What Are We Reading?
Those familiar with synagogue ritual know that there is a weekly Torah reading cycle. In the Fall, there are the inspiring stories of creation and the history of the origins of the Jewish…
A Look At The Law
There are three types of laws in the Torah...mishpatim, edot and chukim: Mishpatim are basic laws. In fact, mishpatim are generally translated as those laws which are necessary and…
Shemot 5764-2004
"The Message of the Burning Bush" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this coming week's parasha, parashat Shemot, we read of G-d's revelation to Moses from the "s'neh," the burning bush.…
Haazinu 5760-1999
"The Final Song" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week's parasha, parashat Haazinu, contains the final song which Moshe sings before his death. This is the song to which Moshe alluded in…
Yom Ha'atzmaut,Weekly Message,Emor
Emor-Yom Ha’atzmaut 5763-2003
"The Counting of the Omer and the Celebration of Israel's Independence" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week's parasha, parashat Emor, coincides with the celebration of Yom Ha'atzma'ut,…
Changing Ukraine
Kiev, Odessa, Zhitomyr, Uman...the cities of 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…
Happy Birthday Maestro!
Not too many people can claim to have entertained the Queen of England, played at a Presidential Inauguration, conducted symphony orchestras, appeared on numerous occasions in Carnegie…
President William Howard Taft – Friend of the Jews
Jewish Treats presents a quick look at the relationship of President William Howard Taft (1857 – 1930) and the Jewish people. Taft’s presidency (1909 – 1913) overlapped the era of massive…
Vayigash 5781-2020
“Joseph Helps His Brothers Repent” (updated and revised from Vayigash 5761-2001) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Maimonides writes, at the beginning of the second chapter of the Laws of…
Bo 5781-2021
“The Slave Mentality” (updated and revised from Bo 5761–2001) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Bo, concludes the Torah’s narrative of parashat Va’eira, of the…