Terumah 5781-2021

“The Mishkan and the Sanctity of the Jewish Home” (updated and revised from Terumah 5763-2003) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald With this week’s parasha, we begin a series of five weekly…

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Pekudei 5765-2005

"Bezalel: the Artist who Broke the Mold" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald With this week's parasha, parashat Pekudei, after many weekly portions describing the various elements and labors,…

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Terumah 5783-2023

“Identifying the Essentials of Life” (updated and revised from Terumah 5765-2005) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Terumah, is the first of four parashiot:…

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Tetzaveh 5783-2023

“Keeping the Priests Humble” (updated and revised from Tetzaveh 5764-2004) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this coming week’s parasha, parashat Tetzaveh, we read, in rather minute…

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Chukat 5764-2004

"A Tribute to Miriam, Our Sister" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Numbers 20:1 informs us of the death of Miriam. It reads as follows: "Va'yah'voh'ooh v'nay Yisrael, kol hah'ay'dah, mid'bar…

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Vayakhel-Pekudei 5772-2012

“A United People Build the Tabernacle” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In parashat Vayakhel, the first of this week’s double parashiot of Vayakhel and Pekudei, we read of the actual…

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Vayakhel-Pekudei 5777-2017

"Bezalel--Master Craftsman, Master Teacher”   by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In parashat Vayakhel, the first of this week’s two parashiot, Vayakhel-Pekudei, Moses designates Bezalel…

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Her Son Hur, His Grandson, and His Actions!

On the 15th of Tammuz, we observe the yahrzeit (anniversary of the day of death) of Hur, a relatively unsung hero from Biblical times, who was the first Jew to die al Kiddush Hashem,…

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Choral in the Capitals

The history of Jewish settlement in Russia is as long and complex as the narrative of the ever-shifting areas of Russian power. In the 18th century, Empress Catherine the Great banished…

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