The Story of Degania
Since many of the early settlers in pre-state Palestine identified with the socialist ideology, Kibbutzim (communal farms or settlements) were the desired living arrangement. The first…
The Thanksgiving Synagogue Service
While Thanksgiving is most certainly an American festival of gratitude, its founders prominently articulated its religious underpinnings, which ultimately find their source in Judaism.…
Vayishlach 5779-2018
“Jacob’s Challenging Life” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald As this week’s parasha, parashat Vayishlach, opens, we find a fearful patriarch Jacob sending a huge tribute of flocks and…
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, literally the Night of Crystal but generally translated as the Night of Broken Glass, was a tragic turning point in the fate of Germany’s Jewish community. The country-wide…
Bloomies
When one thinks of the common denominator of upscale national clothing store chains in the U.S., one finds that many have Jewish names, such as Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue……
Ushpeezin (Oo’shpee’zin)
During the festival of Sukkot, the sukkah is intended to be our home. For example, since one would normally dine in the house, on Sukkot one dines in the sukkah. Because the sukkah is…
Perceiving Change
Parashat Ha’azinu, also called Shirat Ha’azinu, the poem or song of Ha’azinu in Hebrew, is literally laid-out in the Torah scroll as a poem, not as the typical prose one finds. Moses’…
People of the (Printed) Book
Johannes Gutenberg, credited as the developer of the printing press, published the Gutenberg Bible in 1445. The printing technology transformed the way people learned. International…
Minsk, Pinsk and Dvinsk?
Dvinsk, also known as Daugavpils or Duenaburg, is Latvia’s second largest city, situated 140 miles southeast of Riga, Latvia’s capital (Dvinsk is the city’s Russian name). Dvinsk became…
The Seventh Of Av
One Scriptural verse (Kings II 25:8-9) notes that the Babylonians came to the Temple Mount on the 7th of Av while another verse ( Jeremiah 25:12) claims it was on the 10th of the month.…