Chukat-Balak 5760-2000
"History Repeats Itself! Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week our Torah portions are doubled. We read both parsahiot Chukat and Balak. Parashat…
Balak 5779-2019
“History Repeats Itself! Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose” (Revised and updated from Chukat-Balak 5760-2000) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s Torah portion, parashat…
Chukat-Balak 5780-2020
“Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose--History Repeats Itself!” (Updated and revised from Parashiot Chukat-Balak 5760-2000) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s Torah…
Curses Turned To Blessings
“How glorious are your tents, Jacob, your dwellings, Israel. As valleys stretched out, as gardens by the river-side; as aloes planted by God, as cedars beside the waters” (Numbers…
Hearing What You Want to Hear
Every therapist emphasizes the importance of good communication. It sounds easy, but it isn’t always. Hearing what one wants to hear and ignoring the inflection and subtext, often leads…
Rebuilding Jericho
The fall of Jericho is one of the best known narratives of the Books of the Prophets. One of the first cities conquered by the Israelites upon entering the Promised Land, its walls…
Curses Turned To Blessings
“How glorious are your tents, Jacob, your dwellings, Israel. As valleys stretched out, as gardens by the river-side; as aloes planted by God, as cedars beside the waters” (Numbers…
Bechukotai 5774-2014
“The Role of Exile in Jewish Theology” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald As we have noted previously (Kee Tavo 5762-2002), parashat Bechukotai is one of the two parashiot in the Torah,…
Balak 5775-2015
“Uncovering the ‘Layers’ in the Biblical Narrative” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Although the opening verses of this week’s parasha, parashat Balak, seem straightforward, the nuanced…
Re’eh 5770-2010
"The Blessing and the Curse" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Re'eh, Moses appeals to the Jewish people to faithfully abide by G-d's commandments, adjuring…