The Story of the Exodus

The Story of the Exodus Table of Contents Going Down to Egypt Slavery Redemption From Slavery What exactly were the ten…

Development of the Haggadah

On Passover night we are commanded "v'hee'ga'd'ta l'vincha" and you shall tell, the story of the Exodus to your children. (Notice the shared root of hee'ga'd'ta and Haggadah.) The…

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Moses’ Mysterious and Mortal Maternity

Moses is arguably the central and most important figure in the Hebrew Bible. Maimonides advances that of the 55 Jewish prophets, Moses’ type of prophecy was quite different and far more…

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Shemot 5760-1999

"Commitment to Judaism: A lesson from Moshe" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this coming week's parasha, parashat Shemot, we encounter one of the most challenging situations of…

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Va’eira 5768-2007

"Moses, the Exalted Leader" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Political campaigns in democratic societies have become a rather sorry sight. Candidates in the U.S. announce their candidacies,…

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Pinchas 5768-2008

"The Zealotry of Pinchas as Seen Through the Midrash" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Last week's parasha, parashat Balak, closed with the story of Pinchas' zealotry. As we read in that…

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Va’eira 5775-2015

“The Measure of Brotherly Love” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Va’eira, we read of the Al-mighty’s renewed promise of redemption, the genealogy of Moses…

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Pinchas 5770-2010

"The Colorful Biography of Pinchas" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald At the end of last week's parasha, we learned that a prominent couple performed a lewd act in public in order to directly…

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B’shalach 5777-2017

“Miriam Leads the Women in Song" This week’s parasha, parashat B’shalach, is known as the parasha of the “Shira,” the Torah portion that includes the song that Moses sang after the…

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Korach 5772-2012

"Jealousy, Lust, and Thirst for Honor" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Korach, we read of the contentious rebellion of Korach and his cohorts, and its…

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