Mishpatim,Weekly Message

Mishpatim 5780-2020

“The ‘Sophisticated’ and ‘Unsophisticated’ Criminal” (updated and revised from Mishpatim 5761-2001)   by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Mishpatim, is a…

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Jewish Treats

No Strings Attached

Deuteronomy 16:18 states: "...You shall not take a bribe, for bribery blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts just words." Although this statement of Jewish law is written in…

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Jewish Treats

Blessings and Challah

Within Jewish tradition there are many moments that are considered auspicious for increasing blessing in one’s life. These can be special moments in one’s prayer, such as the meditation…

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Jewish Treats

What Is the Tree of Life?

In the Garden of Eden, which was teeming with all the wonderful flora of creation, God placed two special trees:  Etz Hada’at  (the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil) and …

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Jewish Treats

Two Pillars of Five

Jewish law, and thus Jewish life, rests on two pillars, the mitzvot between a person and God and the mitzvot between one person and another. These two pillars of law are laid out in the…

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Jewish Treats

In the Wilderness

The Torah was given to the Jewish nation in the midst of the wilderness on a tiny mountain called Sinai. Throughout the Torah, however, there is much focus on the “Promised Land” and…

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Jewish Treats

In the Wilderness

The Torah was given to the Jewish nation in the midst of the wilderness on a tiny mountain called Sinai. Throughout the Torah, however, there is much focus on the “Promised Land” and the…

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Jewish Treats

In the Wilderness

The Torah was given to the Jewish nation in the midst of the wilderness on a tiny mountain called Sinai. Throughout the Torah, however, there is much focus on the “Promised Land” and the…

Read More

Jewish Treats

Two Pillars of Five

Jewish law, and thus Jewish life, rests on two pillars, the mitzvot between a person and God and the mitzvot between one person and another. These two pillars of law are laid out in the…

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Jewish Treats

Return of the Dead

The relationship of the living and the dead is an oft debated topic by the sages. Judaism firmly believes that, post mortem, a person's neshama (soul) goes to an afterworld…

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