Yitro 5778-2018

“Striving as a Jewish Ideal” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald   In this week’s parasha, parashat Yitro, Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law advises Moses to delegate authority when he sits in…

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Bamidbar-Shavuot 5778-2018

“Counting a Very Special People” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald   With this week’s parasha, parashat Bamidbar, Jews throughout the world begin reading the fourth book of the Torah,…

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Matot-Masei 5776-2016

“Rosh Chodesh Av – Remembering the Passing of a Beloved Leader" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Parashat Masei, the second of this week’s combined parashiot Matot-Masei, features a lengthy…

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Metzora 5771-2011

"We Hold These Truths To Be Self-Evident" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald On July 4th 1776, the Continental Congress adopted a statement written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, known as the…

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Rosh Hashana 5772-2011

"The Dialectic of Joy and Fear" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald There is an inherent inconsistency with respect to the nature of the High Holidays. On the one hand, these fateful days of…

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Va’etchanan 5774-2014

“The Prediction of Return” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Va’etchanan, is always read after the Fast of the 9th of Av and after the conclusion of the period…

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Behar 5776-2016

“Bernie Sanders Meets Parashat Behar" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Behar, introduces many of the Torah’s revolutionary economic ideas (see Behar 5765-2005).…

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Vayeira 5770-2009

"Hospitality at Its Finest" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald At the conclusion of last week's parasha, parashat Lech Lecha, we learn that, at age 99, Abraham had undergone the painful…

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Naso-Shavuot 5767-2007

"Honey and Milk Under Your Tongue" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Because of the upcoming holiday of Shavuot, the analyses this week will focus on the festival theme of "Torah" rather than…

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Sources Commentators

Abarbanel (1437-1508, Spanish statesman, philosopher and commentator) Israel Abrahams (1858-1925) Achad Ha’Am (Asher Zvi Hirsh Ginsberg, 1856-1927) AJOP (Association for Jewish Outreach…