Korach 5778-2018
“Where Did Korach Go Wrong?” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Korach, we read of the rebellion of Korach, Datan and Abiram, and 250 men of the Children of…
Tisha b'Av,Weekly Message,Va'etchanan
Va’etchanan-Tisha B’Av 5768-2008
"A Hopeful Message for Jewish Future" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Va'etchanan, we find the well-known citation from Deuteronomy 4:25-40, "Kee to'leed…
Relative Suffering
In Parashat Vayechi we find the patriarch Jacob saying goodbye, and offering blessings and words of wisdom to his loving family. Before offering parting words to all of his sons, Jacob…
The First Pitch
Parashat Noach begins by describing the famous teivah, or ark, that God instructed Noah to build. Since the wooden craft would be challenged by the rainstorm and the elements, God…
Perceiving Change
Parashat Ha’azinu, also called Shirat Ha’azinu, the poem or song of Ha’azinu in Hebrew, is literally laid-out in the Torah scroll as a poem, not as the typical prose one finds. Moses’…
A Multi-Generational Covenant
During the bleak times of the Holocaust, a woman inmate, like all others, stared into the sky of Auschwitz, praying to God to end the darkness. Like millions of others, she never…
Rabbi Ashi
Every generation needs a leader. The Talmud notes that “a righteous man does not depart from the world until [another] righteous man like himself is created, as it is said (Ecclesiastes…
All Generations
According to recent reports, Western civilization is a rapidly aging society. The elderly, the reports warn, will soon outnumber the youth, and society will have to come up with new ways…
Sent Away
If you follow Jewish news, it would be hard not to notice the growing number of reports about increasing anti-Semitism. It is an upsetting fact that anti-Semitism has never really had a…
Professional Proofers
Jewish life centers around the Torah, which, for thousands of years, has been transmitted from generation to generation. With such an extended chain of transmission, it has often been…