Chanukah Blessings
On the first night of Chanukah, one candle/light is placed on the far right of the menorah. Each succeeding night, one candle/light is added to the left of the previous night's…
Mourning Jerusalem I: A Brief History of the First Temple
Today, Jews all over the world are observing the fast of Tisha b’Av. It is on this day that the Jewish people mourn the destruction of both the First and Second Temples. The First Temple…
Spin The Dreidel
I have a little dreidelI made it out of clayAnd when it’s dry and readyWith dreidel I shall play!The Dreidel is a four sided top, with a single Hebrew letter on each of its sides. Before…
Tisha B’Av
The saddest day on the Jewish calendar, the ninth of Av, is this Shabbat. Because of Shabbat, the normally observed Fast of the 9th of Av (Tisha b’Av) is pushed off until Sunday. The…
A Chanukah Heroine
Have you ever heard of Yehudit (Judith), the daughter of Yochanan the High Priest, who saved her city, Bethulia, from destruction at the hands of the Syrian-Greek general Holofernes?As…
Eikev 5781-2021
“Worshiping G-d with All One’s Heart” (Updated and revised from Eikev 5762-2002) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Traditional Jewish prayer is a study in contrasts. On the one hand, prayer…
First You Then You
From a broad perspective, the opportunity for all members of a prayer service to participate in a Torah Reading Service is an important statement on Jewish inclusion. In reality, however,…
Chanukah,Weekly Message,Mikeitz
Mikeitz-Chanukah 5764-2003
"Chanukah--The Struggle of Joseph and Judah" by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald It is not at all a coincidence that parashat Mikeitz coincides with the festival of Chanukah. After all, Joseph's…
Eikev 5762-2002
"Worshiping G-d With All One's Heart" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Traditional Jewish prayer is a study in contrasts. On the one hand, prayer is meant to be a spontaneous outpouring of…