Seven Days To The Sea
The Passover celebration lasts seven days (eight days, outside of Israel. For more information as to why, please click here). The first day (and second, outside of Israel) is a Yom Tov,…
Seven Days to the Sea
The Passover celebration lasts seven days (eight days, outside of Israel. For more information as to why, please click here). The first day (and second, outside of Israel) is a Yom…
Cruel and Unusual Punishment
One of the most repeated instructions in the Torah is that judges must do everything possible to provide equitable justice. In Deuteronomy 1, Moses reiterated this point once again,…
Inauguration Time
Imagine... Place: In the Wilderness Who: The Children of Israel When: Almost a year after leaving Egypt For seven days they practice. Each morning the intricate pieces of the Mishkan…
The Shalom Zachar
The first celebration in the life of a Jewish baby boy is not actually the brit milah (circumcision). Since every Jewish boy must pass through one Shabbat before his brit milah, it is…
The Blessings of the Amidah: Healing
The nineteen blessings of the Amidah make up the core of the Jewish prayer service. The eighth blessing is a request for healing. R'fa'aynu Ah'doh'nai v'nay'rah'fay, ho'shee'aynu…
The Torah Service
The Torah Service is central to the Saturday morning synagogue service and has much ceremony and fanfare. It begins with the opening of the aron ha’kodesh (holy ark - the cabinet housing…
Seven Days to the Sea
The Passover celebration lasts seven days (eight days, outside of Israel). The first day (and second, outside of Israel) is a Yom Tov, festival day, on which the seder is celebrated.…
Tzav 5781-2021
"Understanding Shabbat Hagadol" (updated and revised from Tzav 5762-2002) This week, we read the second parasha of the book of Leviticus, parashat Tzav. Because it immediately precedes…
Passover 5781-2021
“The Final days of Pesach - Days of Unity” (updated and revised from Passover 5761–2001) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald The fact that the ancient Israelites happened to find…