Passover,Weekly Message

Passover I 5772-2012

“Optimism and Faithfulness” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week, Jews the world over will experience “Spring fever.” Since the Bible states (Exodus 23:15), that Passover is to be…

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Weekly Message,Acharei Mot

Acharei Mot-Kedoshim 5769-2009

"Blood–the Essence of Life" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In parashat Tzav, the Torah declares rather definitively, (Leviticus 7:26), "V'chol dahm lo toch'loo b'chol mohsh'voh'taychem,"…

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Jewish Treats

Assisting a Runaway

Once upon a time, slavery was an almost universally accepted economic system. Whatever our values and opinions about slavery may be today, slaves were a fact of life in the not nearly so…

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Shemot,Weekly Message

Shemot 5761-2001

"The Not-So-Obvious Process of Enslavement" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this coming week's parasha, parashat Shemot, we begin our annual encounter with the story of the Egyptian…

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Emor,Weekly Message

Emor 5771-2011

"Sanctifying and Defiling G-d’s Name" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Emor, we encounter two prominent pronouncements that serve as foremost guideposts for…

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Emor,Weekly Message

Emor 5778-2018

“The Great Moses Seems Not to Know the Answer” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Emor, we encounter the episode of the מְגַדֵּף, megadef, the blasphemer, which…

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Pinchas,Weekly Message

Pinchas 5778-2018

"Pinchas the Zealot?"  by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald……

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Masei,Weekly Message,Matot

Matot-Masei 5773-2013

“Pinchas Avenges the Midianites” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In last week’s parasha, parashat Pinchas, we read of how Pinchas the son of Elazar kills Zimri and Cozbi, who had performed a…

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Jewish Treats

The Leper’s Leap of Faith

There is a fascinating story in the Second Book of Kings about an enemy general, an Israelite prophet and a greedy servant. The Aramean General Na’aman suffered from the biblical disease…

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Jewish Treats

It’s Not Vanity

“Mirror, mirror on the wall, whose the fairest of them all?” Snow White’s wicked step-mother is the perfect example of how society associates mirrors with vanity and wickedness. Believe…

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