assigning each tribe a…
Is Sukkot Part of the High Holidays?
It is clear that during the Ten Days of Penitence, we are meant to be on a higher spiritual realm. We recite Psalm 47 seven times prior to blowing the shofar on Rosh Hashana, symbolizing…
Is Sukkot Part of the High Holidays?
It is clear that during the Ten Days of Penitence, we are meant to be on a higher spiritual realm. We recite Psalm 47 seven times prior to blowing the shofar on Rosh Hashana, symbolizing…
Tap on the Head
The history of the Jews of Spain is one of glory and fear. By the end of the 15th century, Jewish life was something celebrated in dark cellars with the ever-present fear of discovery.…
Eclipse
One might expect the sages to record eclipses as moments of awe, but instead the Talmud (Sukkah 29a) ascribes what seems to be a strange meaning to them:“Our Rabbis taught, When the…
Avinu – Our Father
One of the most common ways of addressing God in the Jewish liturgy is Avinu, our Father. By addressing God as Avinu, one can not only learn about humanity’s…
Tap on the Head
The history of the Jews of Spain is one of glory and fear. By the end of the 15th century, Jewish life was something celebrated in dark cellars with the ever-present fear of discovery.…
Unlucky 13?
Our culture has planted in our minds that 13 is a particularly unlucky number (Triskaidekaphobia = fear of 13). “Friday the 13th” (Paraskevisekatriaphobia = fear of Friday the 13th) is a…
Fleeing In The New World
The history of the conversos, those Spanish and Portuguese Jews who hid their identities by publicly behaving as observant Catholics, is tragic not only for the horrible auto-de-fes (mass…