Va’etchanan 5775-2015
“Do Not Add...and Do Not Detract” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Va’etchanan, we learn of the fascinating and complex mitzvah of not adding or detracting…
Re’eh 5775-2015
“The Prohibition of Eating the Limb of a Live Animal” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Re’eh, contains 55 mitzvot--17 positive and 38 negative commandments. It…
Yitro 5773-2013
"The Third Commandment: Against Perjury and Profane Swearing" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Yitro, we encounter the first of the two references to the Ten…
Re'eh,Weekly Message,Deuteronomy
Re’eh 5766-2006
"Adding or Subtracting" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Parashat Re'eh is a rich and colorful parasha that contains 55 mitzvot, 17 positive and 38 negative. Among the most intriguing of the…
Shoftim 5766-2006
"The Great Real Estate Swindle–Its Implications" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Shoftim, the Torah introduces a fundamental law of honesty that has…
Weekly Message,Vayishlach,Genesis
Vayishlach 5773-2012
"Gid Ha’nasheh: The Sinew of the Thigh" By Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Vayishlach, after twenty two years of fleeing from his brother Esau, who had…
Behar 5779-2019
“Wronging One Another, the Torah’s Unique Viewpoint” (Revised and updated from Behar 5760-2000) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Behar, we twice…
Behar 5760-2000
"Wronging One Another: The Torah's Unique Viewpoint" by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald In this coming week's parasha, Parashat Behar, we twice encounter the mitzvah of o'na'ah – the prohibition…
Boundary Stones and Unfair Competition in Jewish Law
In parshat Shoftim in the book of Deuteronomy, the Torah teaches that, “You shall not move your fellow’s landmarks, set up by previous generations, in the property that will be allotted…
Shoftim 5769-2009
"The Torah Declares War on Bribery" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Shoftim, we again encounter the Torah's emphatic injunction against taking bribes.…