It’s Not Vanity

“Mirror, mirror on the wall, whose the fairest of them all?” Snow White’s wicked step-mother is the perfect example of how society associates mirrors with vanity and wickedness. Believe…

Read More

Proper Vanity

 Dress up to celebrate Shabbat.

Read More

Bereshith 5763-2002

"Being Moral in an Increasingly Immoral Environment" Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald This week's parasha, parashat Bershith, is one of the richest of all the narrative portions of the Torah. One…

Read More

Bereshith 5782-2021

“Being Moral in an Increasingly Immoral Environment” (updated and revised from Bereshith 5763-2002) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Bereshith, is one of the…

Read More

Pekudei 5763-2003

"The Lesson of the Basin: 'Don't Judge a Book by its Cover'" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week's parasha, parashat Pekudei, opens with a reckoning of all the precious materials that…

Read More

Pekudei 5782-2022

“The Lesson of the Basin: ‘Don’t Judge a Basin by its Cooper’” (updated and revised from Pekudei 5763-2003) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Pekudei, opens with…

Read More

Shabbat Prayers

Learn AboutShabbat Prayers Table of Contents Morning Blessings (Birkhot Hashachar) Verses of Praise (Pesukei Dezimrah)…

Working for a Living

It often seems as if people today, especially in Western societies, are defined, and define themselves, by their work or their profession. When people meet for the first time, one of the…

Read More

Vayakhel 5760-2000

"Jewish Women and Jewish Destiny" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this coming week's parasha, Parashat Vayakhel, we encounter an intriguing set of verses. The vast majority of Parashat…

Read More

The Whole Megillah

Whether it’s a long-winded tale, or a story overloaded with details--it’s called a “whole megillah!” (In “the old country” they would have said “a gantse megillah!”) So what exactly…

Read More