Remembering Bergen-Belsen
The spring brings with it annual anniversaries that mark the liberation of Nazi concentration camps, death camps and a day of renewed life for tens of thousands of survivors of the Shoah…
Changing Ukraine
Kiev, Odessa, Zhitomyr, Uman…these cities in Ukraine are places marked in Jewish history for both horror and hope. Jews have lived in Ukraine for well-over a thousand years, and there is…
The Chassidic Rebbe and His Snoopy Tie
On January 3, 2000, the final original edition of the “Peanuts” comic strip appeared in the daily edition of newspapers worldwide. For the followers of Charlie Brown and his gang, it was…
Writers in a Terrible Place
“The Day of the Imprisoned Writer” (November 15th) was established by PEN International to recognize and provide support for writers who use their skills to fight political repression.…
White Papers
For those who have studied the history of the return of the Jewish people to the land of Israel, the term “White Paper” is at once familiar and ambiguous. It is commonly understood that…
Kafkaesque
Franz Kafka was born into a Jewish family on July 3, 1883 near the Old Town Square in Prague, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Franz was the eldest of six children (two tragically died in…
Kee Tavo 5783-2023
"The Centrality of Joy in Jewish Observance" (updated and revised from Kee Tavo 5764-2004) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Parashat Kee Tavo is one of the two parashiot in the Torah that…
Va’eira 5763-2002
"The Exodus--A 'Primitive' Story with Revolutionary Implications" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Jewish history is often perceived, with great justification I might add, as one unending…
Va’eira 5783-2023
“The Exodus--A ‘Primitive’ Story with Revolutionary Implications” (updated and revised from Va’eira 5763-2002) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Jewish history is often perceived, with great…