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Yitro 5782-2022

“'Proving' G-d’s Existence" (updated and revised from Yitro 5763-2003) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In Exodus 20, in this week’s parasha, parashat Yitro, we read the first of the two…

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Bo 5782-2022

“Rituals Work, Rituals Work!” (updated and revised from Bo 5762-2002) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Bo, describes the final three plagues: locusts, darkness…

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Humiliation Day

In an effort to make the calendar more interesting, most days on the calendar have been designated as “holidays.” Many of these so-called “holidays” are intended to be cute or satirical.…

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A Pleasant Song Composed

The liturgy of the synagogue has developed over the span of Jewish history. Some parts of the service– such as the Shema, which is a recitation of Biblical text – originate from Judaism’s…

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The Fast of the Fifth of Tevet

Aside from Yom Kippur, which is mentioned in the Torah, all the other fasts on the Jewish calendar are Rabbinic in nature and find their rabbinic source in a single Scriptural verse:…

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Vayeitzei 5782-2021

“From Ish Tam to Business Mogul: The Transformation of Jacob” (updated and revised from Vayeitzei 5762-2001) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald As this week’s parasha, parashat Vayeitzei,…

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Hail the Holy Pomegranate

The pomegranate is a funny sort of fruit. Rather than eating the flesh and throwing away the seed, as one does when eating an apple or orange, pomegranate seeds are eaten and the flesh…

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National Hermit Day

Judaism is not known for encouraging asceticism. While the Torah commands the Jewish people to “afflict” themselves on Yom Kippur by fasting and refraining from certain pleasurable…

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A Document Against Antisemitism

It was on this day in 1965 that the Catholic Church officially stopped blaming the Jewish people for the death of Jesus. This groundbreaking statement came after more than a millennium of…

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