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…
Tazria 5776-2016
“Heavenly Reminders” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Tazria, focuses on the Biblical malady known as צָרַעַת--Tzara'at, often incorrectly identified as……
Judaism at the Barber
On February 20, 1816, Rossini’s classic opera, The Barber of Seville, premiered at the Teatro Argentina in Rome. In tribute, Jewish Treats will address the Torah’s instructions for…
Thirty Days, The Shloshim
While the seven-day mourning period called shiva is well-known in the general American culture, Jewish mourning is actually a richly layered time period designed, seemingly, to ease the…
Rabbi Dr. Bernard Revel
The list of American rabbinic leaders whose faces have graced U.S. Postage stamps is rather small, to say the least. One such stamp, created in 1986 and given a $1 value, featured Rabbi…
The Story of Samson and Delilah
Cecil B. DeMille’s 1949 Academy Award Winning Samson and Deliliah was an action packed drama that had a wealth of original biblical material from which to work. In truth, Samson’s…
How To Be Holy
God instructs Moses to tell the Jewish people: “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God, am holy” (Leviticus 19:2). How does one make oneself holy? The remaining 35 verses of…
Judaism at the Barber
On February 20, 1816, Rossini’s classic opera, The Barber of Seville, premiered at the Teatro Argentina in Rome. In tribute, Jewish Treats will address the Torah’s instructions for…
Mikeitz 5781-2020
“A Dysfunctional Family Becomes Functional” (updated and revised from Mikeitz 5762-2001) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Mikeitz, the soap opera, (just…