Smashing the Tablets

The sages declare that five tragedies occurred on the Seventeenth of Tammuz, (Sunday, July 17th)* which is why the day is observed as a fast day. Days of what we might now call “bad…

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Smashing the Tablets

Today's date on the Jewish calendar is the Seventeenth of Tammuz. The sages declare that five tragedies occurred on the Seventeenth of Tammuz, which is why the day is observed as a fast…

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Moses’ “Spartacus Moment”

The episode of the Golden Calf represents one of the most tragic episodes in the history of the Children of Israel. A mere 40-days prior, the Jews stood at the very same Mount Sinai,…

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Va’eira 5774-2013

“Moses, the Reluctant Prophet” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Tradition maintains that the 53 Hebrew prophets and prophetesses were generally a reluctant group of Divine servants, who were…

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Kee Tisah 5782-2022

“Limitless Leadership” (Updated and revised from Kee Tisah 5764-2004) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Kee Tisah, we read of the fateful sin of the people of…

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Kee Tisah 5764-2004

"Limitless Leadership" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this coming week's parasha, parashat Kee Tisah, we read of the fateful sin of the people of Israel with the Golden Calf. While the…

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The Consequence of the Smashed Tablets

The Seventeenth of Tammuz is the beginning of the three weeks leading up to Tisha b’Av, the day we mourn the destruction of both the First and Second Temple. Read tomorrow’s Treat to…

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Where in the World is Moses?

The centerpiece of Parashat Yitro is the Decalogue, the Revelation at Sinai, where the Aseret Hadibrot, the Ten Utterances (also known as the Ten Commandments) were declared. But you…

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Where in the World is Moses?

The centerpiece of Parashat Yitro is the Decalogue, the Revelation at Sinai, where the Aseret Hadibrot, the Ten Utterances (also known as the Ten Commandments) were declared. But you…

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Happy Birthday to Moses

To write a biography of Moses in under 300 words would be impossible. From the moment he was born, his life was filled with incredible events. But today is the seventh of Adar, and the…

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