Seeking Gold
This week’s confluence of the Olympic Games and Valentine’s Day means many more people than usual will probably have gold on their minds. While gold is not the most expensive precious…
Learning the Truth of Your Heritage at Age 59: The Amazing Story of Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Albright broke a glass ceiling when she became the first woman U.S. Secretary of State on January 23, 1997. A few weeks later, at age 59, Madeleine learned that her parents,…
Naso-Shavuot 5767-2007
"Honey and Milk Under Your Tongue" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Because of the upcoming holiday of Shavuot, the analyses this week will focus on the festival theme of "Torah" rather than…
On the Wings of Eagles
In Exodus 19, God instructs Moses to address the Children of Israel and to say to them: “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to…
“Kafkaesque”
Franz Kafka was born into a Jewish family on July 3, 1883 near the Old Town Square in Prague, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Franz was the eldest of six children (two tragically died in…
Wayward Sons
While the Biblical canon has many stories of redemption and miracles, it also records narratives that demonstrate the true struggles of real people. Real people know of the commonly…
Rosh Hashana,Weekly Message,Nitzavim
Nitzavim-Rosh Hashana 5779-2018
“Whatever Became of Sin?” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald According to Rabbi Hayyim Angel, this week’s parasha, parashat Nitzavim, contains “one of the greatest expositions on repentance in…
Pinchas 5765-2005
"Whatever Became of the Sons of Korach?" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week's parasha, parashat Pinchas, opens with the conclusion of the well-known act of zealotry perpetrated by…
Kee Teitzei 5775-2015
“When a Brother Dies Childless” In this week’s parasha, parashat Kee Teitzei, we learn the law of the “levirate marriage,” known in Hebrew as יִבּוּם, “Yee’boom.” "Yee’boom" is the…
Love in the Liturgy
Most people would identify prayer as a vertical endeavor: Mortals communicating with God. Yet, as we will learn, there is a beautiful custom to begin our prayers by thinking horizontally,…