Lose the Leather

Once a year, Jews around the world make a unique, and not always attractive, fashion statement by wearing clunky sneakers or fuzzy slippers. (The Talmud records that the sages wore…

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Lose The Leather

Once a year, Jews around the world make a unique, and not always attractive, fashion statement by wearing clunky sneakers or fuzzy slippers. (The Talmud records that the sages wore…

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The 10 Days

The 10 DaysOf Repentance As the sun sets on Yom Kippur, the judgment handed down on Rosh Hashana is sealed. Known as the Ten…

Kee Tisah 5772-2012

"The Preeminence of Shabbat" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Kee Tisah, we learn, among other things, of the preeminence of Shabbat, the Sabbath Day.…

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Vayeilech-Yom Kippur 5779-2018

“And Moses Went...” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Vayeilech, the Torah describes Moses’ final actions before his passing. On the last day of his life,…

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Tisha b’Av

Tisha b’Av The saddest day in the Jewish calendar, believed to be a day which is destined for tragedy.  Guide…

Kee Tisah 5784-2024

“Shabbat as a Priority in Jewish Life” (updated and revised from Kee Tisah 5765-2005 by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Although there are many dramatic moments in the latter parts of parashat…

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Vayakhel-Pekudei 5767-2007

"Leadership and its Perils" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Because of the nuances of the Hebrew calendar, two parashiot are read this Shabbat, Vayakhel and Pekudei, with which the reading…

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Yom Kippur 5765-2004

"G-d's Gift to His People on Yom Kippur" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald The Torah reading scheduled for this Shabbat would normally have been V'zot Habracha--the final parasha of the Torah.…

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Shoftim 5777-2017

“Judaism and the Principle of the Sanctity of Human Life” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald   This week’s parasha, parashat Shoftim, focuses, for the most part, on the principle of the…

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