Pekudei 5779-2019
"Honesty and Integrity in Public Life” (Revised and updated from Pekudei 5760-2000) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this coming week’s parasha, parashat Pekudei, the Torah portion begins…
Chukat 5764-2004
"A Tribute to Miriam, Our Sister" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Numbers 20:1 informs us of the death of Miriam. It reads as follows: "Va'yah'voh'ooh v'nay Yisrael, kol hah'ay'dah, mid'bar…
Kee Teitzei 5773-2013
"The ‘Mitzvah’ of Divorce, Revisited" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Kee Teitzei, speaks of the "mitzvah" of divorce. Although we have previously discussed the…
Toledot 5781-2020
“The Ancient Origins and Practice of Anti-Semitism” (updated and revised from Toledot 2000-5761) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Toledot, we learn that…
Virginia is for Lovers… of Israel
While cities like Charleston, Philadelphia and New York contained Jewish communities during the pre-revolutionary period, Virginia, the largest of the colonies, did not. Individual Jews…
Children of Abraham and Sarah
“Children of Israel,” an often used title for the Jewish people, is a name defined by the familial relationship of the descendants of Abraham and Sarah. This familial relationship (which…
Chukat 5782-2022
“A Tribute to Miriam, Our Sister” (updated and revised from Chukat 5764-2004) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parshat Chukat, sadly informs us of the death of Miriam.…
Shemini 5766-2006
"Those Remarkable Dietary Laws" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week's parasha, parashat Shemini, embarks on an extensive excursion, that is devoted to the Jewish dietary laws. In fact,…
Bo 5773-2013
"Interfacing with the Non-Jewish World" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Bo, we read of the last three plagues--locusts, darkness and the death of the…
Bechukotai 5774-2014
“The Role of Exile in Jewish Theology” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald As we have noted previously (Kee Tavo 5762-2002), parashat Bechukotai is one of the two parashiot in the Torah,…