Behar-Bechukotai 5764-2004

"The Revolutionary Nature of Shemita and Yovel" by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald In the first of this week's double parashiot, parashat Behar, we encounter the remarkable laws of Shemita--the…

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Shelach 5768-2008

"We Were like Grasshoppers in Our Eyes" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Shelach, Moses sends twelve representatives, one from each tribe, to scout the land…

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Matot-Masei 5761-2001

"Setting Our Priorities Straight" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This coming Shabbat, the double parashiot Matot and Masei will be read in synagogues throughout the world. In parashat…

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Matot-Masei 5764-2004

"The Mitzvah of Living in the Land of Israel" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In parashat Masei, the second of this week's double parashiot, G-d speaks to Moses in the Plains of Moab and…

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Passover 5761-2001

"The Final days of Pesach - Days of Unity" by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald That the Jews happened to find themselves in Egypt and were enslaved by the Egyptians was not at all coincidence.…

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Matot-Masei 5780-2020

“Setting Our Priorities Straight” (updated and revised from Parashiot Matot-Masei 5761-2001) This coming Shabbat, the double parashiot, Matot and Masei, will be read in synagogues…

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Why is Jerusalem Not Mentioned in the Torah?

In the first aliyah of parashat Re’eh, the Torah mentions 16 times an unknown place where God will choose to rest His Presence. Now, thousands of years later, we know that place to be the…

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Why is Jerusalem Not Mentioned in the Torah?

In the first aliyah of parashat Re’eh, the Torah mentions 16 times an unknown place where God will choose to rest His Presence. Now, thousands of years later, we know that place to be the…

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Kee Teitzei 5780-2020

“Polygamy and Jewish Tradition” (Updated and revised from Kee Teitzei 5761-2001) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Kee Teitzei, we learn of the special…

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Passover 5781-2021

“The Final days of Pesach - Days of Unity” (updated and revised from Passover 5761–2001)   by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald The fact that the ancient Israelites happened to find…

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