Bamidbar 5770-2010
"The Meaning of the Wilderness" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald The fourth book of the Torah, Bamidbar, opens with the following words (Numbers 1:1): "Vah'y'dah'bayr Hashem el Moshe…
Bamidbar 5764-2004
"Surviving the Wilderness" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Bamidbar, the Israelites enter the wilderness of Sinai and begin their journey to the land of…
Bamidbar 5783-2023
“Surviving the Wilderness” (updated and revised from Bamidbar 5764-2004) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Bamidbar, the Israelites enter the…
Chukat 5770-2010
"And from Mattanah to Nahaliel" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Chukat, after a series of battles and confrontations with hostile nations, the Torah records…
Matot-Masei 5769-2009
"The Lesson of the Journeys" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Parashat Masei, the second of this week's double parashiot (Matot-Masei), opens with a summary of the travel itinerary of the…
Shelach 5777-2017
“The Slave Mentality” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Shelach, we read of G-d’s shattering decree that the generation of Israelites who came out of Egypt…
Chukat 5771-2011
"The Well of Miriam" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Chukat, we learn of the passing of one of the great Jewish matriarchs, Miriam, the sister of Aaron and…
Chukat 5776-2016
“The Bronze Serpent" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Chukat, we learn that the People of Israel are at it again! Only a short distance remains for…
Masei 5774-2014
“On the Road: The Lessons of Hindsight” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Masei, concludes the fourth book of the Torah, the Book of Numbers. Parashat…
Yitro 5770-2010
"The Arrival of Jethro" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Yitro, Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, arrives at the camp of the People of Israel, located by the…