Kee Teitzei 5769-2009
"Ben Sorer U'Moreh--The Rebellious Son" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Kee Teitzei, we read of the unusual case of the "Ben Sorer U'moreh," the disobedient…
Balak 5767-2007
"The Enemy Within" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald One of the most intriguing and perplexing patterns found in Scripture is the frequent emergence of evil from good and good from evil. Adam…
Acharei Mot 5771-2011
"The Unfathomable Practice of Molech Worship" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In Leviticus 18, the last chapter of this week's parasha, parashat Acharei Mot, we encounter a long list of…
Inauguration Oil
Elected U.S. presidents are inaugurated on January 20th. But, it wasn’t always that way. The Congress of the Confederation set March 4, 1789, as the date for “commencing proceedings” of…
Women of Vision
Our sages teach that there were seven women famed for their prophecy. (Talmud Megilla 14a states that only prophecies with a message for the future were recorded. In reality,…
What’s In The Book – The Twelve Prophets: Zephaniah
The Book of Zephaniah dates from the reign of King Josiah of Judah. Zephaniah’s opening prophecy is dark and violent, describing God’s plans for the complete and total destruction of the…
What’s in the Book: Kings II (Part 2)
The last King of Israel, Hoshea, the son of Elah, did not send his annual tribute to Assyria and, instead, sent envoys to Shalmaneser, the king of Egypt, resulting in Sargon II of Assyria…
What’s in the Book: Kings II (Part 1)
The Second Book of Kings continues the history of a divided nation: the Kingdom of Israel in the north (10 tribes) and the Kingdom of Judea (Judah and Benjamin) in the south. After…
Women of Vision
Our sages teach that there were seven women famed for their prophecy. (Talmud Megilla 14a states that only prophecies with a message for the future were recorded. In reality, there were…
Women of Vision
Our sages teach that there were seven women famed for their prophecy. (Talmud Megilla 14a states that only prophecies with a message for the future were recorded. In reality, there were…