Observance and Prayer Outline

Passover Observanceand Prayer Outline The Seder night, when family and friends gather together to commemorate our redemption…

The Cedar and the Hyssop: A Lesson In Humility

One of the most challenging categories of Jewish law is the one associated with lashon harah (which literally means ‘evil speech’ and refers to gossip and slander). What is assumed…

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Tazria-Metzorah 5766-2006

"The Torah's Home Security System" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In parashat Metzorah, the second of this week's double parashiot, we learn how the disease tzara'at (sometimes incorrectly…

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Va’etchanan-Tisha B’Av 5769-2009

"Tisha b'Av: Never Beyond Redemption" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Va'etchanan, we read the portion from Deuteronomy 4:25, which is read on Tisha b'Av,…

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Cover Your Ears

Understanding proper speech, according to Jewish tradition, is critical to one’s personal development. Proper speech does not refer to manners or etiquette, but rather to avoiding a broad…

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Bereshith 5762-2001

"The Origins and Meanings of Evil" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Especially in light of the World Trade Center and Pentagon terrorist bombings, human beings all over the world are…

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Metzorah 5776-2016

“G-d Has Pity on the Property of Israel” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Metzorah, opens with a detailed description of the purification ritual for the…

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Bereshith 5782-2021

“Being Moral in an Increasingly Immoral Environment” (updated and revised from Bereshith 5763-2002) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Bereshith, is one of the…

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Bereshith 5763-2002

"Being Moral in an Increasingly Immoral Environment" Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald This week's parasha, parashat Bershith, is one of the richest of all the narrative portions of the Torah. One…

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Man and Woman

G-d created the Adam in His own image, in the image of G-d He created him, male and female He created them (Genesis 1:27). A critical word in most discussions of gender in the Torah is…

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