The Thanksgiving Synagogue Service
While Thanksgiving is most certainly an American festival of gratitude, its founders prominently articulated its religious underpinnings, which ultimately find their source in Judaism.…
Mikeitz-Chanukah 5782-2021
“What is Chanukah Really About?” (updated and revised from Mikeitz 5761-2000) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Mikeitz, continues the magnificent saga of…
Al Hanisim, For The Miracles
Most Jewish holidays are marked not only by feasting and celebrations, but also by special prayers. On Biblical holidays, such as Passover and Rosh Hashana, these special prayers include…
Passover II 5782-2022
Passover II 5782-2022 “Counting the Omer” (Revised and updated from Passover II 5768-2008) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In parashat Emor, we learn of the mitzvah of counting the Omer. In…
Israel’s Memorial Day
The State of Israel’s independence, as well as its continued survival, is a modern-day miracle. But it has come at great cost in human lives and to its citizens. Therefore, before Israel…
Va’etchanan 5782-2022
“Why the Sh’ma?” (updated and revised from Va’etchanan 5763-2003) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Va’etchanan, we encounter, in Deuteronomy 6:4-9, one of…
The Result of This Union
There are many famous narratives (such as the story of Creation, the great Flood, the histories of the Patriachs, etc.) in the book of Genesis. There are, however, an equal number of…
Name Change
It is not a coincidence that cultures around the world share a belief in the power of given names. In Judaism, it is believed that parents are granted a flash of ruach hakodesh, Divine…
Workers’ Rights
Are workers’ rights a modern invention born out of the trials and tribulations of the industrial revolution? Everyone’s heard of the horrors of the sweatshops, child labor abuses and…
Zebulun, Son of Jacob
Throughout her life, Leah suffered from the terrible insecurity of knowing that her husband loved her sister Rachel more than he loved her. Each time she bore a child, the statement she…