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…
Summer Camp
With the school year having come to a close across the country, many parents are packing their children’s trunks and duffels for summer camp. The world of Jewish camping began as a…
Thoughts for the Heart
In honor of American Heart Month, and because caring for one’s health is part of two Torah mitzvot of "V’nish’martem me’od l’naf’sho’tay’chem" and "hatzalat n’fashoat" (guarding and…
The Fast of Esther
This coming Monday, March 6th, which is the 13th of Adar on the Hebrew calendar, is the Fast of Esther. “Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast for me, and…
Eikev 5782-2022
“Is There Truth to the Notion of Spiritual Accountability?” (updated and revised from Eikev 5763-2003) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s Torah portion, parashat Eikev, contains…
Haazinu 5783-2022
“The Final Song” (updated and revised from Haazinu 1999-5759) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Haazinu, features the final song which Moses sings before his…
Nap Time
Today, March 13th, is National Napping Day. If you’ve had a rough time and are only now slowly recuperating from resetting your clock after “springing forward” on early Sunday morning,…
West Point
In 2015, the Jewish news media delightedly reported that Rachelle David was the first female graduate of an Orthodox Jewish high school to be accepted to West Point. It is a…
The Family’s Blood
Today is World Hemophilia Day, designated to raise awareness of the hereditary blood disorder that prevents one’s blood from clotting. Most forms of hemophilia are passed from mother to…
The Surgery Is Elective
In the late twentieth century, there was, according to anecdotal evidence, an epidemic of “deviated septum” among American Jewish girls. The implication, along with many not-so-funny…