Devarim 5774-2014
“Moses: The Lonely Leader” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Devarim, opens the fifth book of the Torah, the book of Devarim, also known as Deuteronomy. Much of…
Tetzaveh 5769-2009
"The Urim and Tumim--The Mysterious Priestly Accessory" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week's parasha, parashat Tetzaveh, is concerned primarily with the vestments of the priests.…
Noah 5770-2009
"The Message of the Rainbow" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week's parasha, parashat Noah, tells the story of the great flood that inundated the world in the days of Noah. After the…
Yitro 5773-2013
"The Third Commandment: Against Perjury and Profane Swearing" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Yitro, we encounter the first of the two references to the Ten…
Emor 5773-2013
"Sanctifying G-d’s Name" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Emor, we find the seminal commandments to sanctify G-d’s name and the prohibition of desecrating…
Yom Kippur 5780-2019
“How does G-d Judge?” (Updated and revised from Yom Kippur 5760-1999) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald How does one prepare for Yom Kippur, the Day of Judgment, when our deeds of the…
Vayeira 5774-2013
“Greater than Welcoming the Divine Presence” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald The opening verses of this week’s parasha, parashat Vayeira, record that the Al-mighty appeared to Abraham in the…
Abraham ben Abraham
Legend has it that Valentine Pototski, the son of a Polish nobleman, met an old Jew at a tavern and promised to convert to Judaism if the Jew convincingly argued the superiority of…
Yitro 5763-2003
"'Proving G-d's Existence" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this coming week's parasha, parashat Yitro, in Exodus 20, we read the first of the two versions of the "Ten Commandments" that…
Philosophical Exploration
If you enjoy studying philosophy, take the time to explore works by Jewish philosophers such as Rav Saadia Gaon and Rabbi Moses ben Maimon.