Acher: The Sage Turned Apostate
Our Rabbis taught (Chagigah 14b): Four men entered the ‘orchard’ (pardes, a metaphor for Heaven), namely, Ben Azzai, Ben Zoma, Acher, and Rabbi Akiva. The Talmud informs us of their fate.…
Fearing God
“The fear of God is the beginning of knowledge...” (Proverbs 1:7) The idea of “fearing God” carries with it overtones of fire and brimstone, a puritanical flavor that seems foreign to our…
Hannah and Her Sons
The story of Hannah and her seven sons is the story of the Jewish resistance to Antiochus’ attempts to Hellenize the Jewish people around 175 B.C.E. When Antiochus demanded that Hannah’s…
Pure Water
When God created the world, it was all water. As stated in Genesis 1:2 - “Now the earth was unformed and void...and the spirit of G-d hovered over the face of the waters.” On the second…
Vayeira 5765-2004
"The Benefit of Broad-heartedness" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Vayeira, we read of the miraculous birth of Isaac. At the ripe old age of 90, long after…
The New Month is Coming
In many synagogues around the world, the monthly calendar contains a special notation marking the last Shabbat of the Hebrew month as Shabbat Mevarchim (translated as "the Shabbat when…
Philosophical Exploration
If you enjoy studying philosophy, explore works by Jewish philosophers such as Rav Saadia Gaon and Rabbi Moses ben Maimon. Rav Saadia Gaon took on the Karaites as their movement ran…
Yitro 5783-2023
Yitro 5783-2023 “Why G-d Can Not Share the Limelight” (updated and revised from Yitro 5764-2004) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Yitro, the Al-mighty…
Happy Birthday Birkat Hamazon
The Torah (Exodus 16:1) reports that the Children of Israel arrived at the Wilderness of Sin on the 15th of the Hebrew month of Iyar, approximately one month after the exodus from Egypt.…
Chukat-Balak 5783-2023
"How to Market G-d!" (updated and revised from Chukat-Balak 5763-2003) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In the first of this week’s parashiot, parashat Chukat, the Israelites, who are soon to…