Naso 5761-2001

"The Ordeal of the Sotah - Barbaric or Enlightened?" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week's Torah portion, Naso, with 176 verses, is the longest parasha of the Torah, and always…

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Kee Teitzei 5775-2015

“When a Brother Dies Childless” In this week’s parasha, parashat Kee Teitzei, we learn the law of the “levirate marriage,” known in Hebrew as יִבּוּם, “Yee’boom.” "Yee’boom" is the…

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Naso 5780-2020

The Ordeal of the Sotah -- Barbaric or Enlightened? (Revised and Updated from Parashat Naso 5761-2001) by Rabbi Ephraim Z.  Buchwald This week’s Torah portion, Naso, with 176 verses, is…

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In-Law Ties

Until 100 or so years ago, marriage was, on the whole, a practical arrangement that provided stability for property and protection for women. Marriage in the modern world is defined as a…

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Hebrew Reading Crash Course Bonus Class

Hebrew Reading Crash CourseBonus ClassWelcome to NJOP’s Bonus Class for Read Hebrew America’s Hebrew Reading Crash…

Breaking The Glass

No respectable film-maker would record a Jewish wedding scene without including the dramatic moment of the breaking of the glass, followed by the joyous shouts of "Mazal Tov!" A moment of…

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Women Who Work

In 1993, Gloria Steinem and the Ms. Foundation for Women initiated the “Take Our Daughters To Work” program (in 2003, it became “Take Our Daughters and Sons To Work”) with the intention…

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Vayeitzei 5771-2010

"The Hated Wife” by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Vayeitzei, we come face-to-face with the difficulties that are often encountered in polygamous marriages. In…

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Can There Be Too Much Joy?

The Talmud (Mo’ed Katan 8b) rules that we may not get married during the intermediate days of a festival. The Talmud offers two reasons for the prohibition. First, because we do not mix…

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King and Queen of Hearts

In Pirkei D’Rabbi Eliezer (a book of Midrash attributed to Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus), it is stated: "Chatan domeh l’melech", a groom is similar to a king. While this…

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