Hadassah: The Women’s Zionist Organization of America
In the year 1912, there was no state of Israel, women had not yet earned the right to vote in the U.S., and Henrietta Szold (Baltimore 1860 - Jerusalem 1945) was inspiring Jewish women…
Conscripted for Life?
On August 26, 1827, Czar Nicholas I set into motion the terrible ordeal of the cantonists. Cantonist schools, which had originally served as pre-military boarding schools for military…
Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi
While Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi (1745 - 1812) did not come from a family of Chassidim, he would become not only a follower of the new movement, but also the founder of what is today…
Hadassah: The Women’s Zionist Organization of America
In the year 1912, there was no state of Israel, women had not yet earned the right to vote in the U.S., and Henrietta Szold (Baltimore 1860 - Jerusalem 1945) was inspiring Jewish women…
The Population Question
The Malthusian theory of overpopulation is a popular doomsday prediction. Thomas Malthus (1766 -1834) proposed that population increases due to improved standards of living would lead to…
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…
Vayeira 5766-2005
"Confronting Adversity, Lessons from Father Isaac" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week's parasha, parashat Vayeira, includes chapter 22 of Genesis, the chapter that describes the…
Lech Lecha 5768-2007
"The Battle of the Four Kings Against the Five" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Lech Lecha, we read about what is generally known as the "Battle of the Four…
Naso-Shavuot 5767-2007
"Honey and Milk Under Your Tongue" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Because of the upcoming holiday of Shavuot, the analyses this week will focus on the festival theme of "Torah" rather than…
Chukat 5773-2013
"Striking the Stone: the Parameters of Anger" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Among the many topics in this week’s parasha is the report of Miriam’s death and the subsequent lack of water.…