Va’etchanan 5779-2019

“The Torah’s Radical Approach to Parenting” (Revised and updated from Va’etchanan 5760-2000) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald   This past Saturday evening (August 10th) and Sunday…

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Terumah 5769-2009

"The Delicate Balance" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week's parasha, parashat Terumah, begins a series of four and a half parashiot that deal extensively with erecting the Mishkan,…

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Terumah 5762-2002

"The Centrality of Torah" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this coming week's Torah portion, parashat Terumah, G-d speaks to Moshe and instructs him to build for Him a sanctuary, so that…

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Kee Tisah 5775-2015

“Aaron, What Did This People Do To You?” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Kee Tisah, we, once again, encounter the tragic saga of the Children of Israel’s…

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Terumah 5780-2020

“The Centrality of Torah” (updated and revised from Terumah 5762-2002) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s Torah portion, parashat Terumah, G-d speaks to Moses and instructs him…

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The Vanishing Conquerors

Politics do not change much from millennium to millennium. There have always been superpowers, great and powerful nations, vying for control of the world. In the seventh century B.C.E.,…

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Kee Tavo 5767-2007

"Can the Promise of G-d Keep the People Holy?" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Parashat Kee Tavo is one of the two parashiot in the Torah that features the Tochacha, the terrifying…

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Judaism vs. Hellenism

Judaism vs. Hellenism Why did the interaction of the Greeks and the Jews create such problems? What was there about Hellenism…

Chayei Sara 5764-2003

"Who Was the Matriarch Sarah?" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Chayei Sarah, the matriarch Sarah, Abraham's wife, passes away. The authors of the Midrash,…

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Naso 5779-2019

"Traditional Judaism: Fundamentalist or Ascetic" (Revised and updated from Naso 5760-2000) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald   In this week’s parasha, parashat Naso, we encounter the…

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