Shavuot 5766-2006

"Appreciating Shavuot" by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald Of all the major holidays and festivals of the Jewish people, the one that is least known and least appreciated is the festival of…

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Shoftim 5770-2010

"Enmity" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this coming week's parasha, parashat Shoftim, we once again encounter the concept of the City of Refuge. It is to the City of Refuge that an…

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Va’eira 5771-2011

"Messages from the Nile" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Va’eira, we read of the first seven plagues that strike the Egyptians. The first two plagues, blood…

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Re’eh 5771-2011

"Listening to the Message" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Re’eh, Moses continues his exhortation to the Jewish people, imploring them to remain faithful to…

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Vayikra 5774-2014

“The Essence of Sacrifice” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Vayikra, we once again encounter the challenging issue of animal sacrifice. In several previous…

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Kee Tavo 5774-2014

“Finding Respite” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Parashat Kee Tavo is one of two parashiot in the Torah (the other is Bechukotai) that contains the Tochachah, G-d’s reproof of the Jewish…

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Vayakhel 5776-2016

“The Wise-Hearted Person” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald One of the dominant terms found in this week’s parasha, parashat Vayakhel, is the expression חֲכַם לֵב, a wise-hearted person.…

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Passover II 5776-2016

“The Final Days of Passover: Love and Hope" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald According to tradition, on the seventh day of Passover the sea split and the ancient Israelites marched…

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Shemot 5779-2018

“Getting the Jews Out of Egypt-–Two Views” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Shemot, we read of the enslavement of the Jews in Egypt by Pharaoh, as well as the…

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Terumah 5771-2011

“The Message of the Holy Ark” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Terumah, we learn, in great detail, of the building of the Tabernacle. G-d tells Moses to…

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