Passover,Weekly Message,Genesis
Passover 5771-2011
“At the Passover Seder We Are All Children” by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald In our previous discussions of Passover, we focused on the frequent emphasis on children, especially at the Passover…
Emor 5774-2014
“The Sadducees and the Counting of the Omer” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Among the 63 mitzvot (24 positive and 39 negative) found in this week’s parasha, parashat Emor, is the mitzvah of…
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.…
Tales of The Phoenix
Mythological creatures are generally shrugged off today as figments of overactive imaginations. Nevertheless, a fair number of these fantasy creatures are noted by the sages of the…
Tales of The Phoenix
Mythological creatures are generally shrugged off today as figments of overactive imaginations. Nevertheless, a fair number of these fantasy creatures are noted by the sages of the…
Balak 5781-2021
"Words of Eternal Truth from the Evil Prophet Bilaam” (updated and revised from Balak 5761-2001) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Balak, we encounter Balak,…
Re’eh 5765-2005
"The Sanctity of Land and its Implications" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Among the topics discussed in this coming week's parasha, parashat Re'eh, is the sanctity of the Land of Israel.…
Vayechi 5764-2004
"Can It Be a Mitzvah to Lie?" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald The late great Bible teacher, Nehama Leibowitz, alerts us to a major issue that appears in the narrative of this week's parasha,…
Pinchas 5768-2008
"The Zealotry of Pinchas as Seen Through the Midrash" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Last week's parasha, parashat Balak, closed with the story of Pinchas' zealotry. As we read in that…
Bo 5773-2013
"Interfacing with the Non-Jewish World" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Bo, we read of the last three plagues--locusts, darkness and the death of the…