Kee Tisah 5761-2001

"The Levites and the Golden Calf: Transcending One's Own Nature" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this coming week's parasha, parashat Kee Tisah, we read of the rebellion of the Golden…

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Chukat-Balak 5762-2002

"The Paradox of the Red Heifer" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In Parashat Chukat, the first of this coming week's double Torah portion, Chukat-Balak, we learn of the inscrutable law of the…

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Chukat-Balak 5760-2000

"History Repeats Itself! Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week our Torah portions are doubled. We read both parsahiot Chukat and Balak. Parashat…

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How to make your ‘Soul Bigger’ for the High Holidays

We have less than a week to prepare ourselves for Rosh Hashana which begins Wednesday night, September 8th. One of the most moving parts of the Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur services is the…

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Toledot 5777-2016

“The Exceptional Power of Prayer” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald As this week’s parasha, parashat Toledot, opens, we find Isaac in the process of entreating G-d that his wife, Rebecca,…

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Recommended High Holiday Reading

Recommended High Holiday ReadingA selection of valuable books to help you explore your Jewish Heritage and prepare for the New Year. Rosh Hashana/Yom Kippur Survival KitBy Shimon……

Why Were Scouts of the Promised Land Needed?

The most devastating punishment meted out by God in the Torah is described in this week's parasha.  God commands Moses to send 12 scouts - one representing each tribe - to…

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Precious Creation

While there are many appropriate themes with which the Torah in Genesis 1 could have begun (Abraham, Mt. Sinai, etc.), it begins instead with a day-by-day description of the creation of…

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Jewish Jeaneology

February 26, celebrated as “Levi Strauss Day,” is the day, in 1829, that marked the birth of the blue-jeans icon. Born in Bavaria, Levi Strauss immigrated, along with his mother and two…

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Eden in the Garden State

The first residents of the current state of New Jersey were Dutchmen from New Amsterdam (New York) who settled Jersey City in 1614. Some historians claim that in 1655, some Jews from New…

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