Blessings

The Hebrew word for blessing is bracha. People are most familiar with this term from the formulation of Jewish prayers that start with the word: Baruch, Blessed. Those who are familiar…

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Origin of the “Jew”ish Species

If the nation that was redeemed from Egyptian bondage and experienced revelation at Sinai was known as the Israelites, or the Children of Israel, why are they now called “Jews”? After…

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Devarim-Tisha B’Av 5761-2001

"Eichah, The Annual Search for Meaning and Introspection" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week's parasha, parashat Devarim, is the parasha which is always read on the Shabbat that…

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Hebrew Reading One Day Review – High Holiday Prayers

Hebrew Reading Crash Course on ZoomJoin NJOP for this exciting class on Zoom! Forward to a friend

Telephone, Gramaphone, Helicopter…Emile Berliner

Emile Berliner (May 20, 1851 – August 3, 1929) came to America to avoid being drafted as a soldier in the Franco-Prussian War. A native of Hanover, Germany, Berliner had trained as a…

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Mezuzah: Complete Fulfillment

A mezuzah on the doorpost is a public sign of a Jewish home. If you open the decorative container of the mezuzah you will find a piece of parchment with two sets of Hebrew verses from…

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Why is Jerusalem Not Mentioned in the Torah?

In the first aliyah of parashat Re’eh, the Torah mentions 16 times an unknown place where God will choose to rest His Presence. Now, thousands of years later, we know that place to be the…

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“And Now Let Us Say Amen…”

The word “Amen” seems to be one of those words associated with prayer throughout the Judeo-Christian culture, but what does it mean? The response "Amen" at the end of an oath or a prayer…

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Vayishlach 5782-2021

“Yisrael: The People Who Wrestle with G-d” (updated and revised from Vayishlach 5762-2001) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Vayishlach, after having lived…

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Telephone, Gramaphone, Helicopter…Emile Berliner

Emile Berliner (May 20, 1851 – August 3, 1929) came to America to avoid being drafted as a soldier in the Franco-Prussian War. A native of Hanover, Germany, Berliner had trained as a…

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