Yom Kippur 5780-2019

“How does G-d Judge?” (Updated and revised from Yom Kippur 5760-1999) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald   How does one prepare for Yom Kippur, the Day of Judgment, when our deeds of the…

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A Phoenix in B’nai Brak

Fifty years ago, on September 3, 1969, corresponding to the 20th of Elul, Rabbi Joseph S. Kahaneman, known to the world as the “Ponevezher Rav,” passed away. Who was this man, and what is…

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Eikev 5779-2019

Eikev 5779-2019 “Feast or Famine--What Judaism Says About Food” (Revised and updated from Eikev 5760-2000) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald   In this week’s parasha, parashat Eikev, the…

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Va’etchanan 5779-2019

“The Torah’s Radical Approach to Parenting” (Revised and updated from Va’etchanan 5760-2000) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald   This past Saturday evening (August 10th) and Sunday…

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Consolation after the “Morning of Mourning”

The Jewish sages taught that there can be no mourning process without a consolation process. For centuries, Jews have spent Tisha b’Av morning surrounded by sadness, tragedy and…

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The Unspeakable

The Prophet Jeremiah, lived during the destruction by the Babylonians of Solomon’s Temple, and served as the Jews’ chief consoler as they were being exiled out of Jerusalem. Jeremiah’s…

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The Girl in the Red Coat

Aside from the opening and closing scenes in Stephen Spielberg’s 1993 Academy Award winning “Schindler’s List,” the entire movie was presented in black and white, except for one girl’s…

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Devarim 5779-2019

“Judaism’s Unique View of Justice and the Judicial System” (Revised and updated from Devarim 5760-2000) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald   This week, we begin reading the Book of…

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The Ba’al Ha’turim

Spain in the Middle Ages was home to scholars of great renown such as Abraham ibn Ezra (1089 - c. 1164), Judah ha-Levi (1086-1145), Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides/Rambam 1135-1204)…

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“The Rebbe”

Jews worldwide observe the yahrzeit (anniversary of death) of the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of blessed memory, on the 3rd of Tammuz, which is observed…

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