Jewish Treats

Alas Poor Yorick

William Shakespeare used the imagery of the skull of Yorick as a means for Prince Hamlet to wax poetic about the futility of life. While Yorick’s may be the most famous skull in…

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Jewish Treats

Make Me the High Priest

The Talmud (Shabbat 31a) relates the strange story of a non-Jewish man who wished to convert to Judaism in order to ultimately become the High Priest of Israel. He believed that, in this…

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Re'eh,Weekly Message

Re’eh 5780-2020

Re'eh 5780-2020 “Changing and Updating Jewish Law” (updated and revised from parashat Re’eh 5762-2002) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Re’eh, we encounter a…

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Weekly Message,Korach

Korach 5760-2000

"Controversy verses Conflict" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This coming week's parasha, Parashat Korach, tells of the famed controversy between Korach and Moshe, which concludes with the…

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Weekly Message,Korach

Korach 5779-2019

“Controversy Versus Conflict” (Revised and updated from Korach 5760-2000) by  Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Korach, tells of the ill-fated controversy between…

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Yom Kippur,Weekly Message

Yom Kippur 5766-2005

"Sharing the Blanket" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald The Rambam (Maimonides, the great Jewish philosopher, codifier and physician, 1135-1204), states in The Laws of Teshuva, chapter 3, that…

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Jewish Treats

This One and This One

Within the spectrum of Jewish law there are sometimes two seemingly incompatible opinions that are both correct. How can one rabbi permit something that another rabbi prohibits? The…

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Weekly Message,Re'eh

Re’eh 5779-2019

“Charity! The Investment That Keeps Giving” (Revised and updated from Re’eh 5760-2001) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Re’eh, is a truly edifying Torah portion,…

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Jewish Treats

On One Foot

Jewish Treats was asked to explain the Jewish faith in one tweet. For those unfamiliar with the Twitter format, that means in 280 characters or less. It seems, at first glance, a daunting…

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Jewish Treats

On One Foot

Jewish Treats was asked to summarize the Jewish faith in one tweet. For those unfamiliar with the Twitter format, that means in 280 characters or less. It seems, at first glance, a…

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